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so many Qs :)

L

Lily-Anne

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi,

Am new to the forum although have been type 1 for a year (and probably longer, undiagnosed). Due to erratic levels my specialist is referring me to a "special specialist" (I love that term). They want me to get a pump - initial reaction was "great - I get it on insurance" but now that I am researching it I am not convinced it's so much better.

Am reading as much as I can but like so many of us I am busy. I teach English as a foreign language in the Czech Republic (am Scottish) and train teachers and examine and study. My old students are used to me having to eat during lessons but the area I work in is high profile and I deal with a lot of high-powered clients therefore I don't really wish to make a big deal of my situation.

Vanity is definitely not on my list of priorities but I am worried about the visual effect and the practicality of the insulin pump. I have a meeting on Wed with the new guy so hopefully he can answer all my queries.

Therefore I guess I am just posting for some moral support and asking how the hell do women use the pump when you wear a dress to work?

I would really appreciate any comments, advice and recommendations as to what I should ask the doctor before I make a decision.

Thanks :)
 
When to dresses different people have ways, some wear an attachment for the pump that clips to the bra, others tuck it in their bra, or sew a baby sock inside the dress to make a pouch, I actually wear dresses or skirts only jeans or trousers... So wear mine clipped to my waist band..

Often or not it's in plain view, but in the 4 years I've been pumping, nobody's taken any notice of it, never been asked what it is as people assume it's either a MP3 player or a mobile phone clipped to my waistband..

Going back to dresses etc, I would look at the pumps that have remote's to them like the Roche Combo which has the remote and Blood Glucose meter combined in one unit, then you don't have to worry about having to get at your pump to do a bolus or corrections..
 
If you wear a dress I'd definitely look at pumps with remotes like Jopar suggested, then you don't even need to get the pump out when you want to deliver insulin. My daughter's pump (and I'm sure the other pumps do the same) can be set to vibrate rather than an audio alarm so if the pump does alarm you can keep it discreet if you want to. I feel that the insulin pump is less visible than injections, when you need to bolus using the pump it is far more discreet than getting out an insulin pen and doing the injection.
 
With my Roche AccuChek Combo Spirit pump, I have the sound turned off, but if it warns of a low cartridge it will get louder and louder. However you can easily stop it making a noise with the meter which does everything by Bluetooth. It will warn at about 19 units, so there is no danger of it running out for some hours.
I made an attachment that keeps the pump on my bra in the middle at the front - it might depend on the size of your bust whether it shows or not, mine is quite small and I'm told by my (brutally honest) partner that he wouldn't know it was there.
Blood sugars ought to be more stable on the pump and so you may not ever need to eat when you are working.
 
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