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Got Insulin Pump! It is so awesome!

J

Johnd666

Member
I got my insulin pump 2 days ago, it is awesome. No more injections (unless ketones>0.6)(or broken insulin pump)!!!!
I have had blood sugars better than I have ever had. My blood sugars have been between 4-7, so not one hyper, only 2-3 hypos but this is still the beginning. I only have 2 basal rates, and 2 carb ratios and I feel awesome. It is like it has refreshed me.
Canula change and resovior changes are so easy, and literally press a few buttons to get that blood sugar you want after wards.
Unfourtuanatly the worrying thing is if the canula is displaced within 2-3 hours you will have ketones, and 6+ hours>..dont want to go there...
But I will defenetly have even better blood sugars in the coming weeks when ratios are properly determined!
 
Hi John,

Thanks for posting this - I've been thining about a pump for a while now. Do you have to have a regulated diet or will a pump suit someone with an irregular lifestyle?!
thanks
 
Hi John,

That's brilliant, I'm glad you're enjoying the pump. I've been looking into getting a pump as I think it would really help with my irrefular lifestyle and I think it would really help lower my Hba1C and my BG Levels.

I have a few questions, if you are happy to answer them:
What pump do you have, why did you select it and how is the ease of use? What kind of lifestyle do you have? Has sleeping with the pump been awkward at all? Do you exercise at all, if so, what kind of exercise and how has the pump affected this?

Also, did you look into any other pumps apart from the one you have?

Thanks,
Lucy
 
Hi John,

Welcome to the pump club. I have had mine since the summer and it has been the most wonderful thing I've ever had. It takes a while to get the setting "spot on" but once you do things are even better.
Lucy,
I have the Medtronic Paradigm Veo, it is a wonderful pump with a 1.8ml reservoir that just does it's job, even using a bolus wizard where you use your current BG reading along with how many Carbohydrates the meal you are eating contains which then works out how much insulin to give you, from as little as 0.025 of a unit to what ever you (or your DSN team) set as a maximum bolus. My lifestyle is inconsistent, I get up at 5am 5 days a week (Tues, Weds, Thurs, Sat and Sun) for work (though the Sundays are going to be changing to evening shifts in just over a week) but I get up much later on Mondays and Fridays. With the pump I can skip breakfast if I wish or delay it if I need to (I work in a shop so my morning break can be as late a 11am at which point I actually have my breakfast)
Sleeping with the pump is very easy, I use a pump pouch from a site known as funky pumper (Others are available) which lets me have my pump in a comfortable position overnight. I have not yet been woken up by rolling onto it over night

Overall I would say that a pump is Far better than MDI ever was, it brought my HbA1c down by 2% in just 2 months, and I certainly would not go back to injections.
 
purrple11 said:
Hi John,

Thanks for posting this - I've been thining about a pump for a while now. Do you have to have a regulated diet or will a pump suit someone with an irregular lifestyle?!
thanks
Click to expand...

Yes and No, You can eat whenever you want, you can eat nothing all day, sleep in... but it is really important to record the results so you know the ratios and ect
 
I have medtronic paradigm veo, it is easy and does the job really well. I have a lifestyle where I can eat something without planning to eat it, sleep in, but I am disiplined when it comes to eating sugar cause I have too much as it is
Sleeping with it is a little awkward, but I put a hoodie on and put it in my pocket and it is fine... Exercise is real easy, you can either take it off for an hour, or put a tempoary basal rate on which decreases the basal rate by how many % you want.
 
Well done you. I'm on the Accuchek combo and most of my issues are of my own lack of confidence and knowledge. No injections, the flexibility of meal times, it's a true revelation.

It's so sad that I'm even looking forward to the no carb meals.

Again well done
 
:clap: :clap:
I wish you well with your pump, I`m sure it will free your life up!

Ok I`ll admit it.... im jealous :lol:
I dont see my diabetic clinic until Jan 2nd but I`m going to be pushing for one ( even a CGM would be great probably more so for me I reckon at present) With luck the consultant will be full of christams spirits and say yes :thumbup:
 
I've pumping for almost 5 years now, and I've never looked back...

I started off with the old Accu-chek Spirit basement pump, not wizards to help you calculate anything, but I personally I've feel that a pumper should learn to use their pumps without any wizardry help... You learn more.

And my pump manages to keep up with me, and believe you me working with dogs workload changes from one minute to the next...

CGM's is something that don't really interest me, but there again I have excellent control, rare hypo's and 'high as a kite' is 7mmol/l, so can't see gaining much, yes it would be nice for night-time testing or for the occasions when I'm dealing with a completely new situation but this wouldn't justify the costs of one...

Getting used to wearing the pump wasn't a problem, bedtime it roams free and isn't a problem... The hardest thing to adjust to and occasionally I still even after 5 years do, is look to take my background injection at 11.30am and 11pm, that was a very hard habit to break..
 
So happy to hear that, it must be very exciting for you!!

I'm quite keen on trying a pump, I like the freedom it seams to give people and it would really lower the amount of time I spend taking insulin alongside all my other drugs.

My control is pretty good however, I'm on Lantus and Novorapid and work out my novo on a 1.5U to 10g ratio. I was under the impression that for the NHS to fund a pump control had to be poor? Is this the case or not?
 

Well a wizard is based around ICR, IS, and other features which I did get taught how they worked and built onto my diabetes knowledge whicha wizard basiclly is.
 
Hi Twinkle toes kirsty,
Here's the link to the nice guidelines,
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/TA151
You would have to have poorer control but some people say they have really bad hypos to put themselves forward, even if they don't, however some clinics need evidence for this eg repeated A&E admissions or doctor visits due to hypos. It really does just depend where you live some consultants are actively aganist pump provision while others are very pro it's just that the funding is very limited.
Hi John,
Congratulations on your pump I'm sure you're going to love it like most people who have one, nice to have a bit of good news to go with the snow outside.
 

Usually a low hba1c is a good indicator for a consultant to be concerned about hypos as unfortunately, the tighter the control, the less awareness............

Pumps are not everything though..... most definately, frequent bg monitoring is a must do in order to be well with them.
 
I wish i could get one!

I went to see my Diabetes Clinic last Thursday and they said i had to be over 8.5 on the HB1AC or have hypos that require assistance. basically if you are well or even moderately well controlled you don't deserve one but if you don't give a **** you get one.

To say i am dissapointed is an understatement.
 

Hi Klang180,

It isn't a case of "if you don't give a **** you get one" so the premise is mis-leading that someone can neglect themselves and hey-presto they get a pump. People with pumps have to want to be comitted to the effort that goes in to using it, not least of all the blood testing required.

I have done a higher than average amount of blood testing combined with different MDI combinations which have been unable to give me an Hba1c lower than 8.8% in 10yr. Because I have proven I have tried very hard with MDI and it hasn't worked is why I am now being referred for an insulin pump.
 


NO i do understand that and my response is in part due to my dissappointment. However if you have moderate control and you manage to get your levels around 7-8 but do absoluetly everything to get it lower and to have more control coupled with the fact that you have done a lot of research and know a pump would help why am i not allowed one?

I could not do a single thing more, i really couldn't.

I test frequently (but not too much) i.e. 8 times a day
I have done all the tests to set my bolus, basal, correction dose and insulin on board
I exercise every single day and after every single meal to get my insulin sensitivity up. (i walk 1 hour a day at 4mph).
I eat an extremely healthy diet getting AT LEAST 10 fruit and veg a day and avoiding fats.
I have lost weight so as to increase my sensitivity even though i wasn't anywhere near fat anyway.
I keep a food diary of everything i eat
I keep a diary of all my BG, ins, ratios, exercise etc.
I have read books and online widely about the condition.

Now with all that i can get my HBA1C to about 7 which i don't consider good enough. On top of that my life is very regimented and i still get problems such as drops overnight and difficulties exercising (i love to be active and do loads of sports).

So what more can i do to prove i am motivated?

So in my case, yes, it is down to the fact i am not sufficiently poorly controlled to get a pump and i would be better off pretendign to do all the above and having bad readings.

It isn't fair that something that could so radically improve my quality of life is denied to me.
 
Hi Klang180,
It is a shame the way the guidelines are set up I would like pumps to be available to everyone who is willing to put in the effort but unfortunately that's not possible as the funding just simply isn't there. I would say though don't give up hope the more you nag and stirr up the pot with your clinic outlining all you've done already and how a pump could help you the bigger chance you have of getting one. When I was put on mine I was really upset at the people that were getting one at the same time had nowhere near the problems I had one girl was only newly diagnosed 9 months and only got one because her mum worked at the diabetic clinic. Another lady had really bad lows but then I realised she corrected every time her BM went above 6 and had her selected BM for her pump set at 4.5. Another older man had good control (in that he was getting HbA1C of 6 and 7) but just wanted better control and pushed for what he wanted. It really depends on the post code lottery and then which consultant you get. Good Luck
 
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