Getting Ready to Start Pumping - Any Helpful Hints?

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
1

My new Animas 2020 pump arrived via UPS yesterday and I begin my pump training on Thursday. I’ve watched the DVD and I’m getting familiar with my new friend.

For those of you who have been there, done that, do you have any helpful tips or tricks to help me along on my new pumping journey?

I’ve started a blog to document my life on a pump. If anyone is interested in following along, feel free to visit: http://thesweetlife247.wordpress.com

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Hi Andy. Looks like you’re about a month in. I hope it’s going well for you. If you’re not already doing this, my suggestions are:

  1. Buy and read Pumping Insulin By John Walsh. It’s a great resource and has a lot of good stuff for pumpers.
  2. Fine tune your basil. This is in John’s book. Plan 8 hour fast cycles. First 4 hours is to clear your system of anomolies. Track your BG every hour for the remaining 4 hours. Get 3 sets of numbers for each 4 hour block in the day. Modify your basal program and recheck. Having a stable basal program, even one that varies throughout the day is a wonderful thing.
  3. Find a consistent carb source and in a similar fashion, map your insulin sensitivity throughout the day. Cheerios is my personal favorite. Well measured and precise.

Welcome to the world of pumping. If it hasn’t already, it’ll change your life.

I hope this helps. Take care.

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How are you liking it?? I never knew I could love a little machine so much! (Well…besides my camera!)

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Thanks for the tips and tricks. Bought the book in January and read it cover to cover even before I ordered my pump.

We’re working on my basal rates right now and getting them figured out pretty well.

I’m loving the fact that for the first time in my 24 years as a diabetic, I don’t dread taking my blood sugar to see how “bad” I have been. Now, if my numbers are off, I just consider it part of the learning curve and make the ezBG correction bolus. I’ve had great fasting blood sugars in the mornings (in the ‘normal’ range) for the past 3 weeks!

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Congrats on the great numbers!!! I’m a month and 2 days in myself and still getting my basals right. My Animas nurse is awesome!!! Do you report to someone in CA?

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I’m also eating right for the first time in quite awhile. I’m really enjoying counting carbs and I’ve put myself on a high-fiber, low-carb diet. That is really helping with the good blood sugars. I’ve gone from using about 190 to 200 units of Lantus/Humalog each day to using around 110 units of Humalog in my pump each day.

My Animas trainer is in Kansas City and my Animas marketing rep is in Wichita. My pump trainer is just from my local doctor’s office and she is awesome. They have let me “do my thing” with adjustments. They had me call in my blood sugars the first weekend I was on it, and have let me free now.

After being diabetic for 24 years and a high-tech early adopter, they weren’t to afraid of me being scared of the pump.

I’m eating better and feeling better than I have in years.