New to forum. Pump for 6 yrs. About to give up

[FleurP]

Hello fellow pumpers!

This is an amazing concept! I'm very excited about talking to fellow pumpers! I have a Medtronic paradigm. It's doing a great job but recently I've experienced problems. After 26 years, my sites are tired. I regularly experience 'no delivery' at the first bolus after a new set. I've experienced BGs with no rhyme or reason for about 3 weeks. After intensive support from hospital, BGs are improved but not great. I'm beginning to think, 'is all this work worth it?' Is it my age rather than the pump? I have moments when I remember it was easier with a Novopen. Rosy nostalgia?

 

[josie38]

Hi Fleur

Welcome to fourm

I hope you will enjoy talking to fellow pumpers. I,too, am a pumper and sometimes i feel like you "is it worth it" but then, from my point of view, being able to do things with kids without worrying about hypos and have i got enough stuff with me makes it worth it. From my personal point of view, when i have problems with sites and BS I start to feel a bit "is it worth it". I'm glad im not the only with with rosy nostalgia :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Josie

 

[MushyPeaBrain]

Hello Fleur

I'm interested to know more about your pumping history. How long have you been on it? How well do you rotate sites and change sets?

I have been pumping a year and it's not an easy ride. I have to be very aggressive with my bolus after a set change to be certain it's working. Even then it can take also 24 hours to fail. This wasn't such a problem until I became a mum and now having a toddler with a pump can be difficult. There are times I miss the certainty of the pen.

However there is no way I could get the BG levels I do now. I can eat on an airplane with the pump. I can miss meals or eat late. I can eat out unexpectedly. I can snack. I can control my BG better when ill. When it works it's amazing.

If you are having no delivery issues have you tried other sets? I was having kinked cannula issues and I did try metal needles (which are fab) but don't work for me due to using large boluses. No I store my sets in the fridge and have much fewer set fails. I change every 3rd day but leave my old set in until I'm 100% sure the new one is working. If it fails I reconnect to the old one and try a new change the next day.

I injected for 30 years, mainly in my tummy right around the belly button. I never, ever put sets here and it is healing very nicely. I use the wider area around and my hips. At some point I will have to try legs etc but they hurt a lot so holding off until I have to!

 

[Unicornz]

Hello fellow pumpers!

This is an amazing concept! I'm very excited about talking to fellow pumpers! I have a Medtronic paradigm. It's doing a great job but recently I've experienced problems. After 26 years, my sites are tired. I regularly experience 'no delivery' at the first bolus after a new set. I've experienced BGs with no rhyme or reason for about 3 weeks. After intensive support from hospital, BGs are improved but not great. I'm beginning to think, 'is all this work worth it?' Is it my age rather than the pump? I have moments when I remember it was easier with a Novopen. Rosy nostalgia?

I'm feeling a bit like this at the moment Fleur. I've been on the Medtronic Paradigm since March this year and it started off fantastically, but now since a few months my levels have been all over the place. I'm experiencing daily hypos (most likely due to having started going to the gym 5 times a week - currently have a CGM for a week to try and sort this out) but I'm also having problems with highs that won't come down even after several correction boluses.

The thing is that I really can't see any logic behind all this and it's really frustrating and I've caught myself thinking more than once 'is this all really worth it'? I do remind myself that before on MDI I would often find myself with levels over 20. Since going on it, when I speak of high levels it's around 12-13. This is of course a massive improvement already and I do try and remind myself that even if things feel bad now, they are never as bad as they have been before!

(it's still frustrating though roblem: )

 

[FleurP]

Thanks fellow pumpers, it's very nice to know we are all in the same boat. It's true that the pump is worth it, just sometimes it's a drag. My pump specialist explained that many people need a tweak every 4 to 6 months. For me, this one has been a massive tweak. I think the flu jab brought it on! I think I also need a seasonal adjustment. I guess just being so in tune (as the pump is) leads to blips. Remember those night time hypos on long acting peeps? Anyway, my patterns had no rhyme or reason highs and lows and it took the pump specialist to see. I believe there is no other way than testing and emailing results, however tedious. I'm in my 6th pump year, my 26th diabetic year. It gets harder but that's partly because I work harder at it. I've come to realise that it doesn't go away and it makes a really positive psychological difference to knows there's others out there in the same boat.

 

[FleurP]

Josie, can I recommend an app to pumpers?

 

[Unicornz]

Oh please do! Which app is it I've not heard of any apps for pumping before, could you PM me it otherwise?