Hi all
I am 24 year old male and i am type 1 diabetic with lot of variation in blood sugar, my doctor advised me to use insulin pump but I am not sure if its good for me. I am quite actively associated with sports and sometimes do heavy gym too, will all of this have any negative effect on the insulin pump usage…
I am clueless… Any suggestions???
Thank You
My suggestion is to get the pump. It’s the best thing next to a cure.
i am curious to know since its attached to your body throughout the day, won’t it be dangerous if I indulge in physical activities??
I have only been on the insulin pump for about a month, but I find that my control has gotten MUCH better. I am also very active and I disconnect while I work out, as long as I’m not disconnected for more than an hour. BUT check with your doctor first… Hope this helps.
My pump actually makes exercising a lot easier, because you can change the amount of basal insulin that you get much more easily.
They make good cases for pump that can protect it during sports and weight lifting. You can also remove the pump for up to an hour if need be.
I’m on the pump and I love it so much more than injections. I would look into the OmniPod if I were you. I am not on it, but from what I’ve seen it can handle very active lifestyles. I have a MiniMed pump and if I worry about it pulling I just disconnect. Exercising is great with the pump because you can change your Basal and not struggle with post-exercise lows.
thank a lot for your reply
I will surely discuss the matter with my Doc
I am new to the insulin pump and I’ve had the pump for about 4 months now. My suggestion is to switch to an insulin pump, I would say Omnipod would the best pump. Its the first tubeless pump, so you dont have to worry about pulling out the tubing. You can do just about anything with it on. I swim in it everyday. you can adjust your basal rates to a lower rate when you are doing sports or working out so this will help you avoid low blood sugars. Before i switched to the omnipod i was on shots for almost 11 years before they let me switch. my blood sugars with shots were unpredictable, they would be high all the time with high ketones. Now I am keeping my blood sugars within my target range witch is 70-150!!! The Pdm-(Personal Diabetes Manger) will keep up with your blood sugars and bolus amounts for 3 months!!!
Hope this helps!!!
send me a message if you have anymore questions!!! I’ll be happy to try to answer them!!!
Yes, if you’re involved with contact sports and want better control, try out the pump. I say this because, before I did have the pump, many times before I’d work out, I’d be really high, and the lag between injecting and lowering BS sucked and almost ruined the workout. Same with lows-- while exercising, lows take forever to get back to normal when chewing glucose tabs and such.
With the pump, if you’re at normal BG range before you work out and YOU KNOW you will go lower with exercise, you could just disconnect and reconnect when you’re done. Or if you’re slightly raised or know you will go higher with exercise, keep it on, but lower your basal rate. The pump was more stable, and trust me, I was stubborn in switching; I did good with shots and thought I could always work on getting better on my own, but the pump makes it really easier.
I second Dave’s comment on not recommending an Omnipod. I started using it right during marathon training, and the pods either kept falling off my body as I bounced or occluded. While it’s small I found it a little too bulky and didn’t want to put a crapload of tapes and adhesives on it if I was gonna run or play sports often. With conventional pumps, you could just disconnect (if you need to), and the site on your body is mostly flat. Being flat, it’s less likely to get dislodged or having it uncomfortably bounce around a lot. I’m glad I switched.
How much does everything cost ??
pump
and average monthly cost??
Pumps vary in cost, and depending on your insurance’s DME (durable medical equipment) coverage, a different amount might be expected out of pocket.
The Omnipod is about $1,000 at start-up (supplies are more expensive) and most of the other pumps range from $5,000-$7,000. (Your DME coverage probably covers 90% of that if you’ve got a great plan.) You will generally have a 3-month (some companies can do 6-month) supply of tubed infusion sets and empty insulin reservoir cartridges shipped to you and will have to pay the same DME co-pay percentage of whatever that cost is. That can vary depending on the brand and style of infusion set you prefer (some pumps allow you to use other manufacturers’ infusion sets). And that can be anywhere from $400-700 every 3 months (before insurance). Correct me on that if I’m wrong, folks. I only ever notice what my portion is and I’ve switched pumps so many times, I can’t remember anymore.
I’ve been pumping for 9 years. I’ve worn 3 Minimeds, a Cozmo, and am now enjoying an Omnipod. Other great pumps include Animas and Accu-check.
The members of Team Type 1 (cycling team) wear the Omnipod, as do several Ironman triathletes. But I would suggest ordering their trial pods to see if others’ comments about sweating and keeping the pods adhered apply to your skin. I have had no problem with adhesives on any pump, but I’m not at all athletically inclined, so I can’t necessarily recommend any pump to you in that regard!
LOL
for the omnipod starter kit it was about $ 100 that was with my insurance covering 90%. and the monthly cost was $30 for one box of the pods
i generally do not agree with dave about pump choice (only because it is a very subjective thing, “your” pump is the best in the world) but i have to agree with him about the omnipod. i use the omnipod, but i am not involved with contact sports. you do not have tubes, but you do have this half an egg sticking out of you arm (or where ever you put it) in my semi contact life, i have pulled the things off. they get grazed by door jams and car doors, i have had them pulled out by people rough housing (yes i am a very immature 40 year old man) i can not imagine what would happen with people trying to jump on you and prevent you from getting by. i think tubes would be the way to go. you could disconnect and hide the port in your pads. i would not go with the omnipod…
I’m with Dave on this one, I stay hooked up during extracurricular activities 
Hi
Happy omnipod user here! Major advantages are not disconnecting during sports , swimming ect… because it is tubeless, there is no concern about it snagging on things or people ripping the site out. Sticks well, and is super easy to insert.
Possible negatives… well using any pump will involve work at the beginning to get your rates set right, but that is temporary. You’d love being able to get insulin while you worked out, swim ect…
We just came back from 4 days in hawaii, and loved it. the pod was fantastic, and we loved being able to play all day at the beach, and never worry about the pump issue. Enjoy a pump and say good bye to lantus /levemir!
I agree it is awesome to able to swim or go the beach without having to dissconnect it!
I love my pump. No matter what I am doing.