need info on insulin pump plz x

Hi,
my son has been diabetic for just over 2 years now. At first we managed quite well but then puberty decided to help us which led to levels that were uncontrollable. He was given an accu chek combi on the 15th of november this year. His HBA1C was 9 before the pump and even though he has had a cold for nearly 2 weeks his HBA1C reading should be around 7.1 this time. He finds it more managable, more discreet and most important for a teenager more flexible. I asked him if he would give the pump back but he has told me that the hospital can fight him for it. At first we did have a few errors but they are more or less non-exsistent now. You need to also remember that he is still in the early stages of working how the pump works so his new figures are remarkable. If you get the chance to try a pump go for it you can always give it back if you dont like it.

Hi linziprophet
I have had type 1 diabetes for 50 years and for many years my BGs were up and down like a yo yo, I could go to bed at 10pm and my BG would be 4.5 and because I don,t sleep very well, i could check my BG at 2am and it would be 12+. I was doing MDI up to 10 a day and testing 10+ times a day
I have been fighting for a pump for many years, even though my HBA1C was around 5-6 they considered me very stable, but what they did,nt see was the highs and lows and by god I had a few.
I was put on an Accu Check spirit combo on the 25th November 2011 and my BGs have been between 4& 8 :thumbup: I am over the moon with the pump and I now feel I am controlling the diabetes and the diabetes is not controlling me. If you can get a pump please go for it, it has sorted my levels out.
:thumbup: Kev

Hi Linz,
This is a good site to check out for pump info and what they do http://www.input.me.uk/
A pump is only as good as the user though, ie, it's not plug and play. So in a nutshell you only get out what you put in.
You need a good understanding of carb counting and how dif types of foods effect your blood sugars.
There is a lot of hard work involved in pumping as well, as in a lot of basal testing and adjusting the pump to suit your own needs. Which does mean quite a few sleepless nights to start with.
As long as you understand what you need to do with the data from basal testing and can carb count then you will be fine but if you can't on MDI work out your own adjustments or understand what you are doing then pumping wont help you. There are many who's main problem is they do not have a flat basal so no basal insulin will match it thus all the problems of the yoyo effect on blood sugars.

That's the warts :lol:
But if you put in the hard work then pumping is fantastic and the quality of life has the wow factor :thumbup:
A very good book for any pumper to have is pumping insulin by John Walsh. It's known as the pumpers Bible and worth it's weight in gold. Can be bought from Amazon

I know someone who went on to pump straight from mixtard and without ever having carb counted until course 2 weeks before pump.... He manages very sucessfully now, although initially he found it really, really hard going..

I have pump too, and found i got best control ever, after 25 yrs of multijabs. I would never go back by choice..
Every basal reading for ebery hour is different, i can now see why injecting basals never worked and why i was hIgh or low. Control now is brilliant.

I am so glad I got mine. I got accuchek combo. I love the remote.. And would never have a pump without one.