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Emotional benefits of using a pump?

amym06

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi, my name is Amy and I've been T1 diabetic for 14 years. I've always struggled with blood sugar control and yo-yo an awful lot. Previously I have never liked the idea of a pump as I'm quite needle-phobic and feel quite self - conscious. I've always liked that with injections people can't really tell there's anything wrong with you!

I'm now 21 and realise that a pump would probably be the best way forward as I really do need to start getting better control of my sugars. I have noticed over the years that I have a lot of mood swings and get very anxious on a daily basis, I'm wondering if a lot of that is due to my sugars going from one extreme to the other?

What I'd like to know is if anyone has any good experiences of how going onto a pump has given them better blood sugar control which has helped with mood/ anxiety levels and made you feel happier than before?

I have the opportunity to go onto the Omnipod this summer which I am seriously considering so just looking for any advice and support really!
 
Hi Amym06 I started on the Accu Chek insight pump last August because I was getting a lot of night time lows which made me feel a bit down and worried about silly things but since being on the pump my control has been 90% in the 4 to 8 range and the lows I have had around 3.6 so nothing to low, my mood and feeling of well-being has improved and I feel more confident to face the trials of life ( lol ) hope this helps.
 
Hi Amy, I'm on an animas pump as when I was you get struggled with the injections and me doing so much sport
I actually love my pump, it makes me feel so 'normal' as I can be if that makes sense and although I used to worry that people notice actually having gone to uni... People really don't !
My moods as a 19 year old diabetic do change if I've been low a lot or if I'm high, just because I feel so low. My control is so much better on my pump as well !
I can't recommend a pump enough, I love the whole concept and you actually get so used to wearing it !
 
Hi @amym06

Certainly going on a pump will help level out bg control as you can fine tune your basal delivery and bolus insulin in smaller increments as opposed to a pen.

As for a pump changing moods and easing anxiety, yes I believe it does. Not having to inject multiple times a day and not having the stress of remembering to take your basal injection every day takes a lot off the mind.

I'm going to move your thread to the Insulin Pump forum where it will get more replies, if you want it moved back then do say.
 
Wow that's really great to hear thank you! I would love to have my bg in the 4 - 8 range! Currently i have lows in the 2-3 region and the rest of the time seem to be above 10 and no matter how hard I try its just so difficult with a busy lifestyle so it sounds like a pump would definitely help me out. Its reassuring to know that it can help the emotional side of things too so thanks for your help!
 
Yes, oh yes. Getting a pump stabilized my blood sugars and mood incredibly. It also improved my skin, my hair, my concentration, my energy levels, my sleep patterns. You name it, it got better. I do work at it. I set myself to master all my pump's useful features and then some. A lot of pump users don't exploit the pump's possibilities. But you can really make it work for you.
 

Hi izzyj09, that's good to know as I have lead quite an active life myself and regularly go to the gym which can send my sugars awol so hopefully with a pump it will be easier to control as you have found!
I am at uni too and yeah it is a bit worrying as I feel like a pump isn't the easiest thing to hide when wearing clothes that are not baggy - i think one of my main concerns is that it might get caught and pulled out which is not a great thought with being needle-phobic - especially as cannulas are my worst nightmare!
Does it hurt putting the cannula in? I've read a few horror stories online about people having infected and painful sites which put me off the idea a bit as I can be a bit of a wimp!
Thanks a lot for your support!
 

Ahh this is really giving me more confidence now to go for it! All of those things you have said that have improved for you are literally everything I am struggling with more and more as I get older! Being at uni in my final year is stressful enough without the set backs of diabetes and in particular concentration, energy and sleep are definitely what I am suffering most with currently! Hearing that the pump will improve these is really motivating and uplifting as I think the majority of my emotional issues stem from a lack of energy and sleep which the constant yoyo-ing of blood sugars cause me!
Thank you so much for your insight RuthW!
 
Hi @amym06

I've been on a pump only for a little while, and I was considered for pump therapy because my anxiety of hypos was having a profound effect on my quality of life.

I was so overwhelmed with the 'I REALLY WANT THIS' at my pump start that I started to cry when I got hitched up for the first time.

Cannula insertion (I use an Insight pump, and I use the Flex cannulas) is straightforward - I use their 'FlexAssist' inserter, which is a spring-loaded gadget to fire it in. Don't feel a thing.

I've had (in three months) three cannulas which have hurt - and those then proved to be problematic. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right (thank you @donnellysdogs for that gem of information which I gleaned when I was still a lurker!). Pretty soon I found that intuition (or should I say insight - LOL, groan!!!!!) goes a long way when trying to work out what's right or not.

It's a steep learning curve but I'm so, so glad to have been given this opportunity for what I consider to be a more intuitive, more real-life, way of dealing with my diabetes.

As for mood swings - yes, just ask my husband. Always have had - when I'm high, I'm cross (although I don't know if that's a symptom of the high, or the fact that I feel I've got it 'wrong'!). When I'm low, I'm incoherent and cross. Either way, I'm still getting the mood swings, BUT thinking about it, perhaps they're fewer and further between now I'm pumping and therefore less prone to the swings I used to have.

I love not having to take insulin on board all at once. When I was on MDI I used to calculate the carbs and inject the right amount of insulin, but I would often just crash several hours later. I don't get that now I'm pumping, which is a huge relief!

I seized with both hands the opportunity to pump, and am (still) kicking myself for not having looked into it sooner than I did. My HbA1c was always in the ideal range, so I wasn't considered for pump therapy until I spelled out the quality of life issues I was experiencing.

Go for it!

 
Honestly, for me if I'm going out and some idiot decided to yank on it, it's not the end of the world, a girly trip to a loo and Fire a new one in !
I know at first it seems like a really hard thing to hide and you think it's massive but it's not at all, if you have it tucked in your waist band most people either think your super cool and have your mobile phone or think it's a MP3 player type thing. I've even been asked if its one of these fitness things
Cannula's I find don't hurt at all, you have to get used to them and it looks scary at first but I found it no harder than the injections. Those horror stories are for people who don't look after themselves, I change mine ever three days and have never got infected or anything like that.
If it puts your mind at rest, I wore a bodycon dress the other night, skin tight and literally just put a tuber grip round my stomach and put it in the small of my back, and my best friend panicked as she thought I'd taken it off for pictures !
 
I've had a pump for 12 years and I love it!

I was very nervous when I first went on it, but within a couple of days it felt fine. The difference I felt in myself was enormous. I felt like I'd gone back to before I had diabetes. I felt a surge of happiness - and felt normal for the first time for years.

Prople don't really notice my pump (it's an Animas Vibe). The ones who do think it's a pedometer or an MP3 player or a pager. I wear it on my belt/waist and I forget it's there.
 
I've had my pump for less than a year (Animas Vibe) and I Love it, I feel like now I couldn't ever do with out it. I used to have dawn phenomenon so really high sugars in the morning. Those effected my moods and made me more angry because I used to get a lot of headaches from it. But since being on the pump I'm a lot happier and feel better in myself.

I hook my pump up to my trouser waistband and I forget it's their. It isn't noticeable and just last week someone who did see it asked me how many steps I'd taken because they thought it was a pedometer! It's a great device and well worth having.
 
Hi Amy,

I'm probably as self-conscious as you can get and went on the pump about 10 years ago. It's definitely better than being on injections. I think it gives you more freedom as long as you keep on top of what you're doing. I have my pump connected to the top of my thigh and just keep it in my jean pocket, you can't tell I have it which is one of the good things about it. You should definitely try it anyway!
 
I can't comment on the Omnipod for ease of hiding but the Accu-chek insight I use is very discreet. People who know me well will sometimes ask where the hell it is because they are looking for it and can't spot it. I was concerned like you that it would make me stand out more as a diabetic but I think it's actually less - now when I'm eating in public, I just get out the handset and it looks just like a phone, no one knows the difference. And the peace of mind it has given me when exercising etc is wonderful.

If you do decide to go for it then find out what types will be on offer, and have a good read about the various features of each. What works for someone else may not work for you. Also if you can read the Pumping Insulin book there is a section about choosing a pump and the factors to consider, which I found really helpful.
 

Thank you so much for the advice, it definitely sounds like it would benefit me greatly! Its great hearing all these positive stories!
 

That's good to hear then that there are tricks you can use to hide it! And as for the cannula insertion that sounds a lot more positive, I guess its a case of just going for it and learning to get used to it. Because I was 7 when I was diagnosed I cant really remember how I found injecting at first but I'm sure being needle-phobic that was a challenge initially and now I don't feel a thing so based on your experience, hopefully I will be the same!
 
Thank you everyone for your replies, this has been really useful and I am (nicely) surprised at just how positive everyone's experiences of using a pump have been! This has definitely given me more motivation and encouragement to go ahead and take the steps to go onto a pump and I am now looking forward to feeling the benefits!

Hopefully I'll be joining you all in the pump-life asap
 
Its full of pros and cons. The biggest pro is that it has greatly helped manage BS, and made me much healthier. However, the con is - you can never pretend your not diabetic.

When i was on pens, i could put them away, and just be normal and pretend i didn't have T1D, but now with my Vibe and Dexcom i constantly have 2 noticeable patches on my body, and a pager sized pump always connected to me via tube. So it makes me constantly away that i am not the average person. Especially at night when i wake up and have to find my pump and carry it to the washroom, or at the gym when i have to change in the locker room and hope no one asks why i have some weird plastic electronics taped my body and a pager hanging from a tube :/

Its really been an exercise in confidence. You cannot pretend anymore, and you have to be strong and just deal with it because it is literally saving your life and making you FEEL normal while at the same time making you appear less normal..

I am 100% PRO pump, but i do not want to sugar coat things because those were the first big down sides i noticed and am still kinda dealing with a year later.
 
mostly all pros, I have felt a lot better, less to think about re diabetes, easier control though still hard work, and for me, after some years on the pump, the gradual realisation that i had freedom from constant fear of hypos (i was hypo unaware and have had type one over 36 years) , and i don't find the pump being attached much of a problem as i see the end of hypo fear as a good trade off .
However, over my almost 8 years of pump use there have been a number of problems with the infusion sets, though until now they have been overcome and i have felt very positive. But now i have a mild skin condition, though it is bad in the areas most used for the infusion sets, and the sensitised skin seems to have led to further allergy type problems with the metal sets irritating. Off the pump today - so very pro use for at least a few years, not sure about the very long term if you alreaady have allergies, hayfever, etc
 
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