Hi Syd,
I switch back and forth between doing shots and using my pump. Shots for a couple months when I’m tired of being attached (dependent on) the technology, and back to the pump for a few months when I’m tired of the whacky sugars I get with shots. I personally find that my blood sugar control is much better on the pump than shots. It takes some care and figuring to go back and forth between the two, but just having the pump doesn’t mean you can’t ever do shots, if you want to.
Good luck!
I’ve said this before & started a discussion on the topic a while ago & perhaps worth mentioning again. I question if pump success can be attributed to the training patients receive. I’ve heard from many that they never counted carbs carefully, or knew about I:C ratios prior to pumping. They weren’t educated on fine tuning basal or bolus until they got a pump.
I had been educated in 1984, on testing 4–6 times/ day and exchanges and snacks. I had no clue about carb counting until I read “Pumping Insulin” and “Think Like a Pancreas”. I just sort of floated through things. I was sort of motivated when I got the pump as I was getting pushed really hard in the Tae Kwon Do Academy but I also was amazed to see that counting stuff actually worked and, once it was set pretty closely, I could really see how to push things to improve them and control things, cut waaaay back on all the snacks and lose more weight and stuff. I got most of the education online and from those books.
I resisted my docs rec for a pump for 3 years and then finally said what the heck and gave it a try. I always tried to have tight control with shots but my #'s are much better now. I’ve been on the pump 6 years and would not switch back. There’s a definite learing period, but once that’s mastered it’s so much easier. It’s always on you and you don’t have to worry about having supplies, also you only have to stick yourself once every three days or so. Also the mimimed pump allow for an integrated cgm. Although the cgms not perfect it does help identify patterns and detect lows. My only con for the pump is where to put the darn thing. It really messes with the line of a nice dress and it always seems to be poking me in the stomach when I’m wear ing pants. (I wear it w/screen in clipped to waistband). As far as your moms concern about you becoming dependent on the pump, you dependent on insulin anyway, so why not make it more convenient. If you don’t like it you can always go back to shots. I’m sure your mom has your best interest at heart, but it’s your life, your disease, and your future - you’ll have to decide what’s best for you, not your mom. Also, when I was decidind to pump or not I read a great book that answered tons of my questions - " Insulin pump therapy demystified : an essential guide for everyone pumping insulin " by Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer. Check it out, maybe you and your mom could read it together. Good luck and keep us posted as to what you decide.
Sounds like me… I resisted the pump for (I think) more than 3 years, and after starting, my A1C dropped by a full percentage point! Unfortunately it’s been slowly creeping back up, but that’s due to my own compliance issues that I have to deal with. (Oh yeah, and a dress line never was a concern for me)…