Need some Info please

[twingo]

Hi, i need some infos on pumps in uk. My husband and i am are getting posted to uk in summer time. I am diabetic for nearly 23 years now and i have got the pump for 15 years (cannot remember exactly since when, but for ages) and i love the pump and dont want to go back to the old days.

As i am german and do not know how it works in uk, here some questions:
- i will get a new pump just before we leave germany, what when the time of the pump runs out and i need to get a new one? got the D-Tron at the moment but you cannot get in anymore , not sure yet to go for the omnipod or the accu-chek combo
- are there any problems to get all the pump stuff of the doc?
- to test my sugar level in mg/dl, only heard of friends that in uk the meter will be in mmol/l. Is that true??
- how is the service of accu-chek in uk?
- when you applying for a job, do you have to tell the company that you are a diabetic? I always did at the end of an interview, so they know and i felt more relaxed as i did not wanted to hide that i am diabetic

Thank you for you help

 

[daisy1]

Hi Twingo and welcome to the forum I don't use a pump so I can't help you there - I just wanted to say hi and good luck when you come to the UK. There will be members who will reply soon with answers to your questions.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Hi Twingo

I'm a new pumper since August...

I believe that in the UK we all have to be registered through Consultants at our hospitals to get our pumps initially. Some hospitals then set it up that you can order the consumables direct from the manufacturers, some hospitals make you order through them and they then place the order and you have to go to the hospital to collect the order. I don't know of any pump person in UK that has actually got there consumables and pump through their GP. Saying that it depends where you will ending up living in the UK, as England, Wales and Scotland all govern their Health Services separately, ie in England non hiabetics will have to pay for their prescriptions, they don't in Wales, as the Welsh Government looks after health not the whole UK parliament.

I have a combo pump, and accuchek have been excellent with me, although I have only had to phone them on a couple of occasions.

Applying for jobs:- depends what the application asks for. If they ask medical questions, as some do then you should write down all medical conditions (this applies to non diabetics as well). If the application form does not ask for medical details, then you are quite right to do as you currently do, and to inform them at the end of the interview.

Not sure about mmols etc, I know my DSN has a conversion poster on her wall. I'm pretty vague on this, as I have always had the same mmols readings since diagnosis for 25 years.

Good luck to you when you move over. Don't delay in registering at the Doctors first, as I believe (may be wrong) that they always refer you to the hospitals, you can't just go to a diabetic clinic at a hospital and register.

Hope this helps a little. I'm sure others will be advising soon as well.

 

[Jaxx]

Your friends are correct that in the UK we measure blood glucose in mmol/l.
I spent 4 years in the USA, where they use mg/dl, and used to convert my results with this formula: 18 mg/dl = 1 mmol/l. It was a bit of a nuisance, but it works Good luck!