Ready to quit pump use

Omnipod said:

Do you low carb? Do you think it helps because you're having less insulin so your sites don't get so bad? Was it poor absorption that made you swap to the Omnipod? And are you in the UK? I've never seen anyone with an Omnipod here. My clinic seems to use Accuchek for everyone.

I do low carb. I find it helps keep my blood sugar more stable. Stable blood sugars = good weight. Eating protein will help keep the weight on too.

Poor absorption and lack of areas to wear the pump made me change. Since I been on the Omnipod (1 year this month) I have never experienced any problems.
I am in London.
Some hospitals do not push the omnipod because they dont have staff trained up on the omnipod and or, they cant be bothered to help patients apply for funding. St Mary's Hospital and Chelsea Westminster are pro omnipod.

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Cool. I'm considering LCHF to try to limit spikes after eating. I'd also read research linking high insulin levels with various health problems, so I thought it would make sense to cut down on carbs to reduce my insulin. If it helps my weight that'd be great too. I have a fast metabolism and have always struggled to keep weight on even before I got diabetes.

Although I've ordered the Rapid Ds now, I am still going to read up about the Omnipod. I like to know my options, and it's great to hear what works for other people.

How many carbs do you have per day by the way?

donnellysdogs said:

Hi

Did you order a box of tubes as well for the rapid d's?

They have different connectors.

The rapid d's you prime before putting them in. Which is nice as you can assure yourself that the needle is working and that you haven't under or overprimed when you have to do it in you with the teflon ones....

My rule is because I am lean and muscly that "if set hurts, it won't work". Thats why I use my jlo bum as thats the most fat and I very rarely get pain. Did last week from the set feeling like it was hitting my hip bone when I lay on it. Normally bum totally ok, but too near to my hips cos there not alot of fat there I can occasionally think set been good all day, lie on it and I can feel it... So I know it not going to be good.
Normally instances like that are very rare.

Rapid d's are tiny needles and so easy to put in. I can't use them in my stomach or arms, as they do hit muscle. My legs seem to spurt a lot of blood so not good either.

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Thank you, yes, I did. Luckily the Accu Chek lady knew what I'd need and ordered the tubes too.

My favourite site is my legs - easy to see, easy to work down to rotate the sites, and not really in the way. My legs aren't fat so I put the cannula on the top but the outer top half, or on the side. There are quite a few blood vessels there so picking a place takes a bit of care. They do bleed sometimes, but the worst gusher I ever had was years ago when I used my tummy when I first had my pump. I had a few of them and they're not nice, and leave bruises too.

I'm really looking forward to trying the Rapid Ds. They look good, and I can see the logic of not having a Teflon cannula. Oh, if only everything was simple with diabetes! It's hard work sometimes. If only all the work we put in guaranteed perfect blood sugars!

Talking about gushing.. Off topic tho.. My finger gushed the other day, it was a new stabber in the stabber.. Did finger, gave a gentle squeeze as per usual.. Itliterally shot upward all over my face! If only it had been recorded... Have never had that happen in 30+ years!!! The blood literally spurted over 18"in the air!!
Perhaps my gushing on fingers is the reason my legs gush so much, very hard to avoid blood.

i limit my carbs to 30grams per meal for breakfast and lunch.
At dinner i usually have proteins and veg that grows above the ground. I Dont take any insulin with dinner. A typical dinner would be chicken breast with brocoli, carrots, and some salad. I cycle to work and back and I go to gym most evenings so my insulin bolus intake is very low. My basal is about 17.5 units per day and I bolus about 8 - 12 units per day to cover carbs.
My HBA1C was done today and Im 7.2%.
Im good with my HB in the 7's. Any lower and id probably have more hypos.

for drinks.... i usually drink robinsons or oasis 4 grams per 100ml so i dont need insulin with that. For fruit, I usually eat stuff like cherries which are low gi. Dont need insulin with cherries. You just need to do some research.

donnellysdogs said:

My dsn told me to look at utube for training when I considered your sets!!! That training comment really made me chuckle after what mine told me!!-lol.

Never did change to yours and stayed with rapid d's!

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Yes, I was slightly gobsmacked when she mentioned training : D The video link above doesn't make it seem hard at all. But there we are : D As long as I can get the sets and try them, I don't care. Mayb

Omnipod said:

i limit my carbs to 30grams per meal for breakfast and lunch.
At dinner i usually have proteins and veg that grows above the ground. I Dont take any insulin with dinner. A typical dinner would be chicken breast with brocoli, carrots, and some salad. I cycle to work and back and I go to gym most evenings so my insulin bolus intake is very low. My basal is about 17.5 units per day and I bolus about 8 - 12 units per day to cover carbs.
My HBA1C was done today and Im 7.2%.
Im good with my HB in the 7's. Any lower and id probably have more hypos.

for drinks.... i usually drink robinsons or oasis 4 grams per 100ml so i dont need insulin with that. For fruit, I usually eat stuff like cherries which are low gi. Dont need insulin with cherries. You just need to do some research.

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Thank you - very useful : )

I've been debating trying low carb for a good year or so, but this latest hiccup has really concentrated my mind on taking a good look at my diabetes. I'm going to up my exercise too. I used to do more, but it's easy to slip as the years go by.

donnellysdogs said:

Talking about gushing.. Off topic tho.. My finger gushed the other day, it was a new stabber in the stabber.. Did finger, gave a gentle squeeze as per usual.. Itliterally shot upward all over my face! If only it had been recorded... Have never had that happen in 30+ years!!! The blood literally spurted over 18"in the air!!
Perhaps my gushing on fingers is the reason my legs gush so much, very hard to avoid blood.

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: D I've had a finger squirt blood 6 inches on occasion, but that must be a record breaker! Oh, the fun of diabetes, eh? : D

I am in the same boat. I had a 3 week spell of better readings, after switching to straight sets and moving much further down from hip area to bum. However, today has been horrendous. I have done half a dozen set changes, none are taking and it is almost unbelievable how down i become when highs creep in - i feel utterly numb, helpless, horrible. I also have the issue that, right now, i am trying to gain weight after a relapse in recovery for anorexia - so i can't afford to just not eat, yet my carb fear has escalated even more! On top od that, my mum feels it's "my fault" a bit.
So yes - all a muddle! Sending all my thoughts and best wishes to other people struggling with this xxx

SophieH - I sympathise so much. This spell of high blood sugars has made me very down.

I kept the cannula in my tummy last night because the DSN said I should but I was up every two hours testing and at 7am my blood sugar was 9.7. I swear medical staff don't listen sometimes. I really hate the 'you must be doing something wrong' attitude. People don't get that with diabetes, you can be doing everything right and STILL have problems.

Have you tried your legs?

Don't let the carbs scare you. It's not them, it's the stupid absorption. Please don't let this setback affect your recovery from anorexia. I had that in my teens and it was awful. Concentrate your mental energy on being healthy - eating well, taking exercise, relaxing. That's how I got better - using my obsession to focus on good things not bad things. I know it's easy to say, but don't let the anorexia get strong again. Keep it down and treat it like the traitor it is.

Good luck with the blood sugars today.

my pet hate is when your pump tuning seems to be fine like last night. i was 5.1 before bed so I had a snack. Roughly 20 grams CHO. At 2:48am, I woke up with a 2.4 hypo. i did everything right and as per normal. Most nights I would do the same and not hypo...... but last night was horrible. My hypo feeling stayed for a good 40 mins even when I went up to 6 after 10 mins. Had a really bad night sleep and now I have to get to work. Diabetes is a pain in the ****

Too right! Diabetes is a real pain. It's speciality seems to be unpredictability. Hypos seem a distant memory at the moment, but a couple of months ago I had a night-time one for no reason whatsoever. My blood sugar had been 5.9 at 11pm, and I woke up just after 1am with that horrible racing heart - and my blood sugar had dropped right down and took SIX glucose tablets and half a cereal bar to get it back up. It always makes me laugh when medical people talk about working out a pattern or finding a reason. Often there just isn't one.

My top wish is, of course, for a cure - preferably tomorrow : D

But in the absence of that, if only we could do our bit and have our blood sugars always stay in the perfect range. No highs, no lows - ever.

I can dream! : D

While I'm waiting for my Rapid D sets, I've experimented with a Tenderlink in my arm. My tummy wasn't working and I got fed up and thought I might as well try my arm. It's not hurting at all and looks fine but it was really fiddly to put in! I felt I needed an extra couple of arms!

SophieH said:

I am in the same boat. I had a 3 week spell of better readings, after switching to straight sets and moving much further down from hip area to bum. However, today has been horrendous. I have done half a dozen set changes, none are taking and it is almost unbelievable how down i become when highs creep in - i feel utterly numb, helpless, horrible. I also have the issue that, right now, i am trying to gain weight after a relapse in recovery for anorexia - so i can't afford to just not eat, yet my carb fear has escalated even more! On top od that, my mum feels it's "my fault" a bit.
So yes - all a muddle! Sending all my thoughts and best wishes to other people struggling with this xxx

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Report these instances to the pump manufacturer.

Not read all the replies but I am on a pump as I have lost my hypo warning signs and with the sensor it is invaluable. Sensor says high or low so I can adjust accordingly.

All I could say is consider why you went on the pump initially and decide if you want to return to those problems rather than the ones you are having now - personal choice is a valuable item.

For me although I also have pump problems the fact that my sensor tells me about high or low BS is so important I could never revert to injections againi..

@cjw, you could run the CGM sensor without a pump. I did, on and off for over a year before going on the pump.