Mmmm…I don’t recall calling you a liar Ron. I stated your profile A1c of 7.3 on this discussion. When you noticed that, you immediately changed your A1c to 6.3. Then I commented on your page about the change. So, you’ve been pumping about a year or 2?
My profile is not hidden from over 180 of my Friends. Including Manny and some of the hardworking Administrators and the Wonderful Welcome Committee. I just prefer that People(lurkers)not be able to view my profile since they are not Members. No sin there.
Oh…That’s a Great bike, btw Ron. Ours isn’t that long.
Terrie, one important motto in many diabetes communities is that YMMV = “Your Mileage May Vary”.
I would be hesitant to judge someone based on their A1c. Look at my page. My last one was 7.9 (Feb. 2009 – where i live the doctors don’t measure A1c as often). I know how to take care of myself, but “fell off the wagon” and had a hard time for a few months. Our experiences and situations are not the same. I hope that someone does not look at my profile page and decide that they know a lot about me based on one number.
Some people (especially those with highly varied basal needs throughout the day) do significantly better on the pump. Others don’t. We should all choose what is best for us and our health.
Let’s not judge a person’s whole life with diabetes based on a number.
As always, I do appreciate your thoughts and words Kristen. You are kind and Well experienced. I know about the YMMV, of course. I apologize to Ron. I shouldn’t have said that to him especially since he is a Newbie.
On the other hand, I also hope that some Pumpers will stop ramming the pump down non-pumpers throats. Particularly Pumpers who are having problems. It has been mentioned so many times here and on other Diabetes Communities. I’m Very Happy that many are doing Good on the pump. But half of the population with Diabetes will not kick-off just because they do not pump.
I will have had Diabetes for 48 years this December. I know how to handle my Diabetes. I’m sorry that my A1c is not 6.0 or less as some Pumpers think it should be. But I know that my test results are Good(Thank God and touch wood) and I do not need or want a pump, as many pumpers think that I should have. My A1c has been 6.4 for about 2 years and 6.3 and 6.2 before that. I’m Proud of that. YMMV!!
The pumpers should be helping Michael instead of upbraiding him. I thought perhaps that he should leave his inset in for about a half hour or so while his new infusion set is in. I remember hearing this. Perhaps it would help keep his sugars down after putting the new set in. Maybe someone already mentioned this. I don’t know. I just hope that he gets his problems figured out. Thanks!
I agree completely on the pump issues. I am currently on the pump, but I am actually planning on trying to go back to injections after I am done with the “pregnancy” phase of my life (we are still in the planning phase).
I have taken pump vacations for up to a month. They were nice
I think that I am one of the people who does well on MDI because my basal needs do not vary dramatically throughout the day. Others have other needs!
We also have a teenage member with really low A1cs, who switched to the pump, had worse results and then switched back.
@Terrie: I would be very happy with a 6.4 (I have been before …). Keep up the good work!
Guess I shouldn’t have changed it after getting reminded. I have been trying with all my might to get below 7. I have been on a pump since 2005, but when I went to cgms, it really “turned the light on” for me. I’d like to get to 6.0 just to say to myself I can do it.
The bike is a Harley Ultra Classic. I also have a Ironhead Sportster(1985). At my age, the Ultra Classic is much more comfortable these days.
What do you ride on?
Thanks Terrie for the first ACTUAL response to my post, tee hee hee!
And it’s a good suggestion!
That’s what I’ve been doing for the last few months. Just before changing to a new set, I have a snack and take a generous bolus for it, then I switch and leave the old set in for a while to make sure the bolus gets fully absorbed. While this doesn’t solve the problem, it’s improved it a bit. Instead of jumping up to 18mmol, it only jumps to 12 or so. (On a perfect day).
Thanks, this must be a good resourceful diabetic way of thinking, because I tried it on my own, having never heard it from doctors/nurses.
I usually give myself a bolus right after changing. I change every 2 days, every now and then I can stretch it to 3. I have a lot of skin problems relating to 22 years of shots and 20 of pumping.
That is the essence of the problem. The bolus on a new set DOES NOT WORK. I’ve taken up to 20 units that seem to disappear into my body. I currently take a prime of THREE units! I’m not sure it actually does anything, but I’m not willing to waste anymore insulin, especially considering half a unit or 0.8 is what is recommended.
Danny -
I do use needles when my sugars go way up, but the problem even with that, is that the basal insulin isn’t being absorbed, so one shot doesn’t do it, I end up injecting my basal dose manually while the new site isn’t working…
I am also a huge fan of needles, but on their own! Obviously I’ll do whatever I need to to keep sugars in check, BUT the whole thing with pumps is NO NEEDLES! Out of spite, I am bitchy when I need to use a needle WHILE a supposedly function insulin pump is connected to me!
Kristin,
Similar to what I said above, if my sugars start to rise, there’s little that a correction blous can do at that point. There have been times that I’ve injected upwards of 25-30 units through multiple rage-boluses - with no sign that they had any effect on my blood sugars.
This is the fundamental essence of my problem - Where the heck is this insulin going, and what is causing it to be completely ineffective.
To preclude the inevitable questions - this is not hypertrophy… it doesn’t result in any lumps. It coulllllllld be scar tissue, but I’m doing everything possible to avoid either shooting into or create new scar tissue (every site has a full 3 month healing period over the last 6 months). Also, why is this specific to pumping or cannulas - I do not have this problem with needles… or maybe I’ll discover that I do when I go on vacation…
" Wow, apparently this post was less about wanting advice, and more about passionately needing to free myself from my pump." …your quote .
Micheal , PARK your pump for a while …and don’t get upset with me …my little joke …I sense you have made up your mind and fine with me ( pump advocate ) …you know YOU best …maybe I would never have become a pumper , if my numbers and the result of those numbers had been better…no Lantus available here in Canada ( as you know ) , when I considered pumping in 2000 , NPH did NOT do it for me .
“This is the fundamental essence of my problem - Where the heck is this insulin going, and what is causing it to be completely ineffective.”
You’ve gotten me remembering things from my past Michael. I remember saying this exact thing at certains times.
I have injected corrections in the past and have wondered WHY I didn’t actually see a lowering of my blood sugars. Then, all of a sudden, later on, my blood sugar will drop back down to normal and all is good again.
Now that I have CGMS, I can watch and see what/if my bolus does at meals. I need “Miss Marple” to look into this for me/us I guess.
Lastly, I can most certainly understand your frustrations. You need to hop on a motorcycle and we need to take a stress free ride for at least 1 hour. What say you?
Michael, have you considered getting a CGM? Shots and CGM allow the same bg control as pump and CGM, which both are better than shots or pump by themselves.
Ron,
Ya, I used to have similar situations on MDI or even on the pump, but with new infusion sets, I’m not chasing lows later on… I keep track of how much insulin is in my system and where things should be going, but those times, there were dozens of units that were just completely unaccounted for.
Haha, motorcycles kinda scare me… I just liked that it stopped some of the passive-aggressive commentary earlier on. haha
I have the CGM and sensor sitting in a box. I’ve used it before, and I noticed that they only really calibrate properly when your sugars are in range, which goes without saying due to the variability in higher sugars. Anyway, I’ll stick one in in the next few days and see how things are going.
Sounds like insulin resistance to me. I am having the same issues sometimes. I can take 10 units and nothing changes. Mine has a lot to do with inflammation I think. Taking 3 ibuprofen really helps me when I’m having those issues.
Allen, Great suggestion! I looked online and found lots of fascinating info on low-grade tissue inflammation leading to insulin resistance as a route to Type 2, but I’m not sure that’s exactly the same thing
Explain the inflammation thing to me, please, as it relates to you, or insulin pumping.
It could make sense: if the site inflames due to the cannula material, that could effect absorption.
I have a short term plan for the time before I go on pump vacation: I have 2 more QuickSets left, I’m going to take ibuprofen when I insert them and see if there is any improvement. Also, I have some Sure-T’s. I remember they were better than the cannula sets, so if my problem is the cannula, then the steel needles should be fine.
Yah( sp ?) to Sure-T’s !!..not perfect for me , but a heck of a lot better than kinked cannula’s …my problem the last few days HI’s and I have a scratchy throat .
Could there indeed be talk about insuline resistance as well Michael ?
