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What is life like on an insulin pump?
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<blockquote data-quote="katybaby" data-source="post: 283765" data-attributes="member: 45296"><p>Hi</p><p></p><p>I've had my insulin pump for nearly 3 years now and I would never part with it. The reason I qualified was due to the number of hypos I was having - 4+ per day at one point, and at that point I had pretty much cut out all excerise and socialising!</p><p></p><p>I was a bit dubious at first about the pump being connected all the time - particularly sleeping with it, but it's not been a problem at all. The only thing for me being a 24 year old girl is coming up with creative ways of hiding the pump when wearing certain types of clothing e.g. summary dresses or evening wear. </p><p></p><p>I am very sensitive to insulin and a little goes a long way so for me the main benefit is being able to tweak my basal rate from hour to hour - I need approx 3x as much insulin in the morning as in the afternoon, and my sugars vary a lot during the night so again being able to change the amount of insulin I'm having in the background has been brilliant. It also made ratios a lot easier with carb counting - my insulin pump goes up in 0.01 unit increments, so I can be very specific as to how much insulin to have, compared to pens - the smallest increment of which I found was 0.5 units which for me is the difference between a reading of 2 or 12! </p><p></p><p>This also means you can reduce your background insulin whilst exercising, or increase it if you are ill. You can also split bolus doses so that you have a certain amount straight away and then an extra amount every 3 mins for the next 2-4 hours. Because the pump only uses fast acting insulin, if you have a hypo there is no background insulin working to be aware of. </p><p></p><p>My pump is a combo one so it has a blood sugar monitor which connects to the pump via blue tooth - so the pump can be discreetly hidden under clothing and you dont have to get it out to give boluses or change the basal rate which was a big plus for me.</p><p></p><p>Downsides... you have to test at least 6 to 8 times per day because if the pump malfunctions then you dont have any long acting insulin in your system. However I have never had a problem with mine it has been incredibly reliable, and I prefer to test regularly anyway so it wasnt much of a change for me. </p><p></p><p>Changing the cannulas used to be a downside for me but I have now switched onto a different type which have inserters, so it's more like clicking a button and the needle/tube is injected for you. There's quite a lot of choice in terms of metal / plastic tube, length of tubing, angle of needle, with or without inserter, connection at the site or not so there's something for everyone. </p><p></p><p>Travelling wise, I have been abroad with the pump about 8 times now and there has only been 'an issue' once and even that just consisted of them swabbing it. Airports are actually a great place to have a pump because the attendents etc see them every day so you dont have to explain your medication or anything.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="katybaby, post: 283765, member: 45296"] Hi I've had my insulin pump for nearly 3 years now and I would never part with it. The reason I qualified was due to the number of hypos I was having - 4+ per day at one point, and at that point I had pretty much cut out all excerise and socialising! I was a bit dubious at first about the pump being connected all the time - particularly sleeping with it, but it's not been a problem at all. The only thing for me being a 24 year old girl is coming up with creative ways of hiding the pump when wearing certain types of clothing e.g. summary dresses or evening wear. I am very sensitive to insulin and a little goes a long way so for me the main benefit is being able to tweak my basal rate from hour to hour - I need approx 3x as much insulin in the morning as in the afternoon, and my sugars vary a lot during the night so again being able to change the amount of insulin I'm having in the background has been brilliant. It also made ratios a lot easier with carb counting - my insulin pump goes up in 0.01 unit increments, so I can be very specific as to how much insulin to have, compared to pens - the smallest increment of which I found was 0.5 units which for me is the difference between a reading of 2 or 12! This also means you can reduce your background insulin whilst exercising, or increase it if you are ill. You can also split bolus doses so that you have a certain amount straight away and then an extra amount every 3 mins for the next 2-4 hours. Because the pump only uses fast acting insulin, if you have a hypo there is no background insulin working to be aware of. My pump is a combo one so it has a blood sugar monitor which connects to the pump via blue tooth - so the pump can be discreetly hidden under clothing and you dont have to get it out to give boluses or change the basal rate which was a big plus for me. Downsides... you have to test at least 6 to 8 times per day because if the pump malfunctions then you dont have any long acting insulin in your system. However I have never had a problem with mine it has been incredibly reliable, and I prefer to test regularly anyway so it wasnt much of a change for me. Changing the cannulas used to be a downside for me but I have now switched onto a different type which have inserters, so it's more like clicking a button and the needle/tube is injected for you. There's quite a lot of choice in terms of metal / plastic tube, length of tubing, angle of needle, with or without inserter, connection at the site or not so there's something for everyone. Travelling wise, I have been abroad with the pump about 8 times now and there has only been 'an issue' once and even that just consisted of them swabbing it. Airports are actually a great place to have a pump because the attendents etc see them every day so you dont have to explain your medication or anything. [/QUOTE]
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