# Would it help me



## Cupcaake32 (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi im ne on here ive been diabetic for nearly 10 years and have had ketosis 3 times i test regularly work shifts and do between 4 and7 injections a day   my hba1c is always over 8 i have an underactive thyroid too top it all off too   .  I have been researchijg pumps for a while and speaking to a woman in the us who has the lifescan animas she said she was like me and the pump has changed her life  .  I live in devon and exeter has a fantastic diabetic centre but everytime i go there i see a different person who always says we will check it next time and i never see them again.  What is the best way to go about getting put on a waiting list or getting a pump   HELP!!!  Because at 23 this is really getting me down    xx


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## Copepod (Nov 10, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Cupcaake.

No doubt some pump users will be alone soon - most say that it's hard work, particularly initially, but worth it overall. 

Even if you see a different person each time at clinic, your conversations about pumps should be recorded - worth cheking that they have been recorded so far, and ensure that they are in future. 

You might also find it useful to contact INPUT, which advises people how to go about getting a pump, including issues such as NICE guidelines - see http://www.input.me.uk/


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## Pumper_Sue (Nov 10, 2012)

Cupcaake32 said:


> Hi im ne on here ive been diabetic for nearly 10 years and have had ketosis 3 times i test regularly work shifts and do between 4 and7 injections a day   my hba1c is always over 8 i have an underactive thyroid too top it all off too   .  I have been researchijg pumps for a while and speaking to a woman in the us who has the lifescan animas she said she was like me and the pump has changed her life  .  I live in devon and exeter has a fantastic diabetic centre but everytime i go there i see a different person who always says we will check it next time and i never see them again.  What is the best way to go about getting put on a waiting list or getting a pump   HELP!!!  Because at 23 this is really getting me down    xx



Hi Cupcaake,
                 Write a letter to your named consultant and tell him of your difficulties in getting any continuous care and or answers.
Make the letter short and sweet making bullet points of why you want a pump and how it will help you.
Request that at your next apt you see him or her as the case may be.
The consultant has to by law answer your letter, so you should get a quick reply.

Just for your info, the pump you are refering to is the animas ping, which is linked to a lifescan meter. These are not available in the UK. The pump over here is the animas 2020 or the animas vibe.
Exeter used to be very much a medtronic camp, not to sure if that's still the case though.
Cornwall seem to have a love affair with the animas pump though.( I haven't worked out why yet)
North Devon use the Roche pumps.


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## HOBIE (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi cupcake , life is not meant to be easy !   A pump was the best thing for me & i am sure it will give you a boost .  Like everything else you my have to push & shout a bit to get one but i would give it your best !  Ask your gp & give the diabetic clinic a call on the phone to see what you need to do.  Good luck


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## Northerner (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi cupcaake, welcome to the forum 

Have a browse around the following site also:

http://www.input.me.uk/


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## pgcity (Nov 10, 2012)

Hiya. Getting a pump will almost certainly help you if you work hard to determine your basal needs, carb ratios for each meal and insulin sensitivity. 
Writing to your consultant saying why you think you would benefit will be a good start to your campaign.
I've had a pump for 3 months and its made a huge difference but I have felt like I did when newly diagnosed, none of the rules I had lived by worked anymore so I had an anxious time whilst I got my basal sorted. This as meant lots of missed meals and testing through the night.


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## trophywench (Nov 11, 2012)

Glad you said that pgc ! - that's how I felt too!

I was OK at first after it had been programmed with DSN but when I had to start tinkering on me own although I thought I'd be OK with it, I wasn't.  Felt more than a bit 'lost, alone and unloved' - much as I did in 1972, and I said exactly the same to people at the time.  Gut churning because nothing was intuitive any more after all that time!

That's where this forum and my own (other dsf) really really helped me.  However - much though I wanted to bin the stupid thing at the time, I decided I wouldn't let a heap of electronics beat me! so I forced myself to get the better of it and I have.

And the intuitive did come back after about another month.  Now I have to force meself to test first which is tedious, but I have sometimes made changes without and they've been OK but there again sometimes they haven't so you DO have to do yet another fasting test at that time of day/night.  

Some of us still can't quite believe that terribly simple and basic fact - until we prove it to ourselves by making ourselves suffer, ROFL.


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## Cupcaake32 (Nov 12, 2012)

Thank u everyone thats really helped me    i have got info from medtronic   lucky exeter like those coz they seem awesome


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