How do I try insulin pump therapy

Get a loan pump from a supplier or someone who has a spare pump. You will also need cartridges ans infusion sets.

Hi Sonny, yes start with your team and see what they say.

If I remember you handed it back ? If I've got that right, what's changed and why are you keen now ?

Hi Sonny,

You will need your team to check your prescription is up to date so that you can order insulin vials and to order your pump supplies, once they have approved this then they will set up a date to transition you back onto the pump, as you'll need to undergo a refresher as well as checking your ratios ano doing the set up.

It will help greatly with both your HbA1c and hypos, but also get a copy of 'Pumping insulin' which is a brilliant guide for any pump user to help get the most from using the pump.

Good luck and let us know how you get on ?

Hi Sonny, the 2 can't be linked, but if your keen to really nail your control then the Libre is a vital piece of kit, so you can use the Libre to see what your fasting rates are like overnight which will help you manage your basal ratios really carefully, also the Libre is useful for keeping an eye on falling glucose levels to help you avoid hypos.

Abbot do some online courses now so it would be useful if you look these up.

I use the Dexcom G6 with my pump and use their clarity data to help,watch for patterns in my control, using data is good as we should to act on patterns when making basal adjustments, you can do the same, but ask your team to help you if you need to as you should be able to email your Libre data to your nurse and if you do a weekly phone review then they will help you manage your ratios.

Sonnyb2 said:

I mean can I tell my diabetes team I feel ready to go BACK on a pump and they sort out my basal rates is it as easy

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To get good results you really need to figure out the basal rates and adjust them until your blood sugar stays in the target range in the absence of food. The same approach is required with MDI, except using different insulins and different dosages during the day may be necessary. Don't expect your team to do this for you. It works much better if you do it yourself.

Sonnyb2 said:

I want to try omnipod again because I got a high HBA1C lots of hypos and just fed up with injecting and thinking it may work well with FreeStyle Libre x

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When deciding on whether you want to switch make sure you have explored all the MDI possibilities first. Your team are not close enough to the action. You really need to to do it yourself.

I switched from pumping back to MDI because I didn't like having the pump attached. I have been able to achieve similar results with MDI, but only after combining Actrapid with Lantus to cover basal requirements.