Up until a month ago, I pumped for 29 years. I’m on MDI now. My experience tells me that the pump itself is not responsible for weight gain. While on a pump I gained about 25 pounds over 10 years and then lost that 25 pound over a 120-day period. The difference was me and the food choices I made.
I gained weight because I closely monitored my blood sugar (testing 14x/day) and bludgeoned hypers with insulin. This often led to roller-coaster blood sugars and a lot of calories consumed preventing screaming BG descents from becoming severe hypos. Over time this inartfull insulin regimen left me fat. Once I adopted a low carb high fat diet, the weight fell off. I did have to back off on both my pump basal and bolus rates to allow the weight to come off, not a simple feat.
I agree with Dr. Ponder, the primary reason for insulin dosing success is not the technical heft of pump, it’s the the knowledge, experience, and attitude of the pump operator.
By the way, I’m using a tubed pump, after not liking Omnipod very much (long story?). I do have the pump hanging off my belt with tubing running out of it to the infusion site, but I have never seen so much as a second glance at it - I see no vanity issue there. In fact, the Omnipod PDM drew more looks (“What kind of ancient cellphone is that?”) than I’ve ever heard from the tubed pump. It’s a medical device and looks like one - most people “get” that.
I tried the OmniPod and it made too many noises and errored too much. I hated it. I like the tubed pump and pumping makes more sense. the pump doesn’t bother me, it’s the sticker. I hate bending down and feeling the cannula inside me bend. I feel unnatural with it or an OmniPod on me.
I am not opposed to a tubed pump. Cocheze mentioned a vanity issue, so I assumed that a pump bothered him. Whatever works for a person to control their T1D is great. The OmniPod is not for everyone just as a tubed pump is not for everyone either. Isn’t it great that we have so many choices today to help us live with T1?
You have to use what works for you. When I started with the OmniPod, it had a lot more problems than it does today. I rarely have an error with any Pods. I have turned off all of the “noises” that I can, and I am happy with the alarms that I cannot silence because they remind me to change the Pod or alert me that something is not working correctly. I love the OmniPod but realize that it does not work for everyone. To each his own. I am just glad that we have choices today to treat our T1 in the manner that best suits each of us. I hope that you find what works best for you and that you continue to have good control each day.
I am currently using omni pod ,i started last year- Mid September and by now i gain 40 pounds(7 months) .i was using insulin pens for 20 years and i always have steady weight i never gain more than 2,3 pounds . i f i knew it i will never ever started up on pump .My A1C is 7 i just have the test done today ,before was higher around 8.5 .I need some help from you guys bcz i am getting so depress .I also eat less than 60 grams of carbs per day and my diet contain no more than 1000 calories .I don’t know what to do .is there anyone out there with similar issues from omni pods.thanks
If you are trying to lose weight and have not been successful, at least part of the reason may be that you are eating only 1000 kcal per day. When you eat so few calories, your body’s “thermostat” re-sets and goes into starvation mode, holding on to every calorie it can. I advise my patients to eat no less than 1700 kcal per day if they are trying to lose weight.
@rgcainmd, I need guidance, too! I’m looking to lose weight after being diagnosed T1D at 49 (6 months ago). I’m a mom of 4 (youngest are 13 year old twins) and I’m very active with tennis and gym workouts but have been consuming extra calories to combat lows during exercise. I start my pump in a week or so which should help with BG during exercise. I lost only about 7 pounds with DKA because I was diagnosed very quickly since I was in for a routine physical when the symptoms started occurring. I also have Hashimotos and was already wanting to lose about 40 pounds. I’ve gained back a few of the 7 pounds so I’m concerned about gaining any more back.
So, my questions (and I know the answers will vary by person):
How do you get the BG high enough pre exercise without consuming tons of calories?
How do you maintain the BG levels during exercise without a ton of calories?
How do you combat post workout lows without a ton of calories?
I struggle with getting enough protein pre-exercise and I think that is a key to my issues. Any suggestions on specific foods? I’m fairly careful with what I eat but structure and planning aren’t currently my strong point and I live with someone with BED so keeping food in the house can be quite challenging! Thoughts?
