# Love my Pump



## HOBIE (Dec 24, 2013)

In the title ! a couple of pushes of buttons.   Thank YOU NHS !


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## ingrid (Dec 25, 2013)

Great post HOBIE  and me too, thank you NHS for the best Xmas pressie, the funding of my pump  and a brill diabetes team to go with it!


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## AJLang (Dec 25, 2013)

Pump is so wonderful. I can't believe that this is my second Christmas without injections, something that I never thought would be possible


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## Pattidevans (Dec 26, 2013)

I couldn't have enjoyed my Christmas Day the way I did if I was still on MDI!


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## Maryanne29 (Dec 26, 2013)

I'm beginning to love my pump after five weeks. And Christmas Day was certainly much easier with it. Now reaching the stage where I wouldn't give it back! Seeing pump nurse on New Y ear's Eve to hopefully smooth out little gremlins. 
I hope you all had a great day yesterday.


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## HOBIE (Dec 26, 2013)

Am pleased that i am not alone in liking Pump.  The people that have responded to this thread are "ALL" long timers like myself. Hope you "All ok"


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## spiritfree (Dec 26, 2013)

I really love my pump too. I would never go back to mdi.


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## VanessaK (Dec 27, 2013)

At the mo love the tbr function for whatever this illness is...


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## HOBIE (Dec 28, 2013)

Lots of Happish people !   My cup is Half FULL not half empty


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## ch1ps (Dec 30, 2013)

I love my pump too.  Had 2 bent cannulas this month though 

2013 has been a good year diabetes-wise for me, got my T1 diagnosis which allowed me to get approval for the pump.  Pumping since August, I cannot imagine going back to MDI now.


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## AJLang (Dec 31, 2013)

Despite illness the pump has kept my average at 7.2 during Christmas On MDI I was doing well if I averaged 9.0


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## Phil65 (Jan 6, 2014)

still love my pump......but still hate cannulas!! Put a 150% TBR on for a couple of hours when I went to the cinema on Wednesday......kept me in range perfectly.


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## Bloden (Jan 6, 2014)

Not a pumper (on mdi), but intrigued to know the main differences between the two. Why's pumping so great?  For example, why does it make a day like Xmas so much easier? I must know...!:


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## Phil65 (Jan 6, 2014)

Bloden said:


> Not a pumper (on mdi), but intrigued to know the main differences between the two. Why's pumping so great?  For example, why does it make a day like Xmas so much easier? I must know...!:



There are lots of pros for me:

Flexibility to eat what you want when you want, you just count the carbs and bolus as per your insulin/carb ratio (you could do this on MDI but it could mean many injections.)
The ability to give yourself what ever basal profile over a 24 hour period you want (In my opinion the best thing about a pump.)
The Temporary Basal Profile function i.e increase basal if illness/stress/lack of exercise (cinema/flights/car journeys,) decrease basal if exercising.
For me my HbA1c has significantly improved in nearly 4 years of pumping my A1c has nearly always been in the 6s with less hypos.


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## Redkite (Jan 6, 2014)

There are lots of things that make pumps better than injections.  A few that spring to mind (with reference to Christmas Day) are:

* basal can be adjusted at any time of day - so if you are sitting around watching TV and opening pressies (less active than usual), you can set an increased temporary basal rate so your BGs don't rise

* extended boluses (where part or all of the insulin is programmed to be spread over a few hours) - ideal for long spread out meals, or for nibbles and drinks, buffets etc.  Also very useful for foods that digest slowly.

* push a button to bolus (no injection) - so if you fancy a second helping of Xmas pud, you can have it with insulin without having to jab yourself again.  In fact, with meals like Xmas dinner where you don't know in advance how much you will eat, it's great with a pump - you can bolus a "deposit" of insulin upfront, then pay-as-you-go by bolusing more insulin for each extra carb item.  For Xmas dinner my son probably did 8 boluses at the push of a button, whereas most people wouldn't fancy 8 injections and would either inaccurately guess 
at the start of the meal, or deny themselves the treats!

Lots of other benefits too!


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## Bloden (Jan 6, 2014)

Sounds fantastic. 

But is the set-up process complicated? Do you have to be good at maths?!

I read somewhere that you already need to have a positive attitude and tight control before you can go on the pump, and that it only suits this type of diabetic person. What type of diabetic were all of you before changing to the pump? Eg my control is loose (A1c 9) cos I've been in denial/feeling very down for last 2 years. Would it suit me?

Sorry for all the questions! You all seem so positive, and I'd like some of that for myself!!


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## Redkite (Jan 6, 2014)

You need to be prepared to put the work in to get the best out of it - but probably you are already doing all the necessary things anyway - minimum of 4 BG tests a day (who does so few?!!), must be able to carb-count, etc.  You don't need to be good at maths, as the pumps all have "bolus wizard" functions to take into account your carbs, your BG, any insulin still active in your body, your bolus ratio for that time of day, and your target BG range.


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## AJLang (Jan 6, 2014)

You don't need tight control before going on the pump. Mine was impossible to control on MDI because of lots of highs and lows due to severe gastroparesis. The pump has given me control with HBA1Cs down to 6.8 with an average of 3-4 (or less)  relatively mild hypos a week.


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## Bloden (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks for the info. 
The idea of a pump terrifies mebut you have to be open-minded...you never know, one day!


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## Phil65 (Jan 6, 2014)

Bloden said:


> Sounds fantastic.
> 
> But is the set-up process complicated? Do you have to be good at maths?!
> 
> ...



Patience,determination,positive attitude are 3 important factors as well as crucially carb counting and testing your bloods up to 8 times a day. It is a good tool but only as good as the work and effort you put in. Tight control is not that important to get a pump, in fact poor control will probably improve your chances to get one.....the important thing is to understand why you have poor control and how a pump can be justified for you. It is hard work initially and not a walk in the park for me, even after nearly 4 years using one.


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## Bloden (Jan 6, 2014)

I think all that bolusing would make me really anxious. But it must be okay if so many people have them!


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## Redkite (Jan 6, 2014)

The thing is that the pump mimics the action of a healthy pancreas much more closely than injections can.  The basal insulin trickles in continuously (instead of a big surge of basal from an injection).  You can programme different basal rates for every hour of the day, whereas with Lantus/levemir, once it's in you're stuck with it, and few people have basal needs that are flat across the day.  The basal can be adjusted by 1/40 of a unit of insulin, unlike injections where you have to adjust by 1/2 or a whole unit!

With the bolusing, you can calculate an accurate bolus to the nearest 1/20 of a unit (0.05), instead of having to round up or down to the nearest half or whole unit on injections.  The pump keeps a memory record of all boluses given, so you can't accidentally overdose.

There is a steep learning curve, but well worth it.


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## Bloden (Jan 6, 2014)

So, they've pretty much invented a prosthetic pancreas. 

How often do you have to change your son's cannula? 

By the way, thanks Redkite. You're a mine of information. Worthy of a heroine of the month, I reckon. Your son's very lucky.


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## Redkite (Jan 6, 2014)

Bloden said:


> So, they've pretty much invented a prosthetic pancreas.
> 
> How often do you have to change your son's cannula?
> 
> By the way, thanks Redkite. You're a mine of information. Worthy of a heroine of the month, I reckon. Your son's very lucky.


Oh thankyou, I am blushing now!  But since most of my information was learnt from others (e.g.cwd forum, this forum, etc.) I can't take all the credit!

He changes his cannula every 2 days.  Most people change it every 3, but he gets absorption problems at the cannula site if it's left in for a third day.

I wish it was a prosthetic pancreas.  It's a marvellous tool, but it still requires user input, ie. tired old brain having to think!


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## Phil65 (Jan 7, 2014)

Bloden said:


> So, they've pretty much invented a prosthetic pancreas.
> 
> How often do you have to change your son's cannula?
> 
> By the way, thanks Redkite. You're a mine of information. Worthy of a heroine of the month, I reckon. Your son's very lucky.



Cannulas have been my biggest problem, started with teflon, tried different types of angled sets and lengths, moved on to steel, experimented with different needle lengths, now use 10mm....found to be best for me but still have to change at least every 36 hours. Metal should not be left in for longer than 3 days. I would not move back to MDI though, the delivery of basal insulin keeps my levels pretty good which was very difficult with MDI. My spikes are now less common and dawn phenomen is a thing of the past, it took me a while to work out my basal requirement but over a 24 hour period it looks like this:

00.00-03.00 - 1u/hr
03.00-04.00 - 1.5u/hr
04.00-06.00 - 2.5u/hr
06.00-08.00 - 3u/hr
08.00-12.00 - 2u/hr
12.00-14.00 - 1u/hr
14.00-23.00 - 2u/hr
23.00-24.00 - 1u/hr

Total Basal 44.5 units (similar to my Lantus when I was on MDI but the delivery is much better)

This does vary a little due to seasonal changes, the odd tweek here and there!


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