Does anyone on a pump, just eat what they want now?
Not me.
Nope. For several reasons: It is much harder to bolus accurately for high carb counts. And the more insulin you use the more chance of making a big mistake. (Called "the law of small numbers"). In addition eating whatever you want and bolusing for it can definitely lead to weight gain. it can also lead to developing Insulin Resistance. And as a Type 1, I definitely don't need to add that problem in to my Diabetes management. So, no, to me, a pump is not a license to eat whatever I want. I do however, enjoy my food and eat a delicious and varied diet.
No, I find I need to restrict carbs to even out my blood sugar levels. I am not a low carber, more a moderate carber, but if I just eat what I want (whoo hoo!) the rollercoaster of highs and lows happens, and that is just suffering to me. But I do love my insulin pump! It really has made life with Type 1 easier.
Not me either. I'd eat loaves and loaves of good bread with butter LOL. On the other hand I don't deprive myself. I eat very low carb, and I eat well. When I visit my endo I then visit the good bakery across the road and get a chocolate croissant ;) Like Zoe, I find that the more carbs I eat the more likely I am to mis-bolus.
I asked because I have an Animas Pump and one of my friends has the Omnipod, and she said she got the pump so she can eat whatever she wanted and I just wanted to laugh lol…
I agree w/ the nopes. I was sort of on a "healthier" kick *before* I got my pump and didn't just stop that but found the pump made it easier.
Pumping does make it a bit easier to try different things and be a bit more free with food. That's because you have the ability to do things like dual-wave and square boluses. Because of that, I do find myself occasionally eating foods (such as pizza or sweets) that I would normally not even attempt on MDI.
But the key word here is "occasional." As a general rule, I still have to keep my carb intake under 120 g/day to maintain decent control. That said, maintaining control is much easier for me on the pump because I can dose in really small amounts. On MDI, I would never correct anything unless it was over 200 and I was pretty sure I was headed up. On my pump, I find myself even correcting those minor highs of 140 or 150 because I can dose a small amount of insulin in order to correct.
I tend to lean more towards the eat what I want, but it is within reason, for example I don't have a problem eating pizza, pasta, or deserts if my numbers are within range and have been stable. I do pass on deserts often but am not afraid to have some if I really want some.
No, but it does make corrections a lot easier.
Hi, I have been considering a pump. How does it make your life easier if you can't eat what you like? Also do you do anything with your pump or are there some things you remove it for? Some things I just don't want to put in writing.
It makes your life easier in many ways. First of all dosing is much more precise. If you eat 12 carbs and your I:C ratio is 1:10 you can dose for the exact fraction instead of just taking the one unit and going high. Ditto on basals. A one time or twice a day dose of long-acting is a very inprecise way of dosing basal, especially since you have different needs at different times a day and with different activities. Finally I don't have to worry about "taking my insulin with me". It's always with me. And not taking five shots a day is its own reward!
Personally I do eat what I like, I've just learned to like healthier choices (and to find healthier choices I like). I don't feel deprived; I feel empowered because I am taking good care of my body.
Imagine waking up in the morning and NOT taking a shot. I found that part mind blowing. Also, if you have it set up properly, it can achieve a much more precise, level basal dosage. You use a little less insulin. It takes very little effort to take the equivalent of 10 or 20 shots a day.
It does feel strange to be naked, though, cuz there's nothing to hook it on to. It's easy to unhook temporarily if you prefer.
There are also serious dangers and downsides to it. In some ways it does not make your life easier, but it seems the majority of us who have tried it far prefer it.
Medic Alert Necklace is where I hang it! I agree with everybody else on the "easier" bit. The point is to eat what I want, but not to weigh 275 lbs like I used to. The pump also has improved my "logging" by keeping track of input/ output a lot better, even more with the CGM but the "delta" was probably more going from "none" to "some" than from "some" to "lots?"
Eat what you want just count your carbs and don't over eat.
Yes, using Omnipod and counting carbs religiously (well, ok, my wife does that, bless her.)
I'm type 1 since around 1973 (I can no longer remember); I don't like anything sugary and I've learnt not to like wheat products (common in the west, I guess rice products also in the east.)
The carb counting is the limiting factor. Non-diabetics can consume carbs that need almost infinite amounts of insulin; 1 US pint of ice cream, for example. Approaching 40 years of diabetes, most of it MDI, means I don't do that (except occasionally).
So I eat what I want, but what I want is cultural and my culture is diabetic.
John Bowler jbowler @ acm.org