so i paid a visit to my diabetes educator and dietitian today; my a1c has dropped to 5.5 again… i’m utterly confused because she is saying that i should decrease my insulin due to too many lows and that i really don’t need to go on the pump; HOWEVER my endo keeps trying to talk me into going on the pump saying i could really benefit and i’m the perfect candidate… yet the rest of my diabetes team say i am having too good control, on too little insulin and really don’t need it. safe to say i’m lost… but …at least i’m doing okay? …i guess? haha
Well, if the question is whether pumping can improve your already excellent alc, then no, probably not, or not by much. Your endo is correct that you would do well on pump because your are correctly counting carbs & calculating correct insulin doses. Your educator is right in that pumping probably cannot improve upon your a1c but is wrong in that pumping offers a level of convenience that many diabetics really love. You always have insulin loaded and ready to deliver vs syringe/vial (although an insulin pen is a good improvement over syringes if you don’t need precision down to the half unit). For some, a pump is more essential because they have DP or other variations in their daily basal requirements which a pump can easily correct. Who should decide whether you should pump? You. I don’t understand the “too little insulin” comment you got. Overall I’d listen to your endo and ignore the other. As far as the lows you are getting, that is probably fixable on shots by observing how much insulin you take for the food you eat & your activity level. If the lows are due to your body having different basal requirement throughout the day or night, then pumping is much better than shots. For me Lantus works very well but I have to watch out for a 30 pt drop that occurs within 5 hours after taking it.
Don’t forget with a pump you can be more precise in your doses which may help to avoid hypos by taking as small as .05 of a unit instead of whole units.
You know I once had and endo that kept trying to push things on me too. For me it was insulin pens, and I kept insisting that I was cool using my syringes (I tried and hated the pen). I couldn’t figure it out, but I think that she was getting extra $$$ for getting her patients to move from syringes to pens. I mean she was trying to sell me on it so hard.
I’m not saying that your endo wants you to go on the pump for the wrong reasons, but when it comes to pushing different meds and treatments, you have to consider the motivations.
I say “if it ain’t broke…” I mean a sparkling A1c of 5.5…keep doing what you’re doing!
I agree with Dino. A 5.5 A1C??? Unheard of in my world… If I could control bg’s that well…
Back to reality! Keep up the great job!
I think we diabetics, we know better than the doctors how we are doing; when I last went to the endocrinologist, my sugar was 70, stable not going down; they said they couldn’t let me drive it my sugar was lower than 80. The nurse brought out sugar glucose tablets, and said eat at least two. I should have just said, no i am leaving have a nice day!!! But I ate the tabs, and when I arrived home, my sugar was 165. So next time I will use MY best judgment. When my HA1C was 4.8, and I printed out my graphs reflecting carbs and all the sensor tracking and blood testing, the doc said you aren’t eating enough. I said, what are you talking about, I have gained ten pounds over the last few years, and want to lose that now; isn’t so easy when you are on insulin. Anyway, I say all of this with thankfulness for good doctors; I have many. I have had retinopathy, and other complications from diabetes, and my arthritis specialist won’t allow me to use the heavy drugs that reduce inflammation, but I am still energetic and active and pushing the envelope for individuals with disabilities to have a life life ours. It is like mission work, and as long as I can afford the supplies for the pump, have insurance, and stay with a regimen, I hope to continue to contribute to many causes. Have a great day!!! KWLawson
I went on the pump to get rid of night time lows!! It works great for me!
KWLawson that is a great a1c, i was at that at this point once but i had to decrease my insulin because i was having so many lows, has your a1c always been this low? and have you developed retinopathy resulting from your lows?
Hello Jill! The reason they are suggesting a pump for you is to avoid the low BS. For instance, if you are going to be active you have to eat the whole house so that you don’t go low while your workout or whatever. On a pump you can just go workout and still not run a low or a high. I have a Type I Diabetes and my A1c is 5.7 but I only have about 2 lows a week that I treat for. Just kinda depends what you want. Let me know if you need anything. 