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New to pump

J

JoeT90

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Dear team,
I am new to the forum and am just about to get a pump for the first time. I am hoping that you might be able to advise which pump is going to be beat for me.
I am 37 and was diagnosed 34 years ago. My HbA1c is not great but not high enough to qualify me for NHS pump therapy. I have dawn phenomen and also work erratic shifts. I am active playing football, jogging and cycling. I also like to go out for a few drinks and eat anything I want. If you have any suggestions about pumps that might suit me please share. Thank you. Joe x
 
Hello

I'm not a pump user, but the following may prove of some use to you. At least until other forum members can share their first hand experience of the various devices available:

http://www.inputdiabetes.org.uk/alt-insulin-pumps/pumpchoice/

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/insulin/Insulin-pumps.html

Cheers,
Grant
 
Write down what is important to you...

Do you do any swimming?
Are you doing any contact sports?
Do you want a pump that has a remote control to do your bolus's for food, or can you manage to do with a pump that you take off each time to bolus?

It is good if you get a choice of pump... But be warned some hospitals don't.. They are trained with one pump and thats your choice, take it or leave it!! Be sure you have a choice of pumps before looking at options.
As my nurse said to me "most patients are so grateful to get a pump it doesn't matter that we only offer one"......
 
JoeT90 said:
My HbA1c is not great but not high enough to qualify me for NHS pump therapy. x
Click to expand...

Are you planning on self funding a pump then? I don't think you can just buy one. The pump supplier would need to know that you would have appropriate medical support to use the pump and if your NHS hospital isn't supporting you, that would need to be privately provided. I'm not sure how that would work.

In any event, hba1c isn't the one determinant as to whether you qualify for a pump on the NHS - have a look at the INPUT diabetes website for guidelines on whether you might qualify, or get in touch with the them to ask for their advice on how to access a pump on the NHS.
 
To get a pump on the NHS you need to meet certain criteria your consultant will file an application and send it off for approval.

For me it was the Dawn Phenomenon that swung it for me. As to whether there was anything else that swayed their decision in my favour i do not know.

I didn't get a choice but as it happens after reading through the manuals of the pumps that the NHS supply i was given one of tge pumps that i would have chosen if i had had the choice.

I think that no matter what pump you are given you will be happy with the control you get with it.
My Hba1c came down from 70 to 51 and this test was done after only 2 months (annual review).

I don't drink as such just a pint if we go out for a meal and a small bottle probably 2 or 3 times a week, rarely more often less.
Your post seems to imply you might be a bit of a drinker and maybe this could be a factor against you being given a pump. This is just my thinking and it's not meant to insult you or anyone.

Also being on a pump you need to put a lot of work into it to get optimum results out of it, and it takes time especially initially but its ongoing.

Regards

Martin
 

Thank you, since my first post I have started reading and writing the exact list that you mention.
So far I figure that I need a pump that can link to apple software, is waterproof and is durable. The remote would be very handy as I do 14 hour shifts and barely get time to eat let alone undress and programme my pump.
Unfortunately I have yet to discover a pump that covers all these options.
 

Hi, thanks for your reply. I apparently have dawn according to recent CGM analysis and am not planning to self fund. I also work shifts and can add that to my case (although I have already been accepted for pump therapy by the NHS). My hospital is a front runner in diabetes care and have asked me to tell them which pump I would like (I believe there are 10 available in the UK). NICE guidance is the best place to look for pump therapy criteria as this is what the NHS use.
I have only just decided to try pump therapy after 34 years with diabetes and want to get it right first time to avoid trialling multiple pumps.
 
 
Hi Martin,

I appreciate all the information you have given. Perhaps I was not clear in my original post but I wanted to find people that are similar to myself, or who had pump therapy whilst they were similar to myself. Eg. Male, 30's, active (football, running, cycling), shift work (I am a doctor so unpredictable working patterns), HbA1c of ~60, dawn phenomenon, occasional drinker. It looks as though I might have to sacrifice the waterproof option as it doesn't appear that I can get a pump with everything I need and waterproof. I do surf when I can and am looking to learn to sail but hopefully I wont spend too much time submerged.
Can I ask which pump you use and whether it has any of the qualities I am looking for?

Thank you.

Joe
 

That's good, sorry, I must have been overly pessimistic in reading your post! INPUT diabetes are a charity that specialise in access to diabetic technology via the NHS so are helpful for people who have had guidelines interpreted perhaps a bit too strictly. They set out the relevant NICE guidelines and the ABCD guidelines. It actually sounds as though you have qualified under ABCD, rather than NICE.

You won't get to trial multiple pumps. Once you decide on one, they are warranted for ~4 years and you won't get to swap your pump until the warranty is up (unless there is an exceptional reason). So it is definitely worth researching what would work best for you thoroughly. Some pumps will let you trial a dummy pump with saline. This is probably only possible with the omnipod. But it is worth trying to actually get hold of pumps that you are interested in via a meeting with the pump rep so that you can actually get your hands on them and get a feel for them in real life. I would also recommend searching YouTube for reviews of different pumps from people using them, as well as videos o people setting them up and inserting them, that should give you a good idea of what they might be like.

I love my omnipod. Its discrete if I need it to be. I can operate it remotely - that was important to me, i didn't want to have to fish something out from under a dress to bolus - possibly not a key concern for you! It's waterproof, I haven't had an problem with it staying stuck on for exercise (but I don't do anything approaching contact sports). Most pumps will let you set up several different basal rates - so you could have a night shift basal profile and a day shift basal profile or a weekday/weekend etc.

The other thing I would recommend in preparation for commencing pump therapy is gettin a copy of the book "pumping insulin".
 
I use the Medtronic 640G it doesn't have a remote but the BG meter sends the results directly to the pump where then if required you can bolus using the bolus wizard on the pump to work out your insulin requirements for the carbs you are taking .

This pump is waterproof but when i mentioned this to the Rep when i was being shown how to use it he said just disconnect it and reconnect it after your shower. On that point i have been reading a highly recommended book called "think like a pancreas" it it states in there that hot showers could cause the insulin to coagulate in the tubing.

You mentioned you don't always find time to eat, this in my opinon is a great concern more so when you first start using a pump as your basal dosage will be different and more effective and will need adjustment ( I'm actually using less than 50% than when on MDI") also your insulin to carb ratios will probably change and if like me you may find that you will use less bolus.
I have found and i dare say most if not all people using a pump is that insulin is much more effective with this form of delivery.

Regards

Martin
 
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