Started on a pump with insulin!

[ausasha]

Hi all

I started on my pump today with insulin, looking forward to it. I am very happy with the service King's College Hospital has provided in comparison to Lewisham hospital. My nurse is giving great support too!

 

[Gaz-M]

hope it all goes well for you and you will get/find alot of good help here

 

[ausasha]

Thank you!

 

[philchap1]

Welcome to pumping and good luck.

 

[ausasha]

Thank you!

 

[CarbsRok]

Hope all goes well, did you remember the matchsticks to hold your eyes open when you start basal testing through the night?

 

[ausasha]

Tonight's the first night, will I need them???

 

[CarbsRok]

Tonight's the first night, will I need them???

If you still have your background insulin floating around in you do you think it's a good idea to basal test tonight as your results might not be very accurate?

 

[Gaz-M]

Also it will take time for you to get the blood sugar levels to where you want them to be so be patient and I,m sure you will do fine

 

[noblehead]

Wonderful news @ausasha, hope it all goes well

 

[MISTY10]

I started 6 weeks ago
I love it but it's taking a lot to sort my levels .... I am keen and testing every 2 hours at least, quite often it's every hour, it will be worth the work I'm sure.

 

[ausasha]

"If you still have your background insulin floating around in you do you think it's a good idea to basal test tonight as your results might not be very accurate?"

I'm not sure what you mean. I have been told to check every couple of hours and at 3 am.

 

[Gaz-M]

when was you last injection of basal insulin? and what insulin was it ?

 

[ausasha]

Lantus, and it was at 9:30 pm last night. I was told there would possibly still be some in my system.

 

[Gaz-M]

you should be ok with that, just test during the night, have you takn time off work or are you going straight back into the normal day of things?

 

[irrationalJohn]

Lantus, and it was at 9:30 pm last night. I was told there would possibly still be some in my system.

The only way I know of ... other than suddenly going hypo and falling over ... to tell whether or not your Lantus is still having "some effect" is to test your BG. (Well, if you had a CGM which worked well for you, that would be another way, but those are still as rare as pumps used to be, I guess.)

So test as they directed and be pragmatic about coping with the results if they are too high or too low. In my experience your "rhythms" may change just from moving to pump, so it may take a while to hone in on what settings balance you best.

Out of curiosity, which pump are you using?

 

[ausasha]

I had to leave my job as I am getting sharp pains in my head and dizziness, and my job was to teach 4 yr olds. This happened after trying different insulins so I am getting tested for insulin allergy next week. Plus I was getting lumps from injecting insulin and it has been very painful. Even now with the cannula inserted it hurts constantly, even after I've changed cannulas it hurts for at least 3 days. But King's is looking into it and I hope they find a solution.

Thanks, I will keep monitoring my levels.

 

[Gaz-M]

wish you well and hope Kings find out the problem asap, I started suffering lumps from Levemir after 5 years or more of using it and was put on Lantus, Lantus caused many hypos and was then put on Tresiba before the pump (novorapid), keep us updated with your progress

 

[Mrsass]

Good luck @ausasha I've never looked back since I got mine 2 years ago

 

[iHs]

Hi

It does take some time to get the basal rates adjusted on a pump as although there is an adjustment guide, it's still going to be a bit trial and error in getting the rates adjusted correctly so for a few weeks you will need to test bg levels about twice during the night at different times so that the basal rate is at the right level.

As you will still have some Lantus active, it's probably better to eat a bit of carbohydrate before bed if that's what you would do if you tended to go low overnight unless your DSN has taken that into account and adjusted the basal downwards. Whether or not the basal is adjusted correctly will depend on bg testing. Once the Lantus has gone, it will be a lot easier to get the basal ok.