If you had your time again...

Be very patient.

The initial few weeks are a steep learning curve and whatever level of control you had previous to starting on a pump will be turned upside down. Some parts of your control will be good, some parts will be a mess.

Don't despair. Follow the advice you are given for changing basal rates. Alter them methodically and wait to see the effect the changes have on your blood sugar. Do not be tempted to alter everything at once.

Pump setting need to be tweaked sometimes to keep optimal control, don't become complacent with it.

A pump is not a plug and play. You will get there, just not straight away.

Good luck with it all.

Just re-read this, it sounds a bit like Baz Luhrmann's song "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen " !

Congratulations! I also use an Accu-Chek Combo.

The one thing that caused me hassle the first few weeks was removing the cannula. My DSN told me that a little baby oil would do the trick – It did not!

Trial and error has shown that Appeel medical adhesive remover spray (3500) and Appeel medical adhesive remover wipes (3505) work really well with the Roche glue! Spray the cannula ten seconds or so before you want to remove it and it is really easy to get off. A wipe will get rid of any remaining glue.

I would contact your GP and get a script for a pack of 30 wipes and a 50ml can of spray before you get the pump!

Good luck.


Martin

I buy Zoff removal wipes from ebay or amazon, as my surgery won't pay. For them so don't be surprised if they won't. I wipe it over the sticky of the canula and it's ready to remove straight away. A small price to pay considering the price of pumps I also buy alcohol wipes as well to clean the insulin bottle.

I use LiftPlus from Opus Medical to remove Rapid D and Tenderlink sets. You can get free samples of it. Flexlink sets are easy to remove just by pulling them off so don't need any remover

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EmmDotJay said:

Slightly related and probably one for the chaps, does this get more complicated I guess with body hair? I am now picturing little beautician waxed circles!

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not too worried about that myself, apart from my legs, which are a bit wookie style, i'm not a hairy bloke,

But thta did have me chuckling into my coffee

Excellent advice above. I would also say, make best use of your week on saline for getting the hang of wearing the pump and changing sets, the general routine. Once you are on insulin, doses and rates will take up all your attention.

I had the reverse problem, sets coming off too easily. Don't put a new canula in just before a bath or shower. Try to place the canula where the tube won't snag and has plenty of slack.

Get lots of different types of set and experiment with the ones that work best for you. Follow the instructions strictly on this. Getting the sets to go in right, and stay in, was the biggest challenge for me and nearly made me give up. Don't.

Also pay particular attention to the advice for avoiding DKA. Nothing puts you off a pump like DKA!

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EmmDotJay said:

Soooo, I'm less than three weeks away from going onto an Accu Chek Combo.

If you could rewind to just before you started on your pump, what things would you tell yourself to make starting up that little bit easier?


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I did these things because they were recommended by other experienced pumpers
Bought myself Pumping insulin by John Walsh.
Made sure I had plenty of quick acting carbs available.
Sticky tape to anchor the tubing.
Make sure you have extra test strips handy as you will need them and also make sure you have the insulin you are going to use in your pump on your prescription.
Oh and last of all a packet of patience due to the likelihood of frustration setting in when things go t*ts up during the first few weeks.

I would recommend that if you are going to have a group session or even individual set up then take a pen and paper and write things down. Many find the whole start up quite confusing as so much to take in all in one go.

My hubby, tried a set on his tummy, as I suggested he try one(to see what it felt like). My DSN was impressed and he just told me it hurt a little bit, pulling the hairs of his tummy(it's a little hairy ). I took a dictaphone and asked my DSN, if I could record it, to go over again and she was fine with it. I still have it stored on their.

It's okay to hate the pump when you start! It definitely takes time to get used to it and there were times in my first few months when I questioned being on a pump.

The best advice I had was from a non-diabetic friend, who said I needed to accept there would be good days and bad days but to give it 6 months before making my mind up. Of course, 6 months in the idea of going back to MDI seemed crazy.