should i get a insulin pump????

[flojo1234]

hiya guys,
havnt been on here for a while, but im confused and i thought that id come to the best people for advice.
last year i asked my consaultant ( at clinic) about a insulin pump and he didnt seem to keen on it.
i was talking to my psycholigist about 3 weeks ago and she asked if id ever considered having a insulin pump and i told her about the time that i spoke to my consultant, she said that she though it would be a good idea for me to ask about 1 next time i was at clinic so she wrote a lettter to my consultant.
i had clinic today and i spoke to my consultant ( the 1 that i spoke to last time) and he said that it is hard to get funding as i am over 12, ( i am 12 and 4 months) and i asked the diabetic nurse some questions, as she has 1. she asked me weather i would like to have this machine stuck to me 24/7. but she said that it was up to me weather i wanted to try 1 for the weekend. i would only have to insert 1 needle every 3 days compared to 12.
this is where i need your advice, do you think id be better staying with injections, or trying a insulin pump??
thanks alot for your advice, i am always grateful.
chloe :?

 

[janabelle]

Hi Chloe
I've no experience of pumps, but there's a section dedicated to "pumpers" on this forum which might give you more of an idea what living with a pump would be like. It's like anything;some people love them and some people like me, wouldn't fancy it. I've been type-1 since I was 19, 21 years now, and had BG control probs over the years and probs with particular insulins; for me the answer has been changing to porcine insulin, an animal variety-pig , but took me 19 years to discover it. That's not to say I would ever rule a pump out in the future if things ever went haywire!
Are you having any particular problems that's made you consider changing to a pump, or is it just injecting generally?
Jus

 

[flojo1234]

hiya, thanks for replying i really appreciate it!!
when i was first diagnosed i was fine with my injections but then a couple of months afterwards i started to struggle and its been like that ever since, i have bruises and i HATE injecting!!!
i really struggle and i get very stressed over it.
i am REALLY confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you chloe. :roll:

 

[Dustydazzler]

Hi Chloe, I haven't had Diabetes very long. As soon as I was diagnosed last year, I knew I didn't want to stick a million injections in myself. I've gone onto the pump 18 months after diagnosis. I think as a young person with many more years of injecting you should absolutly consider it. Yes it's connected 24/7 but hardly anyone knows what it is. It's better than getting needles out in public! It's a great conversation starter with new friends who spot it! I see it as my little own pancreas in my pocket. It's much more flexible than injectons as you can adjust the insulin hour by hour so it fits in with whatever activity you are doing there and then. No thinking about it days in advance! And the most important thing to realise, if you try it, and don't like it, you can always go back to injecting. But I think you'd do just great with it and would never want a needle anywhere near you again! Go for it!

 

[janabelle]

Hi chloe
That sounds awful and painful, you don't want to be covered in bruises in summer either
What size of needles are you using? I don't use a pen, but vial and syringes-the size of my needle is (reading this off the pack) 0.3mm (30G) X 8mm (length). They're so tiny and much smaller than I used to get and I rarely even feel it go in.
However I do feel it when I'm on my period, for some reason injections can be painful at that time. You are at an age when your body is going through a lot of hormonal changes- that may be another reason for painful injections??.
Do you inject at an angle or straight in? When I was diagnosed and packed of to hospital for the day, I remember my first injection being agony when the nurse stuck it straight in the top of my leg-OUCH! Can't bear injections there since because of that experience. I inject at a slight angle on my arms, straight in on my buttock area, and straight in my tummy, but then I would guess I've got a lot more fat there than you!! Your insulin only needs to go under the skin, injecting too deep can cause bruising, maybe you need to inject at a slight angle on less fatty areas. You can try pinching the skin slightly and holding it while you inject, though that's a bit tricky with upper arms.
Also, don't know what insulins you're on, but some people have reported particular insulins causing pain on injection or stinging- is that a problem for you?
Jus

 

[jopar]

Hi flojo

I've been using my pump for two years, and wouldn't want to go back to injections at all.. I've found no problems with wearing it..

The pump has many advantages over injections and more so for the growing child/teenager as you can react and adjust insulin control/delivery a lot quicker to meet the changing needs, I suspect you already experienced this, you've settled your control down nicely, you have a growth spurt, and have to resort all your insulin to suit again.

You can also adjust to suit your needs to what you are doing a lot easier... Take for example today, I was taking my dogs out for their second walk/exercise of the day, this walk of the day is the longer more active one.. I checked my BG's before leaving, they were 4.8mmol/l if I had been on injections I would had to have a snack, overwise I would hit hypo during the walk and I really didn't want anything to eat... Having the pump I could set a temperory basal rate so had less insulin being delivered so that I didn't got hypo or need food while out with the dogs

I've found that most people really don't notice my pump, even though a lot of the time it's on open view clipped to my jeans waist band... But I think that because most people just percieve it to be an MP3 player and tubing is the headphone stuck in my pocket 8) As that is how several of my friends described it has being when they first saw it...

I would give it a try, you can always give it back.. As to funding well your consultant gave you the stock answer, but at the end of the day all he needs to do is give his clinical judgement that you need one, and then it should be funded... If you do hit problems with this and your really want to try the pump... I can point your mum in the right direction to the people who can help her to sort it out, just give a shout if you need the info.. As they helped me as I had a battle to get my pump so know the ropes

 

[Molewitters]

Hi Chloe

I've been Diabetic for 28 years and I'm now 30. I've been using an insulin pump for 3 years now and believe me when I say it will change your life it will!

I do remember saying to the Medtronic tech ten minutes after inserting my first set and having done a blood test "Hey it's working! I can't feel a thing" I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect it to work that quickly. I would not go back to injection as at that time I had been taking 6-9 a day what with correcting and such. One needle every three days is bliss.

Yes it was awkward at first and I was very aware of it but after a bit of experimenting I soon found the best place for me (clipped to my bra). Night times I use a thigh stap but I have heard of people using garters or leaving it loose. Going out on the tiles is also easy unless wearing a tight strap but you can always find somewhere to clip it. Once using the extra long wire I had it clipped to the top of a boot!

I think noone really notices when I pull it out and do things on it as most just think it's another gadget. I once had someone ask me if they could use it to make a call. When I refused he offered money and I just told him it was a beeper and couldn't make any calls :lol: :lol:

When I was first put on the pump (named Bob by my nephew!) My Hba1c was 13.8 and had never been below 10 in the 25 years. It's control is brittle at the best of times... After having it for one month I went back to the clinic and found out that my Hba1c had gone down to 8.6 suddenly my world opened up and the thought that I finally had a bright future was there I was so shocked at the time that I then threw a hypo - that surprised the Consultant :lol:

Whether you choose to or not is up to you but I would reccommend it and if you don't like it you can always go back to injecting. Check out the website for INPUT - it's a website dedicated to insulin pumps and it has life experiences of other pumpers and how they deal with the pumps on a daily basis.

Good luck

 

[flojo1234]

thank you all for your excellent advice (always)
i have novorapid 3 times a day and levemier at night i switched from lantus because it was stinging. i pinch everytime i do my injecting as it helps, and i try to put it in straight but if i just want to get it done i just put it in ( so sometimes goes in at a slant! :roll: ) it would be ace if i wouldnt have to inject in public! had a episode in starbucks the other day when i cried because i couldnt get it in my tummy or leg but my mum helped me to calm down and then she pinched for me!( dont know what id do without her!)
i think i will give it a try as my nurse said that i can try it for a weekend with just saline in it to see what it was like for me. i think i will give it a go and ill report back.
thanks again for all the great advice!
chloe.x

 

[janabelle]

Best of luck with that Chloe,
If it's not intrusive and causes you less pain and strife that injecting is causing you at the mo, it might be the answer for you. Let us know how you get on with it
What Jopar said about excercise and being able to adjust her basal dose sounds good; I've recently taken up jogging and even if my BG is 8 or above,and even on days when I've had NO short-acting insulin at all, I iusually end up hypo after a run. Bit of a pain, but I always carry lucozade(sick to death of it!) and dextrosol tablets.
take care
Jus x