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Fed up with pump therapy

Over last year hba1c has been going up and I’m just fed yo of having the risk of pumps going wrong and only reason for April is because that’s when I see my diabetic doctor
 
I have only been on pump for 10 days now after almost 38 years of MDI. It has been a huge change and at the moment it is trial and error to get it right, I know this may take months maybe even years to get it right(ish)

Not feeling the love for it at moment but know I need to give it a decent amount of time before I decide. If I do decide against it, I know I will have full backing of a great team at my diabetic clinic
 
Just so you know @Sonnyb2,
a number of people are having trouble with the plastic cannulas, bending etc and causing high BSLs.
Apparently many of the infusion sets are made by one pump manufacturer and used by the other pump brands so there might be an issue with the quality control.
To get around this many TODs in Oz at least are changing to the metal cannulas. They do not kink although sometimes they need to be changed under the 3 days mark. (the body rejects the metal a bit sooner than the plastic). But the joy and better certainty of the metal cannulas is a plus. Also the connection point on the infusion sets with the metal cannulas is on a separate sticky white patch, so the cannula does not get moved every time you disconnect the pump for a shower etc.
I hope before you fully decide to ditch the pump just make sure you and whoever is the best expert with a pump has gone through your issues with the pump to see if somethings that bother you have a better solution.
Also after 52 years on insulin, 7 of those on a pump, the tissue under the skin was pretty scarred and the usual metal cannulas were not working as well as usual. I moved to a slightly longer cannula (6mm -> 8 mm) so that I had a better chance of getting below the scat tissue. It has worked a treat !!
Best Wishes, whatever you decide.:):):)
 
I applaud your decision. You won't know any impact on HbA1c until you've been back on MDI for a while, but so long as that's not horrendous, then great.

The mental burden of diabetes is often overlooked, but mental health is just as important as physical health, so anything that reduces the mental load has got to bring benefit.

Good luck.
 
I have been on pump therapy since Feb and am loving it. After 48 years of injecting multiple times a day and doing over 58k injections I can live with the thought of the pump malfunctioning as I know it will be rplaceed within 48 hours. The best control I have had in a VERY long time. It is hard work and an ongoing learning curve
 
Sonnyb2 said:
Over last year hba1c has been going up and I’m just fed yo of having the risk of pumps going wrong and only reason for April is because that’s when I see my diabetic doctor
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Hi, making a choice can be difficult, but I hope all goes well for you @Sonnyb2
 
I’ve been thinking about the same thing- dropping my pump and going back to mdi. Infusion set failures and pains are frequent. I’d almost just like to run out of supplies just so I’d have make the change. I wouldn’t miss the huge device on my waist, as it’s pushing into my side right now.

I do fear losing the basal rate flexibility. Increasing or decreasing a long acting insulin has to be planned for well in advance. I’m not sure how basal insulins have changed but I’m sure there’s still the risk of pushing it into a blood vessel and having it absorb too quickly. It’s a risk, but pumping has its pains too.

So I’m eager to watch how this goes.
 
Sonnyb2 said:
Will I get lantus at my clinic
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If that's what you were on before, I would expect so. (Though I'm guessing you'll get your long term supplies from your GP once he or she knows your prescription has changed.) They're hardly going to leave you without insulin. It's your body, and your diabetes. Though a clinic can help and make suggestions, it's up to you to choose the therapy that most suits your life style and your body. Though I've heard of people being refused pumps because they are deemed not able to use them properly, I've never heard of anyone being refused MDI.

I've been offered a pump a number of times, and suspect it would lower my hba1c, but have never liked the idea of cannulae etc. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, or just not brave enough. MDI may not be perfect, but it works well enough for me. Other people really like their pumps and never look back. We're all different. I'm just glad that there are so many different options for therapy.
 
Do u get your pump taken off u if your HBA1C is high 3 times in a row
 
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