Hi Zibi 1
I self fund my pump, but I am not in the UK, I work in the Middle East. I knew I wouldnt be able to get one in the UK so decided to go it alone.
I agree that it would be better to have some support from medical staff, but saying that, I havnt had any....I had one doctor over here who put me on it, but even then I knew what to do myself, after that I have pretty much been on my own as the doctors here are not trained for insulin pump therapy and rarely come across a young type 1 to deal with. Since being on it I do from time to time wish I had better medical support, it just feels better to have someone to ask questions, hence why I come on this forum a lot.
These are the things I did/do in order to prepare myself for going it alone with the pump:
- Watch the tutorials online from the relevant pump supplier, for me it was Medtronic and the tutorials were great
- Watch the tutorials on youtube for cannuler insertions, also great and made it look so easy
- Buy a book called 'Pumping Insulin' (forgot the authors name)
- Be prepared to test your blood many, many times a day at the beginning
- Be prepared to set your alarm several times a night in order to get your basals right
- Ask questions on forums such as these one for a little guidance from time to time
The other thing to consider is the cost of the upkeep of the pump. I have no idea whether the NHS funds pump supplies, but if they dont you will be spending easily GBP150+ per month
I found out I was pregnant recently which coincided with me getting the pump (a conicidence!). I unfortunately have had not had the time to experiment very much with the different features the pump has to offer but I look forward to doing so after the pregnancy. In the short 4 or so months I have had the pump, i would not give it up for the world, I kmow it seems a bit exagerated to say this, but the pump really has changed my life (okay my diabetes life!)
So I suppose after that long post what I am trying to say is that it is possible to teach and support yourself, but you must be prepared to put in a lot f work!