I went back and forth for a while… I’ve pumped for the majority of my T1 life, but I have taken several long (couple of years) breaks. It always seems like it’s nice to switch. My current compromise is that I am using Lantus for “most” of my basal, and my pump for convenient boluses. That way a site failure doesn’t put me at extreme risk/frustration, yet I still have most of the flexibility of pumping. I’ve been doing this for about 3 years now, and I find it’s a very happy place for me to be, because if I want a pump break, it doesn’t seem like I’m re-inventing the wheel again as soon as I switch “off”… the transition is easy. It usually does’t take more than a few days of MDI for me to want my pump back now 
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I thought it wasnt a bad meter, but hated their pump and sent it back!
I’ve had their pumps for more than 25 years and love my combo. I’ve never taken a break either. I guess YDMV (your diabetes may vary) is indeed true.
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It wasnt awful. The price was great, so were incentives.It just didnt do alll that I was used to, and I dont like relying on one meter like that. I work from home, and in a two story house it was never where I needed it to be. They suggested carrying it in a pocket all day, but that didn’t work for me. The Roche service was very very good tho.
I’m still on the break and ordered some new syringes and another vial of Lantus. This is definitely going to be an extended break. I have a few pods on standby, but I’m going to return the order they shipped me recently and told them to take me off of auto-ship: don’t call me, I’ll call you, basically.
I’ll probably go back to pumping in a few weeks/months, but right now I’m doing fine with old school MDI.
Thanks everyone!
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Are you having any real problems with lows? I guess they have you on a split dose of long acting and then you bolus for meals all day long??? I am seriously going to have to do this if I cannot make the steel sets work. Having terrible set failure after fifteen years of pumping. CDE suggests a vacation if necessary and they would set me up with the Roche meter (they offer the same meter that goes with their pump. It calculates doses like a pump, for MDI users). I’m just not sure about not being able to turn down doses for exercise etc. And for me, just grocery shopping was enough exercise to cause a low…in the old days…At least though, when you took an injection you took an injection. No chance of failure with that at all! And I loved my insulin pens.
What’s a straight line calculation? I am still considering this as a way to handle a pump vacation. I may just have no choice…Can you clarify???
I’m still wearing my CGM, so no real problems that I can’t catch.
I’m piloting my own plane so to speak and decided to do this on my own. I’ve not really consulted my endo, but to ask him to prescribe syringes for me. I’ve been pumping for so long that I didn’t have an active syringe prescription on file at my pharmacy.
I do split the my Lantus dose into two. I did that initially because the Lantus I was using had expired, and insulin loses its potency over time. I did a couple of once-a-day doses and and the end of those 24 hours my glucose levels weren’t good. Then I split it. Now I’m on a vial that isn’t expired, but I’ve just kept the same routine. I have my smartphone’s alarm set to remind me of the dose time.
The break for me is a combination of things. One I’ve been pumping for about 12 years. It’s just time for a break. It’s also time for a lifestyle reboot. I’m using so much insulin that I was plowing through pods at a crazy rate. With MDI I can get a real feeling for how much insulin I’m having to dose to stay in a normal range and, once my frozen shoulder is resolved a bit more, I have to get back to exercising. It’s a perfect storm of events: a new job that is time-intensive, a strong work ethic from me (meaning I work almost non-stop), and working from home (so my physical activity has plummeted and my body is reacting accordingly.)
I just don’t want the added annoyance of dose failures, failing pods, occlusions, or pods slipping off because I’m sweaty. Once my insulin doses drop down and I’m ready to go back to pumping, I will. However, for now, I want to be much more hands on. I never really disliked MDI anyway. I just always thought pumping would be better for me. Now I’m not 100% sure about that, so we’ll see what I end up doing a few months from now.
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Thanks for the reply! I’ve been pumping for 15 years solid and this is the only time I ever thought about taking a vacation! I’m on a little tiny dose tho, and one unit can drop me 150 to 200 points (unless the high is from an occlusion, then it takes a lot more and a long time to drop.) I work from home too, so I have food always handy if lows became an issue. Not sure, but if those steel sets dont work I may take a break.
A straight line calculation doesn’t take the actual insulin activity curve into account. For example, if you set the duration of insulin activity for 4 hours in the meter and take a 4 U bolus, the meter will count your IOB as using 1 U/hour. In reality, about 67% is done in the first 90-120 minutes.
Ah…Well, if I did take a pump vacation it seems that meter would still offer more benefit than in the old days when we had no means of calculating things while on MDI…
Been playing with an App “PredictBGL” which seems to try real hard to get the actual insulin action right. So far, it hasn’t gotten ME right yet, but we’ll see…
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What’s funny is I’ve discovered one of my old threads! I was searching for meter info, and it came up in a search!
Update (since I’m here):
I’m still doing the MDI routine. I took a brief break to check out Metronic’s 670g and hated it. I think I’m way too deep in the Dexcom matrix as I just didn’t like how Medtronic’s CGM works. Now I’m hoping Tandem gets a closed loop system to market ASAP. PLEAAAASE.
In the meantime, my insurance changed so I need to get a new meter simply because my insurance doesn’t like the brand I use now. (It’s so silly the whoops we have to jump through with our medical plans.) I use a One Touch and they want me to use Accu-chek. As switching meters is the least of my worries, I’m just going to do it. The one I’m probably going to get, the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert meter, got mentioned in this thread.
I hope everyone is well! 
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I’m trying the Guide meter right now. My gripe about it is that the strips are short, light and narrow. They designed a case that supposedly allows you to dispense one at a time but no, when it is half full the strips fly out. they even fly out when you open the lid. so, thumbs down on what could be a nice meter. Of course you could dump them into an old canister but that shouldnt have to happen…Btw, my HMO will only allow One Touch.
Last April I decided to take a break from pumping (T-Slim) as failed sites were becoming uber frustrating. I went back to MDI but with a lot more knowledge about how to dose and with a fresh enthusiasm for being hardware-free, mostly, as I’m using a Dex. I’m still on that break and have no desire to go back to the pump. My A1c is unchanged from when I was pumping, 6.1. I’ve found a fantastic app that allows me to see IOB, Diabetes:M. Life is good.
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That’s cool.
I don’t have a choice it seems. It’s Accu-chek. As I’ve got other stuff to worry about, I"m not fighting them. I’ll get an Accu-chek meter and will start using it when my One Touch strips run out.
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My A1cs are trending up a bit, but are still in the 6 to 7 range. I’m dealing with a lot of stress right now, which is the second reason I just ditched the 670g.
The PredictBGL calculates insulin onboard too. I figure if I don’t end up with this Accu-chek meter, I’ll seek out an app-based solution. Thanks for the info!
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First of all, my numbers are better with the Roche meter. I’m not bolusing for crazy One Touch numbers. I may not go back to One Touch. I’m doing the My Sugr app and bundle, unlimited Roche Guide strips. Excellent service. Second, there is a new bolus advisor pen on the market for Novolog/Humalog. For anyone interested, research the InPen.
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Does the My Sugr bundle include a coach, too?
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