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New to insulin pump therapy

alannemo56

alannemo56

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi

My name is Alan I am 58 years of age and I have been insulin dependant for 27 years the first 25 of which without problems however it decided not to play ball around the start of 2013 and lost me my licence for a year which caused major upset and hassle with regards to work and trying to deal with day to day living as I also lost my job due to no licence however now got things back on track and have been accepted for pump therapy starting on the 14/01/15 on a Medtronic veo pump .
Can anyone help with some info as to what to expect in the early days of pump use as I am a bit apprehensive due to injecting for so long
 
Your DSN will give you lots of support (at least, mine did). When you "go live" you will most likely be put on a basal level where you will tend to run high. This will be sorted out, in time, using basal testing. Your present carb ratios will be entered into the pump, so you can use the bolus wizard which works out how much insulin should be given for the amount of carbs you eat. You should be given a ketone monitor and strips, as you'll have to test for ketones any time your BG is 14 or more. In Scotland, it is only pump patients that can be prescribed ketone blood testing strips - everyone else gets urine strips (NICE guidelines apparently).

There will be a lot of testing during the first few weeks on the pump. After your levels are OK there won't be so much testing but you will still have to test a lot. It's a lot of work but it is worth it.

Your DSN will probably suggest a cannula suitable for your way of life, but if it doesn't suit, there are other options.

It is a worrying/stressful time in the first week or two but it eventually falls into place and your blood sugars will end up at appropriate levels.

I was in my mid 50s when I went on the pump and it's the best thing ever. Good luck!
 
As with any new insulin regime, you can expect blood sugars to be all over the place............but more so with the pump, the risk of more hypos..........due to the insulin efficiency being significantly increased.......

Its strange at first, but not having to think about doing background injections and not having to dial up and inject your dose will feel really good......:)
 
vic hill said:
steady as you dose up or down very small increase on basel rates i.e. .02 to 05 per unit per hour
then when you come to carbs per meal try to be fair to as it will better in long run as the insulin say one unit per 10 grams or it may one unit to 15 grams depends what insulin you are on me i on nova rapid 30 min action over a 4 hour period
as other members say you will soon settle down good luck
on a note the pump was the best thing i have been on since 2007 plus a kidney transplant the but also the NHS is great service to us and do ring your nurse if you need advice as they know you case good luck
vic
Click to expand...


Thanks Vic

Much obliged for the info will keep you posted how it all goes, the replies on the forum are really helpful and encouraging

Cheers

Alan
 
novorapidboi26 said:
As with any new insulin regime, you can expect blood sugars to be all over the place............but more so with the pump, the risk of more hypos..........due to the insulin efficiency being significantly increased.......

Its strange at first, but not having to think about doing background injections and not having to dial up and inject your dose will feel really good......:)
Click to expand...
Hi
Thanks for replying its really helpful having the assuring that you can tap into the knowledge of the forum community for help

Thanks again

Alan
 
dancer said:
Your DSN will give you lots of support (at least, mine did). When you "go live" you will most likely be put on a basal level where you will tend to run high. This will be sorted out, in time, using basal testing. Your present carb ratios will be entered into the pump, so you can use the bolus wizard which works out how much insulin should be given for the amount of carbs you eat. You should be given a ketone monitor and strips, as you'll have to test for ketones any time your BG is 14 or more. In Scotland, it is only pump patients that can be prescribed ketone blood testing strips - everyone else gets urine strips (NICE guidelines apparently).

There will be a lot of testing during the first few weeks on the pump. After your levels are OK there won't be so much testing but you will still have to test a lot. It's a lot of work but it is worth it.

Your DSN will probably suggest a cannula suitable for your way of life, but if it doesn't suit, there are other options.

It is a worrying/stressful time in the first week or two but it eventually falls into place and your blood sugars will end up at appropriate levels.

I was in my mid 50s when I went on the pump and it's the best thing ever. Good luck!
Click to expand...



Thanks for the info it helps me to understand just what I'll be coming up against all change but hopefully for the better, it's the positive comments on the forum that help to put me at ease with the up and coming regime

Once again thanks

Alan
 
Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply I will certainly keep you posted regarding my progress with pump therapy and here's hoping I get used to it quickly

Catch you soon

Alan
 
Buy the book pumping insulin by John Walsh. That's your pumpers Bible :)
 
Will do just had aloof at it online looks like a great guide

Thanks for the heads up
 
Hi Alan

I've used a Medtronic Veo for the past 4 years but have been using a pump for 14 years.

When I changed to Medtronic I had a half day session with a few other pump users , DSN and Medtronic rep who went through all the set up, how the pump menus worked, alarms and errors you may get, plus the details of inserting cannulas, filling the reservoir etc. The Medtronic help line is really good if you need any help with particular pump issues.

As the others have said, take it all slowly and test a lot. Have a large supply of blood test strips and hypo treatments at your disposal and expect some blood sugar upheaval but little by little as you get the correct basal rates set and the correct carb ratios your control should start to become easier. The pump has so many great features to allow fine tuning of control, and as you get used to it you become more confident about using the different types of bolus delivery etc. Being able to set a temporary basal rate due to unexpected events is invaluable.

After a few months -if that -you really won't miss injecting and I hope it will solve the problems you have faced. Good luck
 
Thanks for the advice general concences appears to be taking it slow and that's what I'll be doing, it's been invaluable the advice everyone has given me and I am so thankful for you all.
This is so going to be a bit of a challenge for an old injecting timer but hey as they say onwards and upwards.
Will keep posted how things transpire .

Thanks again

Alan
 
Hi Alan
I've been diabetic over 33yrs but just started a Medtronic pump 3 months ago. I too was a little apprehensive, however it's really great once you get used to it. It took me a good month or so to feel comfortable with all the mechanics and get used to always having it attached/hooked on to my person.
After 3 months, my hba1c has not come down as quickly as I'd hoped as I've been a little too cautious (although it's not gone up!) so that's my focus over next few months, to use it to it's full potential!
Good luck to you - hope it goes well.
 
Thanks for your comment it has really helped me being on the forum I'm sure I will take to it a lot easier than I first thought as long as I follow all the good advice received

Thanks again

Alan
 
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