Hey! I've heard that the pump makes living with diabetes SO much easier. I was just curious your opinion on it. Have you had it and disliked it? Is it truly better than using the insulin pens? Why or why not? Thanks! :)
I never used pens, and used a medieval R/NPH regimen before I got a pump. I like my pump *a lot* and it's made things much easier for me. I think they cost quite a bit of money but I don't really pay attention to it and enjoy the results I've gotten with it! It's less work and it makes things run more smoothly.
I'm not sure if pumping makes living with diabetes much easier because I tend to test more and fiddle more pumping than I did when I used pens. But my pump has made living with diabetes much BETTER. I have more flexibility, I can fine tune my treatment regime and I really, really hated giving myself shots. It has also helped to modestly improve my control.
As AR said, pumping is more expensive so if you don't have decent insurance you have to balance the better control and life style advantages against the extra hours you have to work to pay for the pump and supplies.
Thanks guys. I can't even begin to afford a pump, but I was curious anyway. Didn't know if there were people out there who would prefer pens/shots over pump.
I think there's quite a few. I have to admit that I never tried shots of modern insulins, Humalog, Novolog, Lantus etc. and I suspect they'd work ok. I've used NPH a couple of times when my pumps have blown up and it's worked out fine but, for normal living, I can't imagine doing better than I have with my pump.
The modern insulin shots were what finally convinced me to go to a pump. Diabetes seems mostly controlled by the basal/bolus/carb counting method. I was taking lantus (2X day) and novolog (each meal and corrections) so I was at 5 or more shots per day. It was a ton of work and planning.
The pump really changed my life. I can do and eat things (with caution) that I never would have done on shots. I do test a lot more, and fuss with the pump, readings, etc., but find it just so less complex.
Prior to pumping,I had been diabetic for 35 years with the ancient beef and pork one shot a day routine, then the newer MDI regime.For me that was Regular and NPH, then Lantus and Humalog>I was on MDI for 6 years. I was ok with MDI until I kept running out of spaces to "shoot up" where I could get good absorption. Additionally,my skin was starting to get really bumpy and ugly..And pulling out a syringe(I never got accustomed to the pens)5-7 times a day was getting tedious and trying for me. I was brought up to be"private" about insulin injections,and it was easy to be that way when you had but one shot a day in the morning in your own home.I found traveling with insulin and finding bathrooms to go in to "shoot up" to be frankly, irritating.
I decided to change to the pump in 2003.
I have never regretted it. the pump IS expensive,but I am blessed to have fairly decent insurance. And it is more work. My control has improved a bit, when I take the time to be fully conscious of my BG levels, but I could get that control on MDI...
I just like that I can fit my diabetes control into my life activities and not try to fit my life into diabetes control activities. I do not have to schedule exactly when I have to eat meals, nor do I have to do all the "head math" when bolussing, the pump does it. I also love that I can turn up or turn down the basal levels prior to unplanned for activities. When I was on shots, I had to feed exercise constatnly, as theinsulin was already in me and I could not take it out,LOL. Corrections are also more discreet,precise,and easier with a pump. Just a press of a button.
I would recommend a pump to any one who has the resources and the time and the desire to learn how to use one. However, the long learning curve and the inreased expense are definite issues for many. There are many who prefer MDI to pumping. But not me. You could not pry this pump away from me.
God Bless,
Brunetta.
My math was wrong: I was a one shot a day diabetic for 28 years until I went on MDI with carb counting; then 7 years of that until the pump 10 years later, and I STILL prefer pumping.>
I second AcidRock, StillYoungAtHeart, and Brunetta!
I will add though that there was a wicked steep learning curve, but like Acid I came straight off of R/NPH and had never heard of things like "carb-counting" or "correction ratios" (and this was in 2002!) so there was a ton to figure out, but worth it in the end for sure!
I didn't have insurance then either, and while it was definitely expensive (say $6k to start and about $500/month including insulin and test strips), it was for me 100% the right move. I'll lose insurance again someday, and although I'll be expensive, I'll still happily pay out of pocket for all the stuff to keep my pump going because its made that big a difference in my life.
Hmm I wouldn't say it was easier, different perhaps but not easier.
I personally find lumpy infusion sites, the occasional unreliable absorption and being attached to a medical device 24/7 more of a hassle than jabbing myself with a pen 4/5 times a day.
However saying that, since I've been on the pump I've managed to get my HbA1c in the 5s, down from 8.3. My blood sugars are much more stable thanks to the ability to truly set my basals to the rhythms of my body and I do like being able to bolus from a remote control when out in public or in the office.
I am also quite active doing an hour or two of exercise most days, pumping has made this so much easier, especially with regard to running and cardio stuff. I can now exercise without going really high or really low, which is something I could just not manage on MDI.
It's been a nice change from the pens, it also gave me an opportunity to review and completely get to grips with my diabetes. I read a lot before starting on a pump and was posting on here like a mad man.
It's coming up for two years now and health, diabetes wise these have been the best two years of my diabetic life. Finally feel like I am in control rather than the other way around.
So all in all it's a yes for me from the insulin pump.
Although I about 15 mins ago I caught my pump tubing on my door handle and had a nice gusher which went all over my work trousers.
Two days ago I disconnected for a shower, got distracted by the postman and forget to reconnect. I was half way to work before I realised, cue feeling groggy all and a number of corrections. So swings and roundabouts really : )
Wow, thanks for all the comments and personal opinions! :)
For me controlling my blood sugar with my new pump (~2 weeks) is a lot easier than it was with MDI (whether with pens or old school syringes) and I did MDI for 38 years.
I finally went to a pump because I could not exercise and avoid hypos since there was no way to turn off the basal which I took in 2 shots. Once the basal was "on board" I would either have to carb up before exercise or time my exercise after a meal which is a pain.
Since starting on the Omnipod pump which I got specifically because I did not want tubing, I have been able to spontaneously play racquetball or tennis or go for a swim and just adjust the basal rate to match. I have not gone low and although I am going through the steep learning curve phase of it, it is a small price to pay. For me it just allows so much more flexibility. It also helps that I don't have to plan meals around the ever present basal. If I don't want to have lunch I don't eat lunch it's that simple - if I tried that before I would end up low.
I used R (and later Humalog) and NPH for the first 13 years of diabetes, then used Humalog and Lantus for 2 years, and have used the pump for the past 7 years.
I wouldn't say the pump makes diabetes easier. You only get out of it what you put into it, and in some ways it's more work than shots (having to pack around pump supplies and change the infusion set and cartridge every few days). The pump IS more precise than shots, though. In some ways this makes things easier if you know exactly where your problem lies; in other ways it makes things more complicated because there are so many variables (is it my pump? the food I ate? basal rate that needs changing?).
I forgot to add this. In November last year I got the Dexcom G4 CGM. It was life changing for me then and continues to make my life with D much easier. But it also helped me to figure out pump settings much more quickly and optimize the pump to my life. I originally got the G4 just to assure myself that I could handle having something attached to me 24/7/365 and now I would not give it up for anything.
Yes the pump is great! My daughter constantly eats and it wouldn't be possible if we didn't have the pump. Years ago before the pump did the pen a few times and she complained that it stung. Especially for a young child one site change every two days versus many many shots a day, definitely a pump.