Got approved for a Pump today!!

[Debloubed]

Just been to my 6mth DAFNE review and it went really well! Got my latest HbA1c and it's gone from 5.7 (which was good, but a touch low for me) to 6.2! my target was 6 so I'm pretty pleasd with that

Also, I've now been approve for a pump! I'm very excited :lol: :lol: Have been promised my first assessment in January - onwards and upwards!

 

[shedges]

Fantastic - well done on all fronts. Definitely want to get my HbA1c nearer to 6. Would be nice to be better than average for a change.

Keep us updated on the pump - I'd be interested to listen to your story as it develops... starting from scratch and all that. Blog at all?

Sam.

 

[hanadr]

Hi Deb
Congratulationns on the pump approval
Now please may i ask a question without anyone assuming I'm judging.
why would HbA1c of 5.7% be too low?
Hana

 

[Debloubed]

thanks Sam will definitely keep you updated in the form of a blog or even a thread on here!

Your DAFNE course is soon isn't it?

 

[Debloubed]

Hi Deb
Congratulationns on the pump approval
Now please may i ask a question without anyone assuming I'm judging.
why would HbA1c of 5.7% be too low?
Hana

Hi Hana, 5.7 is an average mmol of approx 6 I believe, which means that a lot of the time I must have been registering in the 4 range, which is too low long term for me. My target has been calculated personally for me (I went through a stage of hypo unawareness a while ago) and I decided 6 was a good place for me to be for a type 1, being between 5 and 7 is 'A' ok

 

[Lucie75]

Fantastic news!! Well done.

Can I be cheeky and ask what the whole process involved? I'm in the early stages of being considered for a pump. Apparently I meet the criteria - just wondered what comes next. I suspect food diaries etc.

Should I be dreading it?

Many thanks
Lucie

 

[Debloubed]

Hi Lucie, I'm not dreading it so I hope it's not too scary! :lol: have you been on your DAFNE course? that was the main qualifying criteria for me (as in, they wouldn't give me a pump until I'd done the course) so now it's a case of the pump nurse at my local hospital meeting with me to discuss why I want it - basically, that means that if you swan in and say you want the pump as you think you won't have to check your BG levels any more, they won't let you have one as they have a duty to care for people! Do you have a good team at the clinic you go to? I'm sure they will support you and advise you along the way

good luck!!

 

[shedges]

Debs - you must be getting me mixed up with someone else - 'fraid I'm not on a DAFNE course any time soon. Maybe next year when I have some holiday to take.

 

[Debloubed]

Debs - you must be getting me mixed up with someone else - 'fraid I'm not on a DAFNE course any time soon. Maybe next year when I have some holiday to take.

oh! maybe I dreamt that?! Don't take holiday for it, I had mine over 4 weeks, 3 half days and 1 full day and my company gave me the time off as 'medical leave' as it was for, well, medical leave :wink:

 

[kegstore]

Great news deb, the pump will transform your life. Let us know how you get on, and yell if you have any concerns or queries.

 

[meela83]

Hi Deb
I am on a pump trial at the moment, going to first pump clinic next week where they will decide if it is the right treatment for me. Nurse doesn't think it will be a problem and I'm hoping to get funding approved by christmas! I have had a few issues with infusion sets but think I just need practise. It is very weird not having to inject and 3 weeks on I still go to do my injections, have had to hide them out of sight! Hope you get your pump soon and enjoy it.

 

[Lucie75]

Hi Debs,

This is the first I've heard Of DAFNE. Just googled it and apparently my hospital isn't one of those that is a DAFNE centre. Nobody has mentioned it to me so far. In fact last night I had a call from the person I'm due to see next (at the second stage of assessment of whether a pump is right for me) and she didn't mention it either. She just said she needs to talk it all through with me, ask me lots of questions (oo-er!!) and then get me to attend a pump clinic where the consultant will either say yes or no. I'm sure there must be more to it than that.

However, the DAFNE website does say that you cannot attend a DAFNE course unless your diabetes unit is a DAFNE centre, and mine isn't. Would be quite interesting though.

 

[Debloubed]

Hi Lucie, perhaps it's just my hospital/clinic then? I know I was told that if I wanted a pump I had to go on the course as I needed to know how to carb count in order to use the pump correctly - but perhaps those rules differ depending on where you live?!

FYI, try googling INSIGHT which is the course I went on, it's the same as DAFNE but run by a different set of people I think?? Worth a try, there may be one where you live

 

[Tracey167]

Hi congrats on being approved for a pump, I am seriously considering asking about the pump myself as i feel it would do me a lot better. Would you mind letting me know if you had trouble getting it and who you had to speak to

 

[Debloubed]

Hi Tracey,

I was offered a place on an Insight/DAFNE course and my understanding is that I couldn't have the pump until I had completed the course - I now have a meeting arranged with the pump nurse at my local hospital/clinic and if that goes well (ie: she agrees I am a good candidate!) then a meeting with the pump rep etc. So, not hard at all really, just needed to get the course done first as they wouldn't let me have one until I was up and running and carb counting one lady on the course with me has already got her pump (so approx 4-5 months ahead of me) but she was a more 'urgent' case if you like so she was pushed through - as far as I can tell it's a case by case type system - good luck!!

 

[Alzibiff]

Deb,
More or less exactly the same process I went through - DAFNE course led almost automatically onto a pump - just had to ask!
Both were the best thing ever for me - puts you in absolute control and gives you a logical and rational method for adjusting insulin and food intake - better than the "merlin" approach I was using for years in advance. ("Merlin = that wizard bloke on telly on early Saturday evenings - although his magic always seem to work out and mine never did!).

Alan

 

[Debloubed]

Alan, I've said it once and I'll say it again - DAFNE is life changing in itself so it's good to read your comments about the pump, I am very excited! loving the 'merlin' approach but can understand why you wanted to move on from that :lol:

As a pump user, perhaps you could advise re: 'accessories'?! I've been googling away looking for pockets and gadgets and have found some very interesting (?!) ones but could you recommend any? to you swap around or stick to the same pocket/pouch/carrier?

Deb

 

[kegstore]

Quick question here, although I am told DAFNE involves more than just carb counting, can I ask how all you T1s out there managed for so long (survived even?) WITHOUT carb counting? I've been doing it every day since diagnosis.

 

[Debloubed]

I was only told about it last year and believe me, that was the first question I asked after week 1 of the course!! When I was diagnosed I was told to avoid chocolate, fatty foods and processed foods and to eat sensibly and exercise (I was 12!!). I injected twice a day, the same qty every time and was never, ever told I could adjust the dose. Hence why I often urge others to ask, ask, ask for alternatives at hospitals and clinics! I wish I had done that :roll: I am lucky though, haven't had an HbA1c over 9 since diagnosis but I am very active so perhaps that helps? I remember being told by friends 'oh, my cousin/Aunt/neighbour had to weigh their food' etc, etc but when I was diagnosed it was all 'cutting edge' procedures, no weighing and not an orange in sight! I wasn't even admitted for diagnosis, I just cracked on with it and then went to Spain for a week with my school a week after diagnosis, the nurses encouraged me to go! (my poor Mum was in bits :lol: )

Anyway, sorry, I digress, but hope that answers the question 8)

 

[meela83]

Well I was diagnosed 16 years ago and was only told about carb counting in Feb of this year. When the nurses asked me what I had done before I was honest and said 'I guess!'. That would probably go a long way to explain the HbA1c of 14.6% ooops!