Im a 16 year old male and somehow I've had type 1 diabetes for 12 and a half years without even thinking about getting a pump, so the main question is, should I get one? If i was going to get one then I'd prefer to have the animas vibe, how easy are they to get in the UK?
Yes.
Omnipod.
I think there is a UK group on the forum. Try searching. My reading of their posts is that it depends partly on where you live in UK and partly on how much support the pump has by your own health care workers. You should meet the criteria but you can look it up on a diabetes site in the UK. Just search for UK insulin pump criteria.
Pump: yes if you are willing to manage your diabetes properly. My opinion: Animas or Minimed or Accuchek. Some people still have trouble knocking the Omnipod off and other problems. Yes, some love it but not all by any means. Find out if you can try the ones of interest for a week to see which one you like. We can do that in the U.S. but I am not sure about the UK.
It will change your life if you go at it with a good attitude.
First of all, why do you want the pump? Like what are your reasons? I'm saying this because I will likely be one of few who offers a negative opinion on these things and for valid reasons. If you have good reasons and are willing to put up with a frustrating thing for a while until you figure if you like it or not? I guess you should try it, especially if you can find out how to get one for a trial and not commit to it. I do not know how things work in the UK , but from what I understand it's a bit hard to get a pump there.Because, I don't wanna be a negative nelly here but the pump did not live up to the hype for me.I can't personally say much good about a pump now that I have experience with one. I know plenty of people who absolutely love them and the animas vibe is the most praised insulin pump I've ever seen (from my European and Canadian friends) and you MAY have better luck than me , of course. But do your research, don't just jump for one due to the hype surrounding pumps.
Also I have great control on MDI and know what I'm doing enough to survive, 5.5% a1c and all and I went into it extremely positive but came out wanting to hide it because it honestly traumatized it. I learned if it ain't broke, don't fix it the hard way.
I absolutely love my pump and I was well controlled when I got it. I have been on it for 12 years.
I suggest you look at how tech savvy you are. In my experience people who have a a good sense and good experience using tech are very successful with the pump those who are scared of the pump or change or who do not have decent tech savvy love their pump. Those who do not tend to be overwhelmed.
I do agree it is not for everyone, so look at all sides of the issue. Judge your own sense of how adventurous you are with technology. If you are frightened of change or tech then do not do it.
Well I'm on an insulin pen right now, and injecting yourself 6+ times a day for almost 13 years gets kinda old, but then again it is working. I don't know, I've just read a lot about them and I also watch DiabeticDanica on YouTube and she made me see all of the good and bad points of the pump.
Yeah I'm extremely tech savvy, I love pretty much anything to do with technology, that's what drew me in to the pump and also the Dexcom G4 which I'm also going to ask my Doctor about maybe getting.
I mainly just want a change from doing 6+ injections a day for almost 13 years, which as you can imagine gets pretty annoying and sometimes a big inconvenience in some situations!
That is how I felt as well Sam, I was up to as many as 10 injections a day and carrying around all those pre-loaded syringes was most inconvenient and wasteful. I think form your description of yourself you woudl like the pump and do well with it.
Since you haven't probably been moved onto the adult clinic yet you are probably still more likely to get hold of a pump than an adult (adults can but it must be shown that you need one to justify the funding, a lot easier as a kid, no offence). They mostly judge need off your control (not HbA1c although sometimes taken into account) but mostly off swings and roundabouts and hypos and high spells etc.
Choice of pump depends on your NHS Trust and who they've done deals with. Newcastle seems pretty open to many, although heard Liverpool is very Omnipod and Lancaster is Medtronic. All depends on your area so you might have to change to a different hospital to get the pump of your choice...issue there is then you have to get that new hospital to approve need from the consultant who will then appeal for the grant to pay for the pump. Thus you get the choice of hardware they make, or you might get a choice from what they deal with.
As for Dexcom they won't deal with the NHS (unless that's changed since the February when I last enquired that is), so while you might get a Vibe, you won't get a G4. Had a word with both Dexcom (who just put everything on to the UK distro) and the UK contacts and neither will go into the issue at hand about why they won't deal with the NHS. Either way though, not going to happen unless you want to pay your own which is £1250 up front, and about £250 a month on sensors (depending on if you make them stretch further or just use them on and off).
I was rather reluctant about the pump at first. Been using needles since I was 4, don't need one or so I thought. But now they I've got it, you won't get me going back ever! Very highly recommended for the freedom they give us. As said, a lot of kids now are automatically getting a pump, it's just the adults (thus about which clinic you go to matters) that you need to prove a real need to have one.
I love my pump! I have some of my bio on my page but basically I went from my BG flying all over the place to 5.8 A1Cs with a pump and then into the low 5s with a CGM. I found it to be much less work, it does a great job logging things for me and preparing reports I can use to make changes if I feel like something's out of whack. It also makes working out and exercising more fun as I have found it much easier to keep my BG on a leash. It provides you more tactical feedback and coaching than any doctor I've ever run into, although I may not be the best patient. Because I'm impatient and do it myself. With a pump, I do it right.
It's a personal decision, but I think one big factor is how good your control is with MDI and whether or not you can do better on a pump? If money isn't an issue, you might just try a pump for a few months and see how it goes. Regarding Omnipod, some people love them, but they don't work for many of us. Having a CGM was huge for me.
I have the omnipod and I love it. I got mine when I was 16 (now 18). I was so tired of taking all the shots and I didn't want to carry around all of the pens and stuff wherever I went. I decided on the omnipod because it's wireless and waterproof so you can swim and shower with it. I would highly recommend it! Also, I'm probably the only person who's had a bad experience with a CGM so I can't help you there.
Sam:
I see from your profile you live in Cheshire. In England you should be eligible for a pump provided you meet a set of guidelines known as the NICE guidelines. There is some "leeway" in the guidelines, so that a "sympathetic/progressive" clinic will likely be able to make you fit (provided you can demonstrate you will use the pump responsibly). Conversely there are plenty of clinics that will still try to reject pump applications (even from people who are being admitted to A and E with hypos on a regular basis).
I would be the first person to encourage anyone with T1 to consider a pump, but you still do need to think about the decision. If you are interested in more UK-relevent information, I suggest you look at the INPUT website. You can also contact them for advice about clinics if you want to take it further.
http://www.inputdiabetes.org.uk/
I see from another of your posts that you are interested in a Dexcom. As suggested by other posters, you are unlikely to get funding for this (there is some funding for CGM but it is limited, only in some geographical areas and restricted to people with particular needs such as dangerous hypos, pregnant woment etc.). However if you go with a pump, the Vibe does integrate with the Dexcom sensors (so no receiver needed). I self fund and I estimate it costs me around £1400 per year.
Good luck
Joel