I want to go onto the insulin pump, as I have been told it is better for the irratic lifestyle. The problem is that in the UK it isn’t easily accessable, and you have to apply for funding and they decide if they want to give you the pump and then you have to do a ton of training courses, and even then they might not give it to you. I will need to lose a lot of weight first too.
Is it worth it. Those who are on it, does it make your lives easier?
Thanks
Becky
Definitely worth it. I have been on a pump since 1990, (diagnosed 1974)—they have come a long way—I cant even imagine going off the pump for a day. Luckily I have never had to. My pump helped me lose weight and i didnt even try…the roller coaster i was on ended almost immediately. Previous to the pump i felt like i chased insulin with food…and then food with insulin— I was on 4 shots a day (which doesnt seem to be THAT many these days). I feel like the pump is life altering for me and gave me freedom. It revolutionized the way I control my diabetes. Add a CGM to that and i practically feel cured— (well closer than ever before anyway)
Whats a CGM?
Wow, it sounds like in the US you guys havehad the pump for ages. It seems really unfair that in the UK it is not standard care. 
I find that I go low alot. I take a base line of insulin then fast acting for when I eat, but I live such an irratic life. I do Martial Arts, and we do very intense exercise and endurance tests. My sugars always go low and stay low. I can get through 1 to two bottles of lucusade just to keep going. And I don’t have any fast acting insulin after dinner before I go. But if I were to reduce my slow acting insulin,I would be high all day until martial arts
CGM is a Continuous Glucose Monitor—you wear a small sensor and it give a Blood Glucose reading every 5 minutes…there are currently 2 onthe market in the US— check out
www.dexcom.com - this is a stand alone system, however Dexcom has entered agreements with Animas and the makers of Omnipod to incorporate the receiver into the pump.
The Medtronic Minimed systems receiver is already incorporated into the Paradigm pump–http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/
good luck…
that is so weird.