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Pump approved - what to expect?

MrsMushroom

MrsMushroom

Member
Messages
23
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
2 weeks ago I received my confirmation letter from my hospital that I have been approved for my pump!

I have only been T1 for 4 years (diagnosed Good Friday 2011) so I am very very lucky to be getting one so early on. I have done my research and I have chosen the Paradigm Veo because of the CGM capabilities it has.

I have my next clinic appointment next Friday and I should find out my start date then, hopefully around the end of March.

What I would like to ask is, how difficult are the first few weeks with a pump? I have been advised to take the first week off work because it is quite hard going with the testing every 2 hours including nights. My employers are fine with this, but I wondered if it was really necessary?

Also, as of next week I am starting training for my first half marathon in May. Should I still continue to train for those first few weeks of being on the pump?
 
The first few weeks of the pump are difficult.

I am almost 3 months in and still not fully setup yet.

There will be testing, testing, more testing and then a little bit more testing.

In many ways it is more intensive than MDI but you should get the benefits of that if you put in the hard work.

I was in a similar postion to yourself of going on a pump relatively quickly. I was diagnosed in June 2012 and started my pump in November 2014.

I notice on you profile your from Scotland, what part are you from?
 
Thank you for your replies! I am from Dundee. We're really very lucky here in that consultants, well at least the ones I have seen - are very keen for T1s to go on a pump. Providing you meet the criteria, the funding is available for everyone that wants it.

How did you find the first few weeks @dtennant9 ?
 
MrsMushroom said:
Thank you for your replies! I am from Dundee. We're really very lucky here in that consultants, well at least the ones I have seen - are very keen for T1s to go on a pump. Providing you meet the criteria, the funding is available for everyone that wants it.

How did you find the first few weeks @dtennant9 ?
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I am just outside Dundee and go to the clinic at Ninewells.
I assume you are at the same clinic but they are very pro pump there.
The first few weeks were fine but like I said I am still setting everything up and working through my basal testing. I have my first pump clinic on 17th February but I have been warned that my HbA1c may have gone up from before I went on the pump.
 
Yes, I go to the clinic at Ninewells. They have been really very good with me, I was diagnosed when I was pregnant with my son. I spent Easter weekend in hospital on a sliding scale, 6 months pregnant. I have never been so frightened in my life, but they were fantastic and have been ever since. My younger brother was diagnosed 6 months after me, it was really very strange! He isn't interested in going on a pump as he feels happy with MDI, everyone is different I suppose though.

My last HBA1C in October was around 7.5 and I have been a lot tighter with my control since then so i'm really hoping it has come down, it certainly should have! I have heard it can go up after starting a pump but after a few months of getting used to it you should see a difference?
 
I've been on my pump for three weeks though it feels more like three months.

It's been really hard for me. I didn't take any time off work but I ended up calling in sick for two days, and when I went back my colleagues were clearly alarmed at how unwell I seemed. I also underestimated the emotional impact of completing changing a routine I'd had for 15 years. Insulin through a pump works differently than through an injection, and suddenly the 'rules' I'd relied on for years weren't working. I've felt really out of control and helpless.

BUT things turned a corner at the weekend and I feel like my old self again. My blood sugars are coming under control and I've got to know some of the new rules I'll live by. Having this forum has really helped, because although my diabetes nurse is very good there's nothing like talking to people who've been through what you have.

I would take the advice and book time off work for the first week, where you're pretty much guaranteed blood sugars out of your normal range. But then I think it's important to follow your normal routine, if you have one. Many people have different pump settings for weekdays and weekends, so if you stayed off work for a while and got your settings right, they'd probably have to be changed completely once you went back to work.

On a similar note, do you run regularly and do a lot of races / marathons? If you do, then you'll need to figure out your exercise settings pretty quickly, so you may as well go ahead (assuming you're not having hypo problems). If the marathon is a one-off, I would say it's a complication you don't need in the first few months of pumping.
 
Ninewells are good, did get in to trouble a wee bit yesterday though for not doing something quite right. They are always very good at phoning you when you have issues though. You will get fed up of the DSN phoning you in the first week though. The first day I left the hospital at 3pm with instructions to call them at 4:30pm, they actually called me before that. They then called back at 7:30pm and 10pm. My DSN was particularly happy that I was going out for a meal that night as it was my first night on the pump. Actually had 3 hypos that first evening though.

My HbA1c was 6.4 in September so I'm really expecting it to be a bit higher than that. I always thought that was a bit skewed though as I had a lot of hypos. I don't have so many now.

Your diagnosis does sound a bit scary.

The hospital actually suggested a pump to me as a future possibility the day after I was diagnosed, at that point I was dead against it
 
PepperTed said:
I've been on my pump for three weeks though it feels more like three months.

It's been really hard for me. I didn't take any time off work but I ended up calling in sick for two days, and when I went back my colleagues were clearly alarmed at how unwell I seemed. I also underestimated the emotional impact of completing changing a routine I'd had for 15 years. Insulin through a pump works differently than through an injection, and suddenly the 'rules' I'd relied on for years weren't working. I've felt really out of control and helpless.

BUT things turned a corner at the weekend and I feel like my old self again. My blood sugars are coming under control and I've got to know some of the new rules I'll live by. Having this forum has really helped, because although my diabetes nurse is very good there's nothing like talking to people who've been through what you have.

I would take the advice and book time off work for the first week, where you're pretty much guaranteed blood sugars out of your normal range. But then I think it's important to follow your normal routine, if you have one. Many people have different pump settings for weekdays and weekends, so if you stayed off work for a while and got your settings right, they'd probably have to be changed completely once you went back to work.

On a similar note, do you run regularly and do a lot of races / marathons? If you do, then you'll need to figure out your exercise settings pretty quickly, so you may as well go ahead (assuming you're not having hypo problems). If the marathon is a one-off, I would say it's a complication you don't need in the first few months of pumping.
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Glad your starting to get things under control @PepperTed
 
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