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How long did you take off?

IceLover

IceLover

Well-Known Member
Messages
125
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello i was wondering how long everyone took of school/work for when they started their pump. My nurse did say that i will have to take some time off but she didnt say how long.
 
Errr. Why has she said you'll need to take time off? If you've read "Pumping Insulin" before your pump start, other than the start date when they give you your pump, and have to do mandatory training, I got the pump and carried on as before.

I think it's daft to take time off to normalise things, as when you aren't living your normal life, your pump settings have a high chance of being different from when you are. But that's just my two penneth. As you might guess, I didn't take anything other than the two hours needed to get the mandatory training out of the way.
 
I don't work anymore thank goodness. It took me quite a few sleep interupt ed nights and make adjustments to the basal rates on my first pump before I was able to get through the night and get up in the morning without being really low or high. I looked like death warmed up and got told off by my pump consultant who said that it was important to get a good nights sleep and to eat some carb before bed to stop going low during the night.

I did take each day as it came.....just tried to bg test every 2hrs, count the carb to be eaten as accurately as possible and eat no more than 20g carb at each meal with the idea that my bg levels wouldn't go too high if the basal or bolus was wrong and that I would be okish until I got on top of basal rate adjustment and getting the bolus and correction factor ok.

Good luck with the pump........they are very life changing and will demand that you look after yourself ok using it
 
Hey @IceLover - I've never heard this advice before, I was straight back to work the day after I got mine, unless you're feeling unwell there shouldn't be any reason to change your routine for this ;)
 
@IceLover I'm self-employed and was able to take things gently for as long as I needed to - I gave myself two weeks of 'no pressure' when I started pumping, and it was a really, really good move.

I do take on board the importance of getting used to the pump in conjunction with one's normal routine, and huge respect to @tim2000s for his approach.

I'm glad I took the time out, and I was very grateful for the support of friends (who came swimming with me so I wasn't alone to start with), my husband (who has taken the trouble to get to know my pump as well as I do), my family (who calmed me down when I found it hard to cope) and my clients (who were supportive and patient).

I don't think there's a magic answer to 'how long?'. But taking some time purely to concentrate on getting to grips with it certainly was the way forward for me. I found it was a big deal to take on board, but life in general is way, way easier now than in my pre-pumping days. Life-changing doesn't even cover it!

:)
 
Just the start day off.

@IceLover, if you feel you may need a few days or a week to adjust to pumping just inform your school/college, the pump clinic will be able to provide a letter for you if need be. Best wishes.
 
I've never heard of this either. I went straight from my pump appointment to work with strict instructions to test regularly and carry out regular basal tests (which I hated) for a long time afterwards. I had regular contact with my DSN during the first week and if I called in the first few weeks I was a treated as a priority.

On a positive note I wasn't expecting much of an improvement after six months but was extremely pleased that I improved nearly 20% and looking at my patterns there are still changes I can make to improve further.

Good luck with your pump
 
I wasn't working when I got my pump, but I'd say it took me a couple of days to get used to it.

@IceLover I'd be guided by your DSN. I think I'm right in saying you're still at school/college? Your DSN might have an idea how long people in similar circumstances took off, so that will guide you.

Good luck :)
 
I took two weeks and 1 day. I started on a Tuesday with a full day session was told to take the rest of that week off as had to take phone calls and go back again on Thursday and maybe Friday. My DSN said it would be as mentally exhausting as when you were first diagnosed. Also I was taking my BGL all through the night and was not getting enough sleep to work. My boss told me I had to take all time as sick leave so I had to get a certificate so had the extra day or so. I'm glad I had that time to do lots of testing.
 
Nothing. Just the appointment itself which took most of the morning. As people say it's how you function normally that helps you finetune. I hadn't got pumping insulin yet at that point but had read lots here, posted quite a bit and most importantly knew my usual trends (which was why i ignored the dsn's injunction to have a flat rate for 24 hrs
 
No time off, just made sure I had my test kit with me and plenty of hypo treatment. It's pointless taking time off as basal rates are different at school/work compared to a weekend.

You will be fine hope you enjoy your pump.
 
Had a day's training and back to work the next day, I did test my BG quite a bit more than usual but glad I got straight back into things as that way I feel benefited me more in that I could get my basals sorted based on my normal daily routine.
 
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