Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum
I very much prefer to be using a CSII (Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion) ... or pump. I've been using one since December 1998.
Prior to being granted a pump I was taking 7, 8, 9 injections a day, purposely to keep my blood sugar (glucose) levels anywhere near 'normal', and still it wasn't working. I used to spend more time in hospital than I was spending at home.
The freedom offered by using a pump is phenomenal. You eat when you want to, and as much or as little as you want to, and infuse the amount of insulin that you need to cover the amount of carbohydrates that you've taken in. If you feel like taking an extra snack, or going out for a meal, that's no different. You just count the carbohydrates and infuse the correct dose of insulin to cover it.
Rather than having multiple daily injections (MDI), it's like having one injection every 2 or 3 days.
There are, of course, downsides. You need to check your blood glucose levels more frequently. This is because pumps only use fast-acting or rapid-acting insulins. This means that you have no basal type insulin, such as Levemir (insulin Detemir) or Lantus (insulin Glargine) to keep your blood glucose on an 'even keel'. You have to depend on your pump continuing to function and deliver the tiny amounts of insulin that you have programmed into the machine all of the time. If the cannula should become detached from your body, a twist in the delivery tube, or a collection of 'matter' at the delivery site, your blood glucose level could very quickly reach heights that cause you problems. For this reason it pays to wake up during the night to check your blood glucose levels. I'm sure no-one wants to get up the following morning feel totally 'washed out' because of hyperglycaemia.
Some people MAY, initially, feel the intrusion of having to wear a pump 24 hours a day a bit off-putting. This is something that DOES pass. In fact, I'd feel that something was missing if I didn't have my trusty companion with me.
Another thing that MIGHT put people off is, what do I do with it? Where do I place it? What about bathing/showering or going swimming? Where do I put it when I go to bed? These, to be frank ... so long as you don't mind me changing my name for a second ... are minor things. There are various cases, straps, clips, etc. that can be worn so that you can place the pump in many places about the body. Sleeping? Just leave it to roam around the bed, place it under your pillow, or clip it to pyjamas/nightwear. Showering or bathing? Pumps have a quick release system which allows you to detach the pump whilst you bathe, and then reconnect when you're done. Swimming? That MAY be a different thing ... dependent on the type of pump that you have. Some are waterproof, but others are not. Some pumps actually have no need for a delivery tube, they fit directly to the body, so there's no worries about catching the tube and pulling the cannula free.
I'll tell you what, if you want this pump back you can try and prise it from my dead or dying hands. I'm not letting it go for anyone. lol.
Although pumps, and the set changes ... insulin reservoir, delivery tube, cannula, etc. are expensive, we have this absolutely wonderful system in the UK, called the NHS (National Health Service), which pays for it all ... assuming, of course, that you get it on the NHS and not privately. There were 'problems' when I first started to use a pump with how it was going to be financed, but my consultant endocrinologist went out of his way to ensure that I'd be given the opportunity to prove it's worth. (He went to a local church organisation to see if they would help finance the set changes ... luckily for me, they didn't question my religious affiliations as I'm Pagan, and they MAY have objected. Shortly after, however, my local PCP (Primary Care Practice) deemed that they would be saving money in the long run as I wouldn't need to be admitted to hospital so frequently ... and they were right. They agreed to fund it. There'd have been no way on Earth that I'd have been able to finance it myself as I'd been retired on grounds of ill health from my last employment.)
I'm occasionally asked to speak with people, at my local diabetes centre, that are interested in going onto pump therapy, though the diabetes specialist nurses have now taken over this role more in recent months/years. I believe it helps to get an insider's view on the practicalities of using a pump, and hear how it's been for them.
Even now there are comparatively few people using pumps in my local area. I guess that funding MAY still be something that needs to be taken into consideration, even though NICE (The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) deems that pump technology should be available in cases where it is deemed necessary and/or worthwhile.
Take a read of the pages on the following website to get a clearer understanding of who is legible and what criteria must be met.
http://www.nice.org.uk/Search.do?x=0&y=0&searchText=pump&newsearch=true#/search/?reload
For anyone that's wishing to use pump technology, I wish you the very best of luck in gaining the opportunity.
Be well.
Lots of Love and Light.
Mick
x x x x
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P.S. Please don't be offended or alarmed at the "x's". It's simply a logo, of sorts, that I've used for some 30-odd years now.
I have been on the pump for about 2 years now (just under), and I would never in a million years dream of going back on injections. For me, it was almost necessary because my hba1c was far too high. Now, over the past couple of years my hba1c has come right down, and although it doesn't seem great my most recent one was 7.6%. this was a great achievement as I have never in my 12 years of having diabetes had my hba1c come so low. (I am now 14). Of course, the pump does take some work and effort from you, and some getting used to, but my life is so much easier to live with diabetes now I am on a pump.