Pump Vacation

[Kel1]

Hi all, do you go on pump vacations? How do you decide what long acting insulin amounts to give yourself? Thanks in advance.

[MarieB]

if you use the little magnifying glass icon in the upper right of your screen, and search for “pump vacation”, you’ll find many discussions. here’s one from @acidrock23

First Pump Vacation Ever, since 2008!

Ok, I had a few "repair jobs", when pumps blew up but last weekend and this week and, well, we'll see, maybe another week-10 day of it. We're going on vacation (ok, Maui...) and I want to go surfing, jump into waterfalls, etc. without having to worry about "oh, gee, I have to stick a new set in" since my Medtronic pump isn't waterproof. I had a lake weekend (Grand Lake, OK...) and it was fun but the Levemir leftover from the Labor Day pump failure was not up to the task. I got through a day but …

I’m sure he’d be willing to talk about his pump vacation. I’ve been pumping over 25 years and have never felt like taking it off.

[acidrock23]

Absolutely! I just got back from another one (all-inclusive resort for a week, 5 pools, 2 beaches, swimming w/ stingrays, etc…) but am rushing out the door to go to work!

[mikep]

Hi Kel. I thought about it for while and finally took the plunge a couple months back and likely will not go back to my pump. My doc started me with 80% of my daily pump basal total and went from there. Good luck!!!

[Terry4]

I went on MDI two months ago after spending decades non-stop on a pump. It’s worked out well and I have no plans at the moment to return to my pump.

As far as a starting dose of basal insulin, I used the average of the last week’s total daily basal rate. I started there but had to ramp up to about 50% higher and then dropped back a few units where I’ve been for a few weeks. Whatever you do, keep your emergency glucose nearby and do plenty of fingersticks.

I think a pump vacation can provide a little relief to the pump regimen but it also keeps your MDI chops current in case they’re unexpectedly needed.

I’m enjoying the change of routine and my control is a little bit better. It’s nice not to always be reaching back for my “tail” as I get out of bed. MDI has it’s own challenges, however. I found I depended on my pump’s memory to confirm if I took a dose and when. I now set a phone alarm that rings every day at 9 p.m. to prompt me to take my daily basal dose. I also record all my doses on my CGM, when I remember!

[Kel1]

Thanks @MarieB, can you tell Im a new user?

[Kel1]

Thank you @mikep and @Terry4 your advice is so appreciated! Also, as a previous MDI user of 8 years- I want to give you a heads up that it is possible, maybe even likely, that scar tissue/fat deposits can develop at any sites you use repeatedly for MDI. This is something i have personally experienced and one of the main reasons I switched to the pump. Anyway- it was something that hadn’t been mentioned to me and may have changed the way I chose my treatment. The MDI it can really make Diabetes out of sight & out of mind! Thanks for your help & best of luck! Im excited to run your suggestions by my dr and take a ‘vacation’

[MarieB]

no problem @Kel1! We’re all helping each other here.

[mikep]

thanks Kel. Good luck to you as well.

[acidrock23]

I went on one and just got back. I went back on my pump before we left but it worked out very well. We were at an all-inclusive resort in Antigua so lots of eating and drinking and activity was on the menu. I ran 2 days, just a couple of miles but they had a hill w/ a 30% grade that was an interesting workout experience. I also swam quite a bit, both lounging around the pool and some laps mid-afternoon to “freshen up”. And, of course, quite a bit of dancing in the evenings, so lots of fun.

Re deciding the amount, I use the daily basal on my pump as a starting point and ended up going a bit higher than that. 22U vs 20U daily pumped basal and then a nudge with 6U at bedtime.