Well, after 16 solid years pumping (and 46 yrs as a type 1), I have pretty much decided to take a break. My sites keep having occlusions, my small doses prevent the pump from detecting these, and Medtronic has just told me that the sets which will help with this problem are not available right now. Said they ran out during the test trial.
So, looking at Lantus, Novolog and hopefully can get a pen with small increment dosing. Using Accu chek Expert meter for pump-like calculations. New HMO, new year, good time to change but a little nervous! Love to hear success stories on pump vacay…
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After 25 years of pumping, I was having the same issue with the infusion sets. Vacation from the pump was the best decision I’ve made in years! Started Tresiba in 10/2016. It has worked wonders for my BS ! My next appt. with my endo is in Feb. Hopefully my A1c will be better than 7.4. Never been able to get any lower than that, pumping. Humalog has a pen for dosing .5 units. I was a little nervous at first, but it is working out better than the pump.
Thanks for this item, Laura. It’s precisely the issue I’m dealing with presently. I too was increasingly frustrated with site absorption issues and silent occlusions so on November 27th I turned off my pump and went MDI. At this point, one month in, my pros and cons list comes out about even. But I see my endo in early January and will see about going from Lantus to Tresiba to maybe even my fasting numbers out a bit. But I’m loving going back to basics, odd but true.
I went MDI this year for three months after pumping non-stop for 29 years. I was interested in learning about Tresiba, a basal insulin new to the US. Overall I found it a great experience and I enjoyed pretty good control but I went back to the pump because I had a little better control and it had a better memory than I do. (Did I really take that breakfast dose?) I used the U100 Tresiba pen and the Apidra pen. It was my first time using pens. I I like their convenience and their needles are tiny. I’m now comfortable with the routine and feel like I could switch to MDI if I needed to.
I enjoyed my time away from the pump but I was so used to having a pump attached I seldom felt burdened by it.
Here is a note from Mike Hoskins about making this decision.
as for me, I will gladly keep my pump. I love my pump, but sure I understand the notion. I wish you the very best.
Sounds great. I can’t use Humalog due to allergy, but hopefully they will authorize the Novolog pen that does smaller doses. I’d rather have a pen to carry around.
Still not sure about the newer long lasting insulins, and will need special authorization for them. Lantus is the preferred.
Oooh, I hear you about the memory thing. The one Novolog pen has memory, but not on the HMO formulary. I may have to beg for it!
Thanks for posting the link. There sure are a lot of new things coming out in the near future! I don’t have a CGM system and am not able to go that route right now. I do love my pump, but being on only 12 units basal per day, and tiny little bolus doses, has meant that occlusions cause me to have zero insulin which the pump cannot detect. I think it is something like 19 hours before it knows it’s getting no insulin. Hoping this works out for me. Hubby and my elderly Mom are on board, and supportive.
the novo pen echo should also be available in the U.S i think. if not, there is also the novo pen junior. with both you can dial 0.5 units. i have a novo pen echo for my novo rapid and it works great.
i too went on a pump vacation about a year ago and am extremely happy with my tresiba/novorapid combo
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After 10 years of the pump, I was experiencing the same problems. Taking a break from the pump and doing much better. Glad to know I’m not alone!
I use Timesulin insulin pen caps. It starts a timer when you take the cap off so that you know when you last bolused. It doesn’t remember the dose but it’s been very helpful for remembering if if I bolused for a meal or corrected.
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OK, so maybe the junior pen can be approved. Also I am going to use the Accu Chek Expert meter, which is the same meter that controls their pumps. So it has memory and graphs and all sorts of info and bolus calculators. Still not sure about the newer long acting insulins, need to make a decision on Tresiba or the other one, or choose Lantus.
Laura, I to had these problems. I’ve had diabetes for 55 years and been on pump for about 25 of those years. So easy to say I really had to rest my skin. I’ve been on Tresiba and humalog pen for 6 months and love it. I use tinesulin pen topper and expert glucose meter. The convenience of the pump is good but once you get use to the pens it all works about the same. There is a lot of new devices in the works to make manual injections more inviting. I still have my pumps and who knows I may give them another try later. Good luck.
Thanks for the reassurance. I’m getting pretty excited about this, but it will be a few weeks before we can get things rolling. Btw, I used the meter before when I trialed the Accu Chek pump. That is how they are going to set me up.It’s not a bad meter, and will sure help with dosing.