Yesterday me and my mum went to a insulin pump seminar to help her learn about them. After seeing one and playing with one (Medtronic Minimed Veo or basically the Revel with the low glucose suspend function) she is absolutely excited for me to get one. She is going to ring the endo sometime this week to discus it further (we brought it up a year ago and last month) and potentially get the paper work started (he indicated Xmas time last month but as I have school holidays then It would be a great time to start pumping). I know this topic may be already out there in TuDiabetes but I thought I would get some fresh new information. I was wondering if you had some tips for beginners on the pump or even your story of the process of getting the pump (this is all new to me)
I was about to buy one. Everyone says its like the Pumping bible lol
Book wise, I like Pumping Insulin and Think Like a Pancreas. Also if you’re into sports, The Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook is a good thing to have around.
Other random thoughts:
(1) I’ve found that even with all the books the best way to learn is to just have time using the pump and seeing how you react to different situations.
(2) If you can get the insurance to approve a CGMS like the Dexcon Seven+, I’ve found it has helped me even more since I can follow trends and have a better feel of how different foods and activities effect my BG.
(3) Don’t be afraid to play with the settings of your pump, they are there for a reason. Learn to make changes after getting enough information to make an informed change. E.g. don’t change something because of a single reading, make a change after noticing a trend across the span of a week.
(4) Logging data is important, see (3) and (2).
(5) The process of getting the pump and doing the education is rather boring. When it got to the point where I did the education I already had read up all I could on the pump I was getting (OmniPod) and already felt pretty comfortable with it when I put it on for the first time.
(6) I love the pump because it removed the 4+ shots a day and took me off Lantus (which I had bad reactions to).
I scheduled my pump start for spring break when I was in college. It helped with the changes in insulin (I was on MDI with NPH, Regular, and Humalog). I still remember going back to school after break and wondering where all the energy was coming from since I was up blood testing in the middle of the night, etc (which I hadn’t been doing that semester). Pumping Insulin by Walsh is awesome, but as someone else said, a lot of it is trial and error and what works for you! Good luck! 
I would love to get the CGMS but in Australia none of the insurance cover them nor do our NDSS cover it. Only our pumps are covered on all insurance companys.
I am in the process of writing down all my BGL’s , food and everything for the endo so its one less step for him to ask me.
Thanks for all the info and I will use every single bit of it 
Thanks As I said I am planing if for my big 6 week school holidays at the end of the year so I can hopefully smooth out some stuff before I head back to school.
I just started pumping at the end of June. My biggest frustration in the beginning was finding the right infusion set. When I was searching for information on infusion sets, I read that frustration with infusion sets is one of the biggest reasons that people give up pumping in the beginning. Just remember that the ones they send you with your pump in the beginning are not the only ones out there and they may or may not work for you.
If you are already good with carb counting & troubleshooting problems with your basal & IC ratios, you probably won’t have problems getting adjusted. My trainer seemed surprised that I knew about basal testing.
Good luck!.
I was just thinking about that the other day. Infusion Set. What one am I going to use?!
hmm thats interesting. I didn’t know that. I might ask Medtronic to send me some samples when I order my pump. My endo starts everyone off on the quicksets but I like the look of the Mios and people i know love them.
Oh I am excellent on carb counting and my endo even set me up on the same thing as DAFNE but without the coarse. he just called it matching food to carbs so I am already a pro. Hhahah mine will be too I think. I learnt about basal testing a couple of months ago
How are you liking pumping compared to MDI? Did it take you long to adjust sleeping with the pump?
Thanks for your tip
Doh, its a shame that they won’t cover CGMS since they really are great things.
On your blood sugars, do you check one or two hours after a meal? I had to adjust my insulin rates some because I was spiking really high in one hour and completely missing it due to me checking at two hours where it was within the acceptable range. Just something to think about.
Also, I’ve found myself bolusing for meals about 20 minutes before I eat now since it gets rid of the first hour rise that I was experiencing. (I suppose it helps I actually started reading the instructions that came w/ Humalog that explain how long it takes for Humalog to start taking affect inside the body…)
I sure do check 2 hours after eating and lately also 1 hour after. And I too have noticed a big spike after an hour and thats still on MDI so i dont know if that will stop with the pump.
oh I use NovoRapid so it may be a little different
You might want to ask your endo if you can get some samples of different ones now – a lot of times, doctors get free samples from the pump companies (at least in the US they do!). If your endo doesn’t have them, maybe Medtronic sales rep will get you some. Before I got my pump, a friend sent me some to try and she suggested taping the end that would go on the pump to a deck of cards in a box so I could get a feel for what it is like having the tubing attached to me. I inserted the other end into my body like you would if you actually were using the pump. That way you can at least try some different sets. You will get a better feel for them once you start using them for real. I also found out that I have a Teflon allergy and have to use the steel sets – I didn’t know that until I started getting hives after I started the pump.
I really love having the multiple basal rates with the pump – I actually have 7 different ones set! When I do basal testing, I do mine for a full 24 hours so I know they are set correctly. I have DP, so having the pump has made a huge difference with that. I haven’t changed much as far as how I bolus for meals with the pump, but the pump does help you get a lot more precise with your blousing. I have the Animas Ping and the remote has a food database and you can put your favorite foods in and just hit a button to calculate the exact amount of insulin you need based on your BS & carbs. I also use different carb ratios depending on the time of day so the pump does all the thinking as to what time it is and what I need to take!
Sleeping is not a problem for me. With the cooler weather, I usually sleep in sweat pants and found I was having a problem with my pump coming out of my pocket and then I would pull the tube off the pump. I have a Spibelt that I use for my Dexcom so I started putting my pump in that at night and I haven’t pulled the tube off since doing that.
I might just ask him when I talk to him next. We did see the rep for our area at the seminar but couldnt put a set in me because someone else was using the display Inseter.
Oh I have major DP so I am looking forward for that to settle down.
So it doesn’t get in the way or anything?
It won’t stop with the pump unless you adjust for how long it takes the insulin to get into your system. Just because you bolus doesn’t mean it starts working right away… it has to be absorbed.
I know in the US when you get your insulin, a sheet of paper comes with it that describes the effectiveness, etc. of the insulin. Somewhere in there it will tell you how long it takes for the insulin to be absorbed from the fatty tissue and become active. For Humalog it is ~10 to 20 minutes… and I imagine NovoRapid is probably the same.