Pump vacation

I am considering on going on a pump vacation. I was have good luck with the sureT’s then I started having problems with the infusion set and not getting insulin. How do I do this? Thanks.

You need to get some long acting lantus or something. Then figure out ur basal needs.
Most people split it into 2 injections so if you are on 1 unit per hour. That’s 24 units and take 12 twice a day. Then Bolus as normal with a syringe or pen.

I tried this for a month and although it was nice to lose the pump I found I was injecting 10 times a day. And my control was not good.
However like anything if I did it longer I might have tightened it up.

That was on my old paradigm pump that did t have integrated cgm anyway.
But the number of injections is why I started pumping anyway.

It’s worth a try.

@Dee_Meloche Some people do fine with one injection of Tresiba and I believe most people say it takes a couple of days to work out if it’s the right dose for you. As @Timothy has said, especially if it’s Lantus splitting the dose into 2 injections gives you a little more control over the amount at night versus day.

But I would also lower the dose from what you are getting from your pump initially, Mostly for “night” as there is no adjusting a different hour and a different basal rate. And the long lasting insulins have peaks and valleys etc.

I think people generally use more when taking a shot versus a pump, but that night thing I would go a little on the safer side until you know how your sugars are behaving.

Yeah, I might do it for a couple of weeks just to try it and break away from worrying about my sites and the technology. I remember what it was like somewhat. I actually just got off the phone with the educator and she just reminded me of complicated it really is. I would need to inject about 4x a day. Maybe I will try and work through my problems.

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I have great success with MDI* and yes, if you are going to do well with it, you’ll continue to rely on your cgm, and there will be multiple injections every day. I use pens (basal and bolus) and 4mm pen needles. It’s not a big deal, and hard to believe it’s any more “complicated” than operating a pump and rotating infusion sites.

I use Tresiba as a basal now, which I prefer slightly over Levemir, which I prefer greatly over Lantus. Typical MDI bolus insulins are Novolog, Humalog and Apidra, but there are others. If you search MDI here there are other threads with more information.

Good luck!

*Multiple Daily Injections

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I just grabbed some NPH from Walmart, injected the same dosage I used to take many years ago and actually did better than on my pump for about a month. Unexpected, eh?

I am 61 and have been a T1D for 43 years and never been on a pump. I am currently on Tresiba long acting (lantus before that) with Humalog short acting and my a1c’s have been in the 5 to 6 range for as long as I can remember and have not yet had any diabetes complications. I found Tresiba to be an amazing once a day basal insulin that that I take in the morning and lasts 24+ hours and I rarely have to change the dosage. I also give myself Humalog shots on average 6 times a day. The other things that significantly helps me get good results is my Dexcom CGM, exercise of some sort practically everyday (walk, hike, and mtn bike a lot), maintaining a healthy weight and diet, and eating smaller size meals and snacks but 5 times a day (including occasional desserts!), and in general I try to have a consistent lifestyle. But like all diabetics things get a little crazy because of short term changes in activity, rest, stress, food, and sometimes it seems like for no reason and I need to take more shots of Humalog to compensate. To me this seems not much different that someone on a pump has to do except I don’t need to deal with the pump issues. Other keys to keeping my a1c down is that I quickly address any high/low blood glucose levels and make sure they are good before I go to bed. I am not saying what I do is right for all diabetics but unless you have insulin resistance issues or have a hectic lifestyle I think many can effectively manage T1D on shots only and using some good practices. Who knows after your pump vacation you may never want to go back to a pump?!

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I started MDI today…this morning when doing a POD change, I processed it as normal, but continued to get the beep sound that I get when it’s time to change a POD. No notifications showed on the Dash, and I had my sharps bin up to my ear trying to decipher if the sounds was coming from the POD on my stomach, the POD in the sharps bin or the PDM…could NOT tell, and have no idea why that sound would be happening (this is not my 1st rodeo, and I’m very aware of how the POD system works). Frustration took over (been frustrated the entire transition to the Dash) and I discarded the POD, powered off the PDM and took a shot of Lantus. I’ve been wanting to try MDI/go on a pump vacation for some time anyhow… Let’s see how today goes…

Good for you! While we often prefer the familiar routines of our usual treatment habits, it’s always healthy to change things up every once in a while. At a minimum, this change to MDI will give you some experience with a back-up mode to pumping. Good luck and let us know how things evolve.

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I’ve taken pump vacations esp when I’m getting a lot of scar tissue and I prefer to rest my sites a while.

I find that I give so many correction blouses that it becomes irritating. Maybe 10 a day on average.

My needle injections tend to bleed and I get lots of little red spots on my shirts.
I really can’t use my hips or butt because then I need to pull down my pants to inject.
So my vacations are usually only about a month.
I really like my new loop so I’m not sure I want to take another vacation, but I still keep it in my back pocket.

Things seem to be going better. I am going to stick with the pump for a little longer. I get very discouraged when my sites don’t work.