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whats the worst thing about a pump?

N

neededthat

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hi my nurse keeps asking if i'd consider a pump.( type 1 just over a year)
whats the worst thing about having a pump? if there is a worst.
i know its a long road to getting one. the biggest plus for me would be saying bye bye to numberous injections a day (shiver running up my spine thinking about them). i had a look in on a pump training coarse at the hospital and spoke to the nurse there but am still undecided.
 
The worst thing has to be being attached all the time, but that is not really a bad thing. I have got used to having it there and it doesn't 'interfere' with any of the things I do on a day to day basis. Although I do love the half hour when I do set change after bath, having my body back to myself! This probably sounds worse than it really is, I love my pump and will not be giving it back!
ps. I had lots of hypos before going on to the pump, an average of 10-15 a week, this has now stopped and hypos are very rare but my blood sugars quite happily sit between 5 and 6 all day!
 
For me the worst thing is that it took me 22 years to get hold of one. I have very few regrets in life - I don't believe in them normally - but I do wish I was able to say "15 years on pump" rather than just the 5 I have.

The difference it has made to my control is astounding, and an extra 10 years of good numbers would make all the difference to my situation now. Not everyone gets on with pump therapy, it is hard work at first and requires a different way of thinking about your diabetes. But if you're committed to it you'll reap the benefit.

If your nurse is continually asking you about it, grab with both hands and run for the hills!
 
I suspect that "worst things" will vary according to an individual's lifestyle and will vary throughout his/her life. I have only had a pump for a matter of 6 or 7 months and like the others who have responded would never go back to multiple daily injections. Like Jo, I wish that I had been given the opportunity many years ago but we are where we are.

For me as an 'over 50' , there isn't really a worst thing - it's all good. I know others who have declined the offer of a pump though, owing to the jobs they do - more physically demanding than my desk job. (Saying that, I am sure that there are solutions to all real or percieved problems relating to wearing an insulin pump).

I know that I have become almost obsessive now when it comes to BG testing and trying to get my basal/bolus rates as they should be but then again, when I was a lot younger I paid very little attention to my diabetes, testing very rarely mainly because I didn't have a clue what to do with the readings other than bump up the next insulin injection.

Getting a pump is only half of the story - you get a lot of education and training too and in my view, there is never a "worst thing" about education or training!

Alan
 
The biggest drawback for me is nothing to do with wearing the pump nor using it. It's the quantity of 'stuff' you need to take with you when you go anywhere.On MDI it was a few pens and needles, it took up hardly any room. Now I have to take enough cannulas to change every 2 days, enough reservoirs, gauze swabs, bottles of chlorexidine vials of insulin, all of these are individually packaged but I also need the the insulin pens and needles as backup in case of pump failure.
I'm trying to organise a long walking trip.. it's quite a problem.
 
I find the worst thing about a pump is the gradual reduction in efficiency of the infusion site over the 3 day 'life' of the site. Pumps are very precise instruments and most other variables are accurately catered for except this one, which has been totally ignored.
My pump has a 'bolus wizard' which is intended to calculate the insulin required for a given Cho intake, and BG figure, taking into account time since last bolus, size of last bolus etc. This has to have a pre-programmed insulin sensitivity, usually around 1u : 10g Cho. There is no feature to cater for the drift over 3 days which can end up as high (insulin increase) as 1u:6g Cho. It makes the wizard unuseable, and this 'weakest link in the chain' effect seriously negates the accuracy of the pump.

Also, second from worst but may not apply to most others;
Being on a shift pattern which doesn't slot neatly into a 7 day repeat cycle.....several other of the programmable basal features of my pump can't be used on my 4 on 4 off shift pattern. It's as if pumps are intended for office based Diabetics.
 
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