Personal experience of the benefits of using a pump against pens

What about taking a pump holiday for a short while?
You can still use the Libre when on pens.

Hi Soplewis12

I have been using the Omnipod Dash since Feb 2021. I have had to make a lot of changes since going onto the pump although not as many as yourself. My basal rate has doubled. My experience of pens is limited. The changes I had to make were mainly due to me being on a variety of other medications such as steroids.

Sorry to hear about the challenges you are facing. Could your Pump team be of support to you ?

Antje77 suggestion of perhaps taking a break from the pump might the way to go

Hope you find a solution that works for you

I've been pumping for a few years, for me pumping works really well, overnight is much better. However I have to say that since having covid at Easter my control has been haywire and almost impossible to predict. I can have good days/week and very bad days for no obvious reason. Prior to covid I was pretty stable.

Soplewis12 said:

Hi All,
I have been using omnipod dash pump & libre 2 sensor for 15 months now & my honest opinion is that it is such more difficult than insulin pens. I don't know whether it is because I have been told that I am insulin sensitive or not & with just using fast acting insulin 24/7 this makes a difference.I have found that my day to day insulin regime is much more difficult to control & I'm getting really fed up. It just seems to go from bad to worse, once spotting a need for alteration (Every few days,) I change & then it impact on something else.
I'm reluctant to go back to pens incase closed loop system with omnipod 5 makes a difference but I am really interested to hear of other people's experiences from pens to pumps. Thanks

Click to expand...

I have been on accucheck insight pump for about 7 years and the libre now. It doesn't help that they phased out the handset and now the pump soon as well. I'd looked forward to going in the pump for years as I thought it would solve so many problems. But it didn't. It's great having this one machine plugged in but there in lays a problem. I would not inject in the same place with the pen but that is what you do when you don't change the cannula with each meal or each day ( which of course you don't do). I have to change doses and basal rates too and then there's another reason to change them again just a few days later if that. Having my MySugr app fail me this year and wipe all my measurements caused me huge problems. I was always a little weary of trusting a machine to take over from me and do my calculations as I thought not having to think about that but I may get rusty. And when the app calculator failed then I had a problem. But that's in part to do with my pump no longer having a handset to have all that info easily to hand. So this pump is no longer progressing or improving but maybe others are. But I am also concerned about a closed loop system for the previously mentioned reasons. I have ME and terrible brain fog so have to make myself lots of notes. Hope you find some answer

Pumping works better for me with the Accu-Check Combo. I know it's a really outdated pump in comparison to the newer ones, but it suits me. I loved the freedom of the Omnipod, but unfortunately had to stop using it due to lots of high blood sugars, erratic blood sugars and raised red hard lumps beneath the pods. The rep was brilliant and we tried lots of different settings etc, but it just wouldn't work for me. Getting a new pump in September, either Medtronic 680g or Tandem TSlim2.

Soplewis12 said:

Hi All,
I have been using omnipod dash pump & libre 2 sensor for 15 months now & my honest opinion is that it is such more difficult than insulin pens. I don't know whether it is because I have been told that I am insulin sensitive or not & with just using fast acting insulin 24/7 this makes a difference.I have found that my day to day insulin regime is much more difficult to control & I'm getting really fed up. It just seems to go from bad to worse, once spotting a need for alteration (Every few days,) I change & then it impact on something else.
I'm reluctant to go back to pens incase closed loop system with omnipod 5 makes a difference but I am really interested to hear of other people's experiences from pens to pumps. Thanks

Click to expand...

T1 for 49ers and have used everything from a glass syringe using 10 units / ml to pens and finally a Medtronic 780G closed loop system . The journey has been extremely complex until now . The pump is my 2nd , previously a 640G upgraded to current 2021. The difference is remarkable A1c now 44 . One tip I learned recently is always carry a pen when out and about, my infusion set became detached , unknown to me for about 2 hrs so only knew when a high alert was given .I was attending a social function which I had to leave and return home because I didn’t have a pen with me .

coz53 said:

One tip I learned recently is always carry a pen when out and about, my infusion set became detached , unknown to me for about 2 hrs so only knew when a high alert was given .I was attending a social function which I had to leave and return home because I didn’t have a pen with me .

Click to expand...

I always carry a syringe with me in case my pump fails.
I find carrying a pen is a waste of expensive insulin cartridges - my pump fails very rarely but a pen cartridge only last so long and will be thrown away without being used.

On the other hand, a syringe can be filled from some pumps (or vials if not) so less waste and take up much less space.

In Response said:

I always carry a syringe with me in case my pump fails.
I find carrying a pen is a waste of expensive insulin cartridges - my pump fails very rarely but a pen cartridge only last so long and will be thrown away without being used.

On the other hand, a syringe can be filled from some pumps (or vials if not) so less waste and take up much less space.

Click to expand...

I used to do the same but now when a pen is half way through its "out of fridge" shelf life I use them to fill the pump, also I put pens in a Frio too.

Soplewis12 said:

Hi All,
I have been using omnipod dash pump & libre 2 sensor for 15 months now & my honest opinion is that it is such more difficult than insulin pens. I don't know whether it is because I have been told that I am insulin sensitive or not & with just using fast acting insulin 24/7 this makes a difference.I have found that my day to day insulin regime is much more difficult to control & I'm getting really fed up. It just seems to go from bad to worse, once spotting a need for alteration (Every few days,) I change & then it impact on something else.
I'm reluctant to go back to pens incase closed loop system with omnipod 5 makes a difference but I am really interested to hear of other people's experiences from pens to pumps. Thanks

Click to expand...

It took me over a year to get my pump settings right, and they still need tweaking fairly frequently. Some of this is down to changing lifestyle, some weather, and some of it is probably just my body changing as I get older. I still think the benefits of the pump make it worth the effort, though as I've managed to get my Hba1c down significantly.

I also have been on Omnipod Dash for about nine months. I will not continue when I run out. While the convenience is certainly attractive, there is too much variability in the proper function of the pump. I never know, when my blood glucose begins to rise, whether it's because I ate the wrong thing or whether the pump is malfunctioning or coming loose just enough from my body to make insulin delivery incomplete. At least with injections, I know exactly what insulin is floating around in my body. I will start a new regimen, which I trialed for a month earlier, of Tresiba, Novlog and Afrezza (to cut after-meal highs.) Doing this, I got my A1c down by a point!!

tamdem basal iq with Acu Chek Combo before then:
PLUS
Flexibility of hourly dosing
Unplugging when dropping too low or for exercise
When used with Dexcom as a closed loop it has been fantastic.
Otherwise you have the same variables re illness, pmt, counting carbs accurately etc that you do with pens.
MINUS
Canulas do get loose and tubing can get blocked
Loads of extra waste from packaging
Having to order supplies from different places requires a little more oganised
Pump bump!

It clearly isn't a magic bullet for me except for the past year where the tandem/dexcom combo has seen my hba1c go down from 64 (a blip from average 54) down to 48 something I've never achieved solo.
Much less hypos given the safety set up of the system and much flatter blood glucose in general due to the minute adjustments anticipated and made by the system.