hi i have been a diabetic for 15 years ans since hitting sixteen i have had nothing but trouble with controling my bm levels i am now 22 i am consently been addmitted to hospital with dka now i have been reading up on the insulin pumb and i was just wondering if ony of you think this might help i am a young mum who need all the help she can get to stay at home wiv my little girl plz and sugestions would be great thank you
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- Thread starter gemma
- Start Date
IanD
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,429
- Location
- Peterchurch, Hereford
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Carbohydrates
I hope T1s will be able to help, Gemma.
They will need to know your diet, insulin regime, etc.
They will need to know your diet, insulin regime, etc.
kegstore
Well-Known Member
Gemma,
The potential for improved control is definitely there with a pump, but it's not guaranteed and does require commitment and effort on your part. I was completely unprepared for the amount of work required, however this is just my experience, and I do get slightly obsessive about such things!
The potential for DKA is actually higher for pump users when compared against traditional insulin therapy, as your entire reserve of insulin is held externally in the pump reservoir - there's no "pool" of long-acting insulin slowly infusing through subcutaneous fat. Because of this, your blood glucose testing regime will typically need to increase, I currently check around 6-7 times or more a day as an absolute minimum.
Although I'm obviously not affected, your menstrual cycle can play havoc with control each month, this may explain some of the problems you've had in the last few years? A pump may be able to help you with this.
Knowledge of carbs and their effect on you will be essential, so if you're not currently carb counting (?!) you need to start before trying a pump. INPUT (http://www.input.me.uk/) is quite a useful resource while you're investigating your options.
The potential for improved control is definitely there with a pump, but it's not guaranteed and does require commitment and effort on your part. I was completely unprepared for the amount of work required, however this is just my experience, and I do get slightly obsessive about such things!
The potential for DKA is actually higher for pump users when compared against traditional insulin therapy, as your entire reserve of insulin is held externally in the pump reservoir - there's no "pool" of long-acting insulin slowly infusing through subcutaneous fat. Because of this, your blood glucose testing regime will typically need to increase, I currently check around 6-7 times or more a day as an absolute minimum.
Although I'm obviously not affected, your menstrual cycle can play havoc with control each month, this may explain some of the problems you've had in the last few years? A pump may be able to help you with this.
Knowledge of carbs and their effect on you will be essential, so if you're not currently carb counting (?!) you need to start before trying a pump. INPUT (http://www.input.me.uk/) is quite a useful resource while you're investigating your options.
Alzibiff
Well-Known Member
Must say, I am in total agreement with Kegs - for many many years, my diabetes regime was very hit and miss. What to eat, when to eat and how much insulin to inject was all very much finger in the air stuff and hardly any blood glucose testing at all. It was the embarrassment of hypos at work and hypos at night after exercise which led me to agreeing to attend a DAFNE course - and that totally changed my life!
Attendance on the DAFNE course was a pre-requisite for anyone considering a pump in my area. I am now carb counting and testing as often as Kegs - and am also obsessive about my whole diabetes regime. This is a total turn around from how I was for more than a couple of decades!
It is very well worth noting the points made above though. Using an insulin pump requires a lot of attention and a commitment to blood glucose testing and carb counting - all alongside an understanding of how everything interacts. I suggest that you discuss the criteria that your care trust use when deciding who to provide with pump therapy. In my case, these criteria included attendance on a DAFNE course but yours may - and most likely will - be totally different.
Alan
Attendance on the DAFNE course was a pre-requisite for anyone considering a pump in my area. I am now carb counting and testing as often as Kegs - and am also obsessive about my whole diabetes regime. This is a total turn around from how I was for more than a couple of decades!
It is very well worth noting the points made above though. Using an insulin pump requires a lot of attention and a commitment to blood glucose testing and carb counting - all alongside an understanding of how everything interacts. I suggest that you discuss the criteria that your care trust use when deciding who to provide with pump therapy. In my case, these criteria included attendance on a DAFNE course but yours may - and most likely will - be totally different.
Alan
Debloubed
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 828
- Location
- Aylesbury
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- When people say 'Pacific' instead of 'Specific' :-)
Hi, I'm the same as the others, wasn't even considered for a pump until I had completed the DAFNE course, which I have done now and am getting my pump asap 
again, as the others have said, obsessive BG testing is also a must to be a good pump candidate as it will only work for those who help it work, if that makes sense! I test 6-7 times a day now and that is before my pump, so I don't expect that frequency to drop when I get 'plumbed in'...
Hope you manage to find a solution
again, as the others have said, obsessive BG testing is also a must to be a good pump candidate as it will only work for those who help it work, if that makes sense! I test 6-7 times a day now and that is before my pump, so I don't expect that frequency to drop when I get 'plumbed in'...Hope you manage to find a solution
