Pumps have both basal & bolus insulin. An advantage of pumps is that basal rates can be adjusted or turned off for exercising, or if someone wants to skip a meal. Most people love their pumps, so mine is a minority opinion. I wonder, though, if the improved numbers through pumping is really due to people counting carbs more carefully (or for the first time) & having more exact insulin:carb ratios. People learn a lot more about this through pump training. Except for adjusting basal, the other things people do with pumps can be done with injections, from what I can see. I have one friend on a pump & he’s fiddling with it constantly. I don’t see this as particularly liberating. He’s a techno freak & loves anything like this. He’s been a diabetic for 33 years. Before pumping his wife took him to the hospital for lows, but he always just guessed at his doses.
Scott Strumello posted a good article (that you can search) that discussed how pumping didn’t improve A1cs for people who had good control prior to pumping. Man, these things are expensive & doctors get perks for pushing them. Add to that the extra expense for supplies & the many possibilities for mechanical & operator failure, bad injection sites–I’m just not interested. I don’t take large doses of insulin because I’m a small person & restrict carbs. I’m a freak in wanting to keep things simple & it doesn’t get simpler than injections.
Agree. If I was Type 2, I’d rather be on low insulin doses than meds.
I took myself off aspirin, too! Helpful if you’ve had a heart attack, but not as any kind of prevention. Wish I could remember where I read this, but one study said that aspirin can actually be harmful to the heart if you take it without a history of cardiac issues.
Good for you! You have to be one in charge.
Let me know what the endo says about basal. In case this is helpful, Levemir tends to work better for a lot of people. I’ve been on Lantus & Levemir. Levemir also lasts about 5-6 weeks compared to Lantus’ 28 days.
Great advice, thanks. I think I am a lot like you, I need to be in charge of what goes into it and a pump seems like it is controlling it. I am also a techo and would geek out trying to micromanage the meter. Better to do a quick calculation and and injection. I was pretty lousy with carb counting, and now I really do not “count” the carbs, I usually just stay away from them. I tell you Gerri, the last week I have been running some great “normal” levels and it seems to be taking a lot of my time and energy. I have been measuring my 1 & 2 hour postmeal and liking what I see. With a lack of carbs I do feel hungry most of the time. What a life. Cheers for now.
Normal numbers–so happy for you. Really does take a lot of time & energy. I hear ya!
Are you eating enough protein? Protein will keep you feeling full. I eat very low carb & am never hungry. Considering my formerly carboholic diet, I’m amazed.
Protein today: (B) glob-o-peanut butter, egg bake (1/2 serving, egg, sausage, cheese), (L) cheese & beans on salad, nuts for snack, (D) turkey-dog (no bun), cheese, more nuts for snack.
Didn’t measure serving size but they were all small.
I am cutting down on portions to try to drop that last 10#, going slowly. I think I need me some pizza & donuts! Nah, maybe a glass of wine & bed.
I can tell you that last night, I went out with my parents for their anniversary and misbehaved badly (onion roll and a quarter, bison chili, honey roasted potatoes, steak in Jack Daniels sauce, a chocolate-hazelnut liquer, and half a (non-dairy) creme brulee), and I’m STILL paying for it. That being said, a) it was worth it, and b) I usually eat exceedingly low carb. Besides challah bread on the Sabbath (which is counteracted to some degree by a few glasses of wine), I probably have less than 15 grams of carbs a day, and even on the Sabbath, under 30-40 carbs.
For me, breakfast is eggs with cheese, cottage cheese, or veggie burgers (Morningstar Farms Prime Grillers, as I recall - the ones in the green box - 4g carbs each) with cheese and mustard. Lunch and dinner are both some form of dead animal, and I try to have salad with one of them. Occasionally, I’ll have one of these low carb wraps I have and make a tuna melt or a deli “sandwich.”
I know that when I was dx’ed, the dietician was telling me 15-30g carbs minimum per meal. I chose to ignore that, and, when I told my endo, he didn’t bat an eyelid. The proof of the pudding was in the 5.2 A1c, though the honeymoon helped that immensely.
I credit the low carb diet with the fact that I can keep my sugars under 150 pretty much permanently with less than 10 units of insulin a day, and, even when I choose to correct, I’m under 12-13. Well, except last night But still, soooo worth it . . . .
Ooo Dov, am drooling about your anniversay feast! I’d be scared I’d be in the 400’s (or higher) from a meal like that. Yes, every & then it’s so worth it to eat like a normal person. Tonight I had brisket & salad & somehow managed to hit 186. Can’t figure that out unless I’m coming down with something. I never have numbers like that.
Congratulations on your fantastic A1c! Whenever anyone tells me they eat whatever they want & have good control, they don’t. Less than 15 carbs a day–wow, that is low. I average around 30 per day, sometimes less. My endo & the quite overweight dietician told me 45-60 carbs a meal, plus their ridiculous constant snacking. I went through two endos until I found one that would support low carb.
But still, soooo worth it . . . .