Diabetic: Can you tell me about insulin pumps?

Question

I am an insulin dependent diabetic I test my blood 3-4 times a day and inject before each meal and at bed time. I am also on oral medication I am considering an insulin pump but have never used, or even seen one. If you are using an insulin pump, please tell me something about it. Do you like it? Thank You:

Answer 1

I started a pump in april. Before the pump I was on lantus and novolog. It worked well, and my a1c was 5.7. I tested around 6-8 times a day. I was shooting about 6+ times a day.

You have to test a ton when you first start the pump. 12-15 times a day was the norm for me about the first month of so. After that I got rates figured out better and it was down to about 8-10.

Let me back up a bit and explain how pumps work a little. Pumps only use fast acting insulin. You load up a "reservoir" (also called a "cartridge"), sorta like a big syringe, with fast acting insulin. I use novolog. My reservoir holds 300 units of insulin, about a 10 day supply for me.

Tubing in then connected from the reservoir to an "infusion set" on the body. The infusion set is put in with a needle that is slightly thicker than a syringe needle and usually considerably longer. It hurts more to put in than giving a shot does, but still not bad, and it stays there for 3 days. Some people need to use a lot of tape to keep it in place, some people use none (just the adhesive on the set itself). You will soon find what works for you.

Pumps use "basal" and "bolus" doses of insulin. The basal is the minimum amount of insulin you need when you are not eating. This amount may change throughout the day, which is okay on a pump, since you can adjust it by the half hour (on my pump, some pumps you can only go by the hour). By fine tuning where you need more and less basal, you can really control things better than with shots. I'm amazed at how varied my basal is, because I need .2 units per hour in the morning, and .7 in the afternoon. Huge difference.

The bolus dose is given when you eat or when you have high bs. You will figure out two numbers with your doctor. One is called a "carb ratio". This is the amount of carbs you can eat and take 1 unit of fast acting insulin and stay normal. For example, mine is 18. That means I can have 18 grams of carbs, and if I take 1 unit, my blood sugar will stay normal. So if I want 27 grams of carb, I can take 1.5 units and stay normal. If I eat 36 grams I can take 2 units and "cover" it. And so on and so forth.

The other number is called the "insulin sensitivity factor" or just "ISF." This is the amount 1 unit of fasting acting insulin drops your blood sugar. It's 60 for me. So if I am 180, one unit will bring me to 120. If i'm 240, 2 units will bring me to 120. And so on and so forth.

These two numbers are put in the pump, then you can enter the number of grams and what your bs is and it will tell you how much to bolus for the meal or high bs.

A few other nice things about the pump is that is can give very precise doses, down to .05 units (try that on shots). And it can "extend" boluses, to deal with how high bs can last for hours after a high carb meal. Or you can do a combination bolus, giving some of the dose right away and extending some.

Temporary rates are also a favorite feature of mine. If I exercise, I turn down how much insulin I get, and that avoids low bs without the constant snacking.

It's also nice to be free of shots.

But the down sides are there. It kinda sucks to be connected to a machine 24/7 (and you have to be if you are pumping). But you get used to it. I hated it at first, now I barely think about it.

It's also mad expensive. Definitely not feasible if your insurance doesn't want to cooperate or alternatively, if you are not a millionaire.

Also, some people say they get high bs fast and dangerously when something goes wrong. When you use only fast acting insulin, you have no "cushion" of Lantus or N or whatever you use now.

Pumping can be fraustrating at first, but it ends up worth it imo.

Answer 2

I am on an Animas pump and I absolutely LOVE it! I no longer have to live according to my shots, but according to my life! I no longer have to have 4-6, or more, shots a day and have poor control.

The pump gives you insulin 24/7, like your pancreas should. Instead of so many shots a day, you have 1 needle prick (the cannula, like an IV but not in the vein) every 2-3 days. The blood sugar control is awesome. You can eat more foods (once your body has adjusted to the pump, etc--about a month) and then 'tell it' to give you an amount of insulin for the food you eat. Instead of having the insulin before each meal/snack then eat a certain amount of time after having it, you can have it after eating as the insulin acts pretty quickly.

The training to learn how to use one is usually one day, but you constantly get support from the team that taught you how to use it, and from your doctors. I would suggest getting a book about using insulin pumps. I don't know how many times one of those books helped me the first few months!

I, personally, recommend a pump to any insulin dependent diabetic, especially those taking more than 2 shots a day.

If you want to learn more, please e-mail me at: [e-mail]. I am tired right now so am unable to really think and tell you all I want to.

I do recommend that you talk with your doctor thoroughly before choosing one. Also find out from your health insurance to find out which one(s) they will cover. Also look online and research them that way. Are you seeing an endocrinologist? If so, he/she can probably tell you more about a pump than an internist.

Good luck. Choosing a pump, I believe, is one of the best things you can choose to do. But, this is my opinion and may not be for everyone.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

My Medtronic Paradigm set me free. I have been a brittle diabetic all my life. After I went blind I asked for the pump and endocrinologist helped me get one. the team helped me with all the beeps and I do just great. Its a different feeling having insulin all the time rather than 3-4 "Shots" of it a day.
You can test drive one from medtronics.com to see if its something you want.
There are some draw backs, I dont like sleeping with it but you find a comfy spot for it. You can use a remote control to get a bolus for your meals but I don't I just click 2 at a time The big thing coming up is an attachment that will monitor your blood sugar every 5 minutes and beep you if you need to give it some attention.
For my insurance (Blue Cross) I had to see a endocrinologist my internist could not prescribe it. It is a very expensive life long commitment but then so is diabetes and living.
.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

hi my mom is a diabetic and has been sice she was a young girl and she uses the insulin pump.she loves it.now that she has it she doesnt have to take shots as much.but she does have to change the needle every 2-3 days.in the mall people would always ask my mom if she needed another beeper beause that is exacly what it looks like.it is very easy to use and you put in the imformation you need and it istaken care of.well i hope i gave you a little imformation about the pump.by the way in a fw months they are comeing out with anew punp that is even better that the ones out now.My cousin who is 7 is also diabetic.how ling have you been one.if you would like some more imformation give me your email and i can maybe email some pics of it and tell you more about it.by the way the pump is also water resistant.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I have been diabetic for almost 27 yrs. I have been on the pump for almost 2. It is sooooooooooooo awesome. It sure beats taking 3-4 shots a day (as I was).
I have the Paradigm Minimed pump. Check out minimed.com. And depending on where you live, your diabetes education center should give you a couple different videos on the different kinds.
I LOVE IT.
Good Luck.

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Answer 10

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