Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pump?

[duranie]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Pumps aren't given out easily - there are conditions which have to be met. I also understand that even if you were to buy the pump yourself, well, it's not quite that easy as the cost of the equipment that goes with them is so much - around £2,500 a year, that you will struggle to get them prescribed, plus you need an endo/DSN/pump specialist onside..

I have been recommended for a pump for 6 months and am still waiting for the local PCT to approve it. I struggle to get my a1c under 8, have peripheral neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy (the reason for the recommendation)...I am also training to become a nurse and ultimately it was this - the fact that shifts are causing me to go low so often that I've started to lose hype awareness...

 

[Bendy wendy]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Hi I'm new on this I love my pump and wouldn't be without it my hba1c was poor and I had many nite hypos but now my sugars generally are about 6-8 which I think is good. Good luck to those who want a pump and keep perusing your goal x

 

[sukibear123]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I am currently deciding whether to have a pump or not, my HBA1C is 5.1 so excellent but I do have hypos and my consultant told me that under NICE qualifications if your diabetes is well controlled you just need to say that you are really frightened of hypos or cannot recognise when they are starting and you will qualify. I'm just not sure if a pump will be more hassle?

 

[lukkymik]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Never heard of or seen a pump in 12 years as a diabetic but just reading the above comments it is patently clear why!!! There is no wsy in a million years I coild afford £3000 + £1000 a year for consumables and my doctors know it!!!! I guess its a. case of haves and have nots. I dont begrudge anyone benefitting from

 

[lukkymik]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Sorry not finished...... not begrudging anyone from brnefitting from improvements to treatment but feel that the NHS Postcode lottery regarding treatment strikes sgain!!! This also means that my appointment scheduled for wednesday has been cancelled for the 6th yes 6th time and as it was a follow up from a Feb appointment to be honest I sometimes wonder if there is any point in turning up as and when they do rearrange it!!! Its quite obvious Berkshire NHS Trust just havnt the resources to cope with their Diabetic Workload

 

[kt78]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Hi all
There is a postcode lottery for sure! This is against the NHS Constitution, never mind the NICE Guidelines..
However pumps are not currently recommended for Type 2 folk.
To my knowledge however, a Type 2 UK resident who was put on a pump whilst in the US continued to be funded by the NHS on his return to the UK as he showed improvements to his condition.

 

[Samc2212]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I've recently started on pump therapy (6weeks) after 37 years of injections. This was due to my fear of severe night hypos and that I live alone. It has changed my life totally, not one night hypo since changing and only one injection every 3 days. I would be devestated if I had to go back now.

 

[maliface12]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

i'am one diabetes i live africa any help or assist plz i confussed i don't have details about this help me thank you

 

[maliface12]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

i'am one diabetes it is new 4 me i'am in africa i need help if it possible plz

 

[JanieMc]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I don't understand what all the discussion about affording a pump or the peripherals is about.
It's true, you do have to have some control problems to qualify for one. Equally, you have to be showing that you are really working to help yourself. However, once you get your pump, everything is free. You still order your Insulin and blood testing stuff from your GP on prescription but all of the pump infusion stuff comes from the company eg Medtronic or Animas. They send it to your home or work address directly. The only thing you would have to pay for would be if you wanted a particular colour case eg PINK
As for less injections... What's that post about? You change your cartridge and infusion kit every 3 days. It clicks into you and you don't feel it.
The Gym goer post... I too use the gym. My blood usually drops by about 8 in an hour. You don't take the pump off, you program it to reduce the hourly rate, a couple of hours before you go. Hope all is clear lovelies.

 

[CarbsRok]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I don't understand what all the discussion about affording a pump or the peripherals is about.
It's true, you do have to have some control problems to qualify for one. Equally, you have to be showing that you are really working to help yourself. However, once you get your pump, everything is free. You still order your Insulin and blood testing stuff from your GP on prescription but all of the pump infusion stuff comes from the company eg Medtronic or Animas. They send it to your home or work address directly. The only thing you would have to pay for would be if you wanted a particular colour case eg PINK
As for less injections... What's that post about? You change your cartridge and infusion kit every 3 days. It clicks into you and you don't feel it.
The Gym goer post... I too use the gym. My blood usually drops by about 8 in an hour. You don't take the pump off, you program it to reduce the hourly rate, a couple of hours before you go. Hope all is clear lovelies.

Hi Janie,
nothing is free. Money does not grow on trees, someone has to pay for all the supplies.
PCT's have to foot the bill so strict guidelines are laid down to warrant the expenditure on that pump and supplies. If you don't meet them then bye bye pump. Which I think is more than fair. That funding can then go to someone else who is prepared to put the work into the pump and earn it.

 

[CarbsRok]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Never heard of or seen a pump in 12 years as a diabetic but just reading the above comments it is patently clear why!!! There is no wsy in a million years I coild afford £3000 + £1000 a year for consumables and my doctors know it!!!! I guess its a. case of haves and have nots. I dont begrudge anyone benefitting from

Your PCT will fund the pump and supplies if you qualify for a pump.
A pump is a prescription item so you still need a GP or consultants say so to buy a pump if you want to go down that root.

 

[pumppimp]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I definitely prefer my pump, it has saved my life and I never want to go back onto injections!!! Before I got my pump I was in hospital every few weeks with DKA or low blood sugar. I had to take 3 years to do my A-levels, and if I hadn't have got my pump I never would have been able to move out of home, and go to un, learn how to kayak, dive, and have a full time job. Before I got my pump I was on 10 injections a day even with MDI and carb counting nothing helped. Because I now have such good control the small holes in my eyes have healed up my liver has cleared up (It was twice the size it should have been) and my kidneys havn't gotten any worse. There's no comparison in my eyes, I really would encourage any one who has been offered the chance of a pump to give it a go I've never met anyone who's been on a pump and wanted to go back to injections. It is very hard to get one and it is expensive for the NHS to fund in the short term but in the long term the better quality of life and much better control will eventually pay off I know the cost of mine has payed for itself several times over as my consultants were considering putting me on the transplant list, and with all the hospital admissions and I would have probably been on benefits as well. So Pump is much better for me but in saying all that if you are on injections and not having any bother good for you feel free to keep doing what you're doing it's obviously working for you but I suspect that you're in the minority rather than the majority.

 

[cueball0791]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I'm certainly open to trying new ways to retain better glucose readings. Always been aware of the pump but never taken action because reasons a) take it for granted that I'm doing ok with the injections but still have one to two high readings a week - two many for comfort although I'd be interested to know if the pump could do any better? b) taking action but fear the effort involved in getting the pump - call it laziness if you want c) hoping that my current control will be good enough to carry me through the most toilsome part of my life and then some without developing complications d) the impasse of working abroad but in a more stable economy means that I'd be burdened with flight costs and time lost through seeing the practitioner; the cost of pumps here and medication blows the mind; there is no free health service e) not sure how long it would take to get the pump.

With reference to the above, I wonder if someone could give a response, especially to point a, d & e.

Many Thanks
Cueball

 

[JanieMc]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

If your diabetic clinic has put you on a pump, then it doesn't cost you a thing. Of course, pumps are expensive for any organisation/ trust to fund, so they're not given out willy nilly.you usually have to have some long term problem that you cannot fix yourself. Mine was to do with my basal insulin effectiveness running out. A young girl that I teach had bad allergy reactions to her large doses is basal. You also have to show that you are responsible in controlling your own health. I was using the gym for intensive bouts of exercise. The pump gives finer control eg letting you reduce or suspend your background delivery (effectively- your basal rate) you don't, as an earlier poster suggested, need to remove the pump. If you removed it you would be removing your background insulin. This is not recommended. As for peripherals, you order these every few months from the pump manufacturer. The clinic or authority that you use is billed for this. Someone earlier also tried to work out how many injections less a pump would be.i don't know how all the maths was worked out by that poster but the facts are simple: draw up a cartridge of insulin, load it into your pump choose your site and launch it into place. Do it all again three days later. There are no injections. My lumpy bruised thighs all got healed. Hurrah!
I LOVE my pump.

 

[JanieMc]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

nothing is free. Money does not grow on trees, someone has to pay for all the supplies.
PCT's have to foot the bill so strict guidelines are laid down to warrant the expenditure on that pump and supplies. If you don't meet them then bye bye pump. Which I think is more than fair. That funding can then go to someone else who is prepared to put the work into the pump and earn it.
Hello CarbsRok. Did you miss my sentence saying that equally you have to show responsibility for your own condition? Perhaps. As for the funding issue (again) of course it has to be paid for by someone - I made this more explicit in a later post, but people on this board were clearly concerned that THEY would be forced into paying for the pump or peripherals themselves. THAT is the matter I was clearing up. If you really want the financial details, we could go into the differences of how much tax everyone pays as a worker or non worker blah blah blah.

 

[Klang180]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

i have my first appointment with a hospital (Churchill in Oxford as it happens) for about 10 years so that i can begin the process of obtaining a pump.

I do everything possible with my MDI regime and i intend to show that to them but i still feel that my control and my life in general would be infinitly better with a pump.

 

[glenmoray]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I would go onto a insulin pump. I'm on a Dafne course in Birmingham this week and have seen the benifits of going onto the pump. Been told I may get a pump if they cannot inprove my hypo awarness, but will have to wait ages for it. There are pumps out now that will not infuse if you blood glucose is below 3mmol which would stop me having hypos. Its unfair all diabetics cannot have one if they wish. The hospital trusts are moaning on about diabetics and their complications. Give us all pumps and the problems would drop drastically.

 

[kate00]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

i had the pump for just over a year, I got it because my levels were all over the place because i never tested or took injections when i was meant to. at first i had amazing control, my moods changed significantly and i felt o much better all round. also, my school work became better as i was concentrating more because i was less tired and always had good levels.
however after a while, i think i started to think the pump would do everything for me and stopped testing and carohydrate counting and just estimated how much i was to give myself. my levels started to get out of control again.
i came of the pump almost 2 months ago because i decided that i didnt like it. i didn't like it because it was constantly attached to me (this is what put me off getting it for so long before i finally decided to try it), everyone would ask what it was and what it did, and it bothered me because i felt like it was so noticable and i always had to explain the same thing over and over again. Also, as it was always there it was impossible to hide, and being at parties very often as im 15 years old, i found it sometimes upsetting me when i got ready to go out as i was always trying to find different ways to hide it. i felt like it always got in the way.
so now i am back on the injections a billion times a day, my sugar levels are unbeleivable but i'm trying my best, i often forget to test at school though, i'd do anything not to go back onto the pump, it wasn't for me

 

[Cupcaake32]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I have been asking for a couple of years about pumps my hba1c is very high although i take about 6 - 15 injections a day. Ive been diabetic 10 years and had dka 3 times now my bloods have been pretty good for the last few months but i cant get a handle on sick day rules and go low during the night even though i have managed to reduce my background insulin from 24 units twice a day to 17 wooooo!! my carb ratio is luckily 10:1 so its easier to calculate my quick acting. My gp says i am an ideal candidate for a pump but unfortunately gps have no say in it its all diabetic care teams. I live in Exeter which has one of the best diabetes care teams in the country ( it was lucky we moved to devon when we did i was diagnosed 6 months after we moved) i got told by another diabetic a pumper they use the medtronic paradigm minimed 522 or 722 with the cgm THEY COME IN PINK!!!! I have been researching them for over a year and speaking to a lovely woman same age as me in the usa on a pump and she said she was the same as me bad control despite lots of injections and dka a few times not a severe as my 1st time though when i nearly died and had my heart restarted and andrenaline injections to keep me going. I was in hospital for over 2 weeks fun times. i am trying my hardest to control my diabetes but it is very difficult too when everyone else is drinking and eating what they want when your sat there reading nutritional info before you eat .