Oh and I was diagnosed in 1973
DX 1991, pump 2008
I also was diagnosed in March 2010 and got the pump in June 2010. My Endo is on a pump so he wanted me to look at pumps right away.
About 11 years. Dx 1993 Pump c. 2004. I resisted it for quite some time, but would have started at least a few years sooner if I knew then what I know now about the advantages relative to the disadvantages. I’ve been trying to push it on my little brother (Dx 2007) but his response is largely the same response I gave for years, “I’m not going to be attached to that thing 24/7…etc”
I went on the pump about 2 years after dx. I’ve been on it now about 5 years, and I’m not sure which I hate more, MDI or pump. I appreciate the advantage of being able to stretch out a bolus for a fatty meal, and being able to skip meals, etc. But I have really grown tired of having this thing attached to me all the time. Also, my control is not always great on the pump. The disease has a mind of its own.
I have had my pump for only 2 yrs. I have been type 1 for over 46 yrs. I was on MDI for over 44 yrs… I am 68 years old…packrat1
Diagnosed in 1978. Started on pump in 2008. Wish i would have started on the pump waaaaaay… sooner!
Diagnosed 1995, first pump in 1998. Very few Type 1s were on pumps back then, only about 6%. 12 years pumping, I would never go back. If a person is capable, he/she should go on a pump as soon as possible after diagnosis. Tight control preserves any remaining beta cells and leads to better outcomes down the road.
I was diagnosed in Feb 1972 and received my pump April 2010. Why did I wait so long?
I was diagnoesd september of 2009 and got on the pump June of 2010 so less than a year for me.
It took me 26 ½ years. I was diagnosed Jan 84 and started pumping June 2010. It took me a long time to want to do it but I can’t imagine going back to MDI. I think if a recently diagnosed person wants a pump, they should go for it.
I had hyperglycemia in summer 1991, a “probable” diagnosis in August 1992, and an official diagnosis in September 1993. I went on insulin in May 1994, and at that time became aware of pumps. I asked my doc for a pump in 1998, but he refused, so I got an old pump from a friend and started myself. When I told him about it, he finally consented to order me a pump, and I started it on Mar. 17, 1999. So come this March, I will be 12 years on the pump, and I would never go back!
This association between pumping and the reduction of complications is misleading. What is the use of tight control when tight is defined as an A1c just below 7? Or what is the use when an A1c of 8 is just seen as a little out of control? The pump helps many people to improve their control but the real question is: why was the control so bad on MDI?
Why was it ignored that Lantus did not sufficiently cover the basal needs? Why was it accepted that Lantus caused lows at night? Why was Levemir recommended in a one shot per day pattern instead of two shots with sufficient coverage? Why do some doctors still recommend NPH or MIX insulins? Why was it assumed that the brands of bolus insulins are equal or exchangable? Why has the specific reaction to different bolus brands and their preservatives not been explored?
This is what really bothers me. If both tools (pump and MDI) are correctly utilized then we will see only a small subgroup of people with real needs for pumps. The rest is a question of lifestyle and preference. There is no guarantee at all that pumping will lead to less complications. The CGM should be ranked much higher than a pump in its impact on control. If the money available does allow pumping without CGM or MDI with CGM I recommend the latter. The CGM really helps to identify individual problems and their cause.
Let me again stress that I am not against pumping. No one should need to justify his decision for the tools he is using to reach good control.
I agree with everything that you said. If I had to choose between giving up my Dexcom or giving up my pump, I would keep the Dexcom. I had a CGMS prior to getting a pump. I had A1cs in the 5s on MDI. I learned how to do basal testing on MDI. Unfortunately, that is not something that doctors normally recommend to people. Doctors seemed surprised that I even knew what it was let alone did it. In fact, one doctor called me anal when he found out I had set my alarm every hour overnight to check my basal rates. Prior to going on a pump, people are taught carb counting – that is something they should be taught regardless of whether they use MDI or a pump.
When I was on Lantus, I never knew you could split it. By the time I learned that, I wanted to try Levemir and that worked much better for me. Levemir only lasted about 7 hours for me so I actually took that 3 times a day and filled in the gaps with fast acting. I have DP and my BS always starts going up about 5 AM. I took Levemir at 11 PM and 7 AM so for me, the pump means I can actually sleep more than 6 hours without alarms waking me up to take insulin.
What the pump does for me is allow me to make fractional corrections to high BGs. I’m never all that accurate about carb counting, although I TRY – package information is not always very good, and on unlabeled items, such as fruit, you are always guessing. I had more lows on MDI than I have on the pump, and I don’t have to do all the mental calculation because the pump does it for me. If you want to call that lifestyle preference rather than better control, I don’t care, as long as I get to keep my pump!
I was diagnosed in July 2008. A pump rep called me the next day. My pump arrived four weeks later, but I could not coordinate my start with my endo’s office until the first week of September. So, I was on MDI for about 7-8 weeks before I started pumping. I immediately noticed fewer hypos.
July 6, 1958 MDI until February 14, 2008. 49 years 7 months snd 8 days.
We got ours in 2010, 6 weeks after dx. We were able to start the paperwork the second week, had to wait four weeks to submit a month-long log to the insurance company, and it took two weeks more for it to be approved and arrive. I think this idea that you need to give shots for months and months to “figure it all out” is nonsense and very unhelpful and antiquated thinking.
Wow, we were diagnosed within two days of each other! That’s the closest to a “diagnosis twin” I’ve found yet!
Have you thought about taking a “pump vacation” and going off the pump for a few weeks or a month just as a break? I did this for a week during the summer because I was sick of being attached 24/7, and it REALLY made me appreciate the pump again!