People keep telling me it may be a good idea but im not sure. I have realy bad lows at nite to were i have to be takin to the er. my brother has one seems to be doing him good, he realy needed it sense he is pretty sick with dialyis. i have heard that the pump is not for everyone.
i have brittle diabeties i have been pretty lucky not to have any complications other than a prob with my tummy but not sure if that was caused by my D.
i kinda want one but i keep reading these stories about how they get in the way and they leave big holes in the injection site, or they stop working in the middle of the nite.
so what kinda advice do you all have for me?
I am pretty new to my pump myself, but I love my pump. I have not got my sugars where they need to be but I am working on it. But as far as the mechanics of it and getting in the way it does not have any problems and it alerts me if anything is wrong. Plus I don’t even feel it when I sleep and I even swim with mine. It is water proof and it does great in the water. I have an animas ping. I don’t have any big holes in my tummy and as soon as I take mine out I can not even tell where it was. I have never had complications at night with mine either. But if you go hypo at night I think a pump might be a great thing for you.
Of course my story may not be like others, everybody differs, but I think it is worth a try for you.
Good luck!
Sure, you can try a pump (you count your carbs, right? otherwise, no you’re not ready to pump). Pumping requires understanding the specifics of your Insulin to Carb ratio, your correction factor, your total daily dose of insulin, etc, plus you have to be willing to deal with tubing. With the right work put into it, a pump can give better control than shots. In any case, if you are having lows, you can try lowering your long-acting dose or even splitting it so you get less at night. Talk to your doctor. These days NO ONE should be a brittle diabetic! If your doc isn’t good at helping you figure out your problems, switch docs!
Prob with tummy as in gastroparesis ?? A pump will be usefull , however there are folks , that have this problem due to long time diabetes and use MDI . I know a woman in my province , who started to wear a MM pump well over 25 years ago and still going strong .She was the first pumper in British Columbia, Canada .The book Pumping Insulin by John Walsh very useful .Do some more research and talk to your Health Team , Wish you well with your choices , pumper for 8 years.
I too have fairly brittle diabetes and frequent lows but I shied away from a pump for years because I was afraid it would “get in the way”. I found my solution in my Omnipod insulin pump which allows me to not be attached to a pump but still control via the insulin pump. The pump has allowed me much finer control of my insulin so I’m getting extra when I need it and not getting too much when I don’t need it. My basal pattern has about 8 different levels throughout the day which has really helped me to avoid lows. My A1C hasn’t gone down much (last was 6.8, the first after I went on a pump) but I got that with probably less than a quarter of the lows I used to get. It has helped me a lot. Pumping is not for everyone and does have it’s fair share of drawbacks but now that I’ve made the jump I’d never go back. My advice would be to chat with the pump companies and pick your favorite and see how much your insurance will cover. Most pump companies will allow you to do “trials” to see how much it gets in the way and what it feels like to have it on. After avoiding pumps for years and I can truly say I’ll never look back to my days of MDI’s now that I have one. You owe it to yourself and your health to at least explore the options fully.
If you hate taking shots like I do, I HIGHLY suggest getting an insulin pump. I’ve had T1 since 1980 and didn’t get the pump until 2004… my first pregnancy was pure hell taking 4 or more shots a days and then crashing due to the all day morning sickness and not being able to eat one bite of food. The insulin pump helped with my last two pregnancies.
If you are over 25 years old and have had Type 1 since youth, I would look into getting a CGMS such as Dexcom Seven Plus (those were the requirements of my health insurance - but the requirements are so different for each health insurance). I have hypoglycemia unawareness and have had hypoglycemia night sweats during my sleep (almost once a month) and the Dexcom has really helped me a ton since I’ve started wearing it May 6. I have actually done some actual strenuous exercise - when I was diagnosed the elementary school banned me from participating in many gym activities (I was pretty much only allowed to do square dance and walking… pretty sad, eh?). If you don’t feel your lows or have night time sweat from low’s, I highly suggest looking into whether your health insurance covers a Dexcom Seven Plus first (just my honest opinion). If I had a choice I would get a CGMS before an insulin pump. I wish I had had a CGMS when I was diagnosed at age 9, as it would’ve saved me from so many humiliating lows from my past.
Another thing, if you have GHP as your health insurance… I wouldn’t even try for any form of diabetic helping health gadget. They deny EVERY ONE. I had three different docs (Endo, High-Risk Ob, Diabetic Educator) all write to GHP asking that I get approval for an insulin pump and I was denied. Minimed Medtronic and many many doctors will tell you that GHP is the worst health insurance EVER. They would rather have a diabetic have an A1c of 11%+ constantly going to hospital. If you have United Healthcare… you are definitely one lucky LUCKY person. I have Anthem BCBS which has been great for me and approved me for my insulin upgrade last year and my recent Dexcom Seven Plus gadget.
Good Luck and hope you have a good health insurance that approves you!
After more then 10 years of 5 injections a day, I’m on an Omnipod insulin pump for the past week. I love it. I love not having to take the shots. I love being able to take my blood sugars, hit a button or two, and get my insulin. I feel like I have much better control. I do have a couple of holes that are healing, but some neosporin took care of them. Its not like the bruises I was getting from the injections. The Omnipod is the bomb - no hose or anything. Totally worth it. And I was the same way - I resisted it for years and wish I hadn’t. Not to self-promote, but a lot of my recent tweeting has been about my experiances with the Omnipod if you care or are interested ;).
Hi, I did 23 years on injections before I got a pump and wish I’d got one sooner. It’s not a magic cure, but it made a real difference to me. I blogged about some of the main questions people ask about pumping - take a look at http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/2009/04/28/pumping-for-beginners/
I absolutely love the pump and I highly recommend it. I too was worried about tubing and other comfort problems but in the end once you see how much more, and better, control you have you forget all about it. To me it’s like having a child: you can worry about the lack of sleep, the mess of the dirty diapers, the mess in your house, the noise, aggravation, lack of a personal life etc. but once you look into her eyes for the first time you realize that she is the best thing that ever happened to you and she could poop in your cereal and you wouldn’t care (figuratively speaking of course).
More than a pump though it sounds to me like you would certainly benefit from a CGM.
I’m in the same boat (deciding if I should do a pump or just stay with injections). I really don’t mind doing the injections - so I was thinking maybe a CGM (dexcom 7 plus) would be better for now. I get lows periodically and when I’m at home with my little guy it gets scary when I think - what if I just went a little lower (40’s , 30’s, etc)?? He can’t call 911 yet. or even talk! Definitely exploring that option…
After giving a lot of thought. I called the Rep and decided to go for the Pump. This was three months ago. They lost the paperwork the first time and then the second time. So, I decided to wait a while and do more research. Well, I get a call from the manufacturer that the paperwork I had submitted the first time is being sent to the insurance company. Looks like I maybe getting a Pump. I get the lows usually after a workout and when I am driving. So I am going to be relying on Continuous Glucose monitoring. Plus, between the long and the short acting I poke myself five times a day. The Pump is from Medtronic any feedback would be appreciated.
