Hi
@Sophia78,
Very glad to hear you are going to turn over a new leaf - as the saying goes !! Life will be more regulated but having better BSLs, feeling better and having a great sense of achievement are the rewards.
Whilst I have been on insulin for 51 years altogether, I have only had the
Animas pump for the past 7 1/2 years, nicknamed
Limpet. It was at the 45 year mark that ,despite 6 to 8 insulin shots per day (MDI), I was getting serious night hypos and the pump eased those right down, restored my hypo awareness and saved me from losing my driver's license. I would not go back to mdi for a million quid !! I thought I would feel too dependent on a pump and lose that stubborn independence of 45 years but the results spoke for themselves. (And stubbornness can be a sign of great resolve but also of great stupidity)!!!
In Australia we have only 3 options for pumps which does not include the Omnipod. And Animas pumps are being phased out. In late 2019 i shall be looking at Tandem vs Medtronic pump.
Even though the
tubing can be a hassle, I can carry the pump
on my belt, in an inside pocket e.g. by turning pyjamas shirt inside out), ( not sure if women's PJs have a shirt pocket though, and modesty prevents me from stating otherwise !!) or I can buy a wraparound belt or carry back from the pump company or fashion a carrier bag from a mobile phone pouch attached to a lanyard around my neck.
So, if I cannot wear the pump on my belt (like when I wear a rucksack with a hip strap for carrying shopping), I use a lanyard etc)
Limpet is easy to access to look at the screen, do boluses etc.
I
detach Limpet for showering and swimming using the technique like
@helensaramay uses.
Like anything else you get used to the tubing and make allowances.
Whilst a Libre with use of an insulin pen with fractional doses may do in place of CGM and insulin pump, where the pump shines is in areas such as you being able to
have a 'sculpted' basal rate which can alter, say every hour, by small amounts and
cover blood sugar rises such as the Dawn Phenomenon (DP).
Compare this to having to
wake at 4 am every morning to check your Libre and inject a dose of insulin. to cover the DP.!
For
exercise, say walking to and fro the shops and carrying shopping, say 20 kgs) ( =5 km)
I can adjust my pump's basal rate down ,say down 20% for 4 hours just before heading off.).
With the
Libre/insulin pen combo - I would have had
to know far enough ahead of time to alter my long-acting insulin which would be operating during and after the exercise. ( That is more of a hassle with once daily long-acting insulin but still so with twice daily formulations).
If the exercise is curtailed I can readily adjust my pump's basal rate rather than fiddle around with boluses of short acting insulin to tide things over.
If I am unwell with a cold, or after a vaccination I can up my basal rate say 30% and calculate a 30% increase in boluses too.
Eating food that has a longer blood sugar rise such as Indian food can be dealt with on a pump by
dividing up the pre-meal bolus into say 30% at or before eating and the remainder delivered say 2 hours later. Try remembering that with the Libre and insulin pen!!!
One brand (Medtronic) pump when partnered with CGM in some models has a
safety stop of basal rate if BSL is low, and until the BSL rises back to a certain level. I have had no experience of this but others will have.
Of course some people may use the Libre and the pump, depending on cost etc. Not everyone uses CGM with their pump. I do not generally because, in Australia at least, CGM is fairly expensive but I like that at least the Aussie Government provides subsidies for CGM costs for under 18 year olds on insulin pumps.
The choice of pump vs other is yours,
But just to mention
a downside: it the
needle insert (like the 90-degree ones)
ends up bent under the skin the only way you know is when some hours later
your BSL is much higher than expected. The bend slows the insulin pumped in and reduces the dose delivered, it
not detectable by feel or sight and does not set off the obstruction alarm. The only solution if this is suspected is to change the needle insert/tubing.
So I have to be vigilant after every needle insert change that this does not happen. I am not sure if this can happen with an Omnipod.
Good Luck and Best Wishes !!
