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any pump users?

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Post  DemonFairie Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:49 am

just wondering what its like really, ive been reading the thing about the pump user in balance, but havnt really got any other info.

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Post  beaniequeenie Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:59 am

My Pump has been approved now, so I should have it in about two weeks (fingers crossed).
Not that I really ever wanted one, but my eyes are starting to be affected by the high Bg levels.

I can let you all know how it goes if you would be interested?
(Just don't expect the whole story to be pretty with flowers, I'll have to tell you the bad stuff too! Ha ha)
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Post  Nick Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:29 am

Hi Beanie,

Will look forward to hearing all about it. I know a guy who had one and it certainly changed his life for the better. He's has now had a transplant and is no longer a diabetic and is thoroughly enjoying life!

Best wishes

Nick
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Post  DemonFairie Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:40 pm

yes please that would be brilliant if you dont mind? sorry ive taken so long to reply, i've just moved house and got a new job! i've been a bit busy!
thanks Very Happy

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Post  beaniequeenie Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:15 pm

Finally! Pump fitting day is 1st December. 3 hour training session on how to use the thing! (Surly it can't be that hard?)

I'll do my best to post something on the 2nd to let you know how it all goes. (How many times that night I manage to get the cord wrapped around my neck, pull the infusion set out in my sleep and drop the pack on the floor etc.)
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Post  Nick Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:46 pm

beaniequeenie wrote:Finally! Pump fitting day is 1st December. 3 hour training session on how to use the thing! (Surly it can't be that hard?)

I'll do my best to post something on the 2nd to let you know how it all goes. (How many times that night I manage to get the cord wrapped around my neck, pull the infusion set out in my sleep and drop the pack on the floor etc.)

Hey Beanie,

Great I love to hear you talking positively Smile

Heeheheh be good to hear how you get on with it, ripping it out or otherwise Smile

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Post  beaniequeenie Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:19 pm

(I must have put that last post up on a good day. The last week has been a constant private battle full of tears and tantrums. Know I SHOULD get a pump, understanding how great it'll be, yet still not wanting one. He-he)

As promised here goes.

Day one: Yes the training really was three hours! Unreal. There were a lot of us together getting fitted. Makes sense really since it's more time efficient for the nurse. I recon one-on-one it would take about 1 1/2 hours.

2 big brown boxes of equipment (new bg monitor, pump, attachments (infusion sets), instruction guides...)! The pump is quite a good size really. it's about the same size as a mobile phone, just a bit fatter and setting it up is easy, changing settings is straight forward. Will take a bit of playing with to completely get used to.

Plug in some basic settings to get started. (The Nurse will work all this out) Basal amount, carb Ratio, sensitivity (how much one unit effects your bg).
My daily insulin has been cut by about 25% to start, and we my card ratio has improved from 1:5 to 1:7 (this is all using formulas of course, after a week we could find this is all wrong.)

Not a fan of the device that put the needle in you. Looks nasty so I opted for shoving it in myself (everyone else used the device and said it was painless). No pain, just the same as doing your normal injection. Needle comes out and leaves a tiny tube in you where the insulin comes out.

New BG monitor is rather big and chunky, but it links to the pump which is cool. So when you do a reading it shows on the pump and you can do a bolus straight away if necessary and the pump works it all out for you. Even better. Just set how much carbs you are having and off you go. (so if it's just a standard bolus you put in 0 carbs or for a meal XX carbs) It even works out any adjustments you will need (so if you are hypo it reduces the carb amount and if you are high it'll give you more)

You can also do other fancy settings (for exercise, eating out, buffet/ nibble style eating) but we haven't done those yet, that'll come in a couple of weeks once things are a bit more settled.

Now for the drama. Challenge one: Where do I keep my pump so it'll be out of the way? I heard a lot of ladies keep theirs in their bras (good idea, until you need to get it out for what ever reason). But I was still playing with mine so just tucked it into my waist band. Went to the bathroom and straight away pulled out the infusion set. (oh dear) Not really a major drama, but not something you want to be happening all the time, also means a new infusion set which means another jab.

After that, everything was going well, did a bolus and off I went to work. Bg before lunch was 6.6 (great!) set my carbs, it worked out my insulin and go... No go. I got 1.2 units of insulin before it said "No delivery" basically the insulin isn't going through the tubing or the actually piece inside you is blocked. Tried again, no deal. Stressed (I do stress a lot btw when things aren't in my control. Ha-ha). Changed the infusion set, made sure the insulin was in the slot correctly and tried again. Got 2 units this time, and again (?) 1 unit. Anyway that was enough by now to cover my meal and it seemed quite happy to give my by basal every 5 minutes without any problems.

2 hours later thought I'd check my sugar to see exactly what this wonder machine is doing. BG 20.2! WHAT! I can do better than that with a standard injection. Called the nurse who said that someone else has the same problem and I need to go back on the 3rd. Back to injections until then

Not a good start.

(sorry that was long! Rambled a lot so feel free to ask questions.)
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Post  Nick Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:04 pm

Oh Bottoms !

I was really enjoying your story til the last bit !

Hope it all sorts itself OK.
Let us know how it goes.

Best wishes

Nick
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Post  beaniequeenie Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:24 pm

Well hopefully now things are sorted.

Went back to my nurse this morning, she thinks that the cannula I had may have been wrong and been getting blocked by muscle or something. So I now have a different style that is a bit longer (Called Silhouette, by Medtronic) and sits at a different angle in the body. (it's usually used for slimmer people cos they have less fat to jab into. I am not a slimmer person (yet) which is why I had the other type (quick set).)

Had it on for three hours now, had something to eat about 2 hours ago, all went well.

My BG is already behaving better (but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm not stressed anymore Ha-ha!). going for lunch now, so if I can I will try and leave another message later to let you know how my bg's are after lunch.

Fingers Crossed! Smile
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Post  beaniequeenie Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:14 pm

Ok I take it all back, I'm impressed. silent
Pre meal BG 7.9 (good stuff) had lunch, usually two hours after BG's are about 15-20 depending. This time they were on 9.5 (I think that's where they should be at the time right?). Ayway 9.5 is a big improvment from 15! And that was with me guessing how many carbs I was eating. Lets hope this carries on. Will be good to see what happens at christmas though. (Maybe I'll have a play with it and see if I can set up a square bolus, which lets you pick at food over hours.)

Only down side at the mo is that to get the best results you have to put in your carbs on the pump. Up until now I've managed to figure out how much insulin I need for different types of meal by looking & guessing, then over time you get it right. But with the pump I'm on a lot less insulin, so today @ lunch for example, I would usually have about 18 units but with the pump I only needed 4.2 (as you are constantly getting your fast acting through the day). So entering the carb amount is a must at the minute.

I don't feel quite as bad as I thought I would carrying the pump around, it's on my waist band today (I keep looking at it to make sure it's working.) but it's hidden under a jumper so no one can see it. I will have to try and find new places for different outfits.

Tonight will be the first time trying to sleep with it on. Not sure how that will go...

Have a good weekend all. I'll keep you updated until I run out of things to say.
And feel free to ask as many questions as you like.
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Post  Nick Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:50 pm

Hey Beanie Beanie Beanie!!!!

Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant!!!

Go girl go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hey can you tell that I am just sooooooooooo pleased for you?

Excellent news.

What a brilliant Xmas present for you and may you go from strength to strength with it.

Just fabulous news.

Take care

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Post  beaniequeenie Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:39 pm

Ah thanks Nick.

I'm starting to feel better now too. Things aren't perfect but getting rid of the really high bg levels is really making a difference.

Sleeping was a success! I had the pump in my pocket to start but when I rolled over it woke me up so I put it under the pillow. There is a fair bit of spare tubing so you can put it there without any problems or funny sleeping positions. I also managed to NOT get it caught around my neck or yank it out. I did drop it on the floor this morning when I woke up. (That hurt a little as it pulled on the cannula, but I guess that will make me remeber tomorrow!)

Can't feel the cannula at all, so I can lay on my stomach to sleep.

Need to start working on creating my own programe now, I've had a couple of hypos with the settings I was given to start, so I've already lowered my basal rate. Gym tonight, so I'll need to set a temp basal rate after that too. All good fun!

Would defo recommend a pump to anyone who is thinking about it or having big problems. Not sure if I agree when people say it's less hassle etc. You still have to check your bg levels, and be aware of the carbs you eat and although you don't do an injection you still have to give a bolus when you eat. So the diabetes is still on your mind. But at the moment it makes me smile to see a bg in single figures! Smile
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Post  Nick Tue Dec 08, 2009 11:23 pm

I am soooooooo pleased for you!

Great news on a dark and rainy night.

Keep up the reports please because there seems to be a few readers but few particiants of threads on here ~ apart from me and you that is Smile
Take care and if we don't speak before hand have a brilliant Xmas and New Year:)

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Post  beaniequeenie Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:26 pm

Ok this will be my last post on my pump, unless anyone asks questions or something interesting happens.

Last point is exercising: I've been to the gym 4 or 5 times now. So far so good. Now there is a choice, you can either disconnect the entire pump (as you would if you had a shower) and leave it in your gym bag, but you can only do this for 1 hour.
Or you can press the suspend button, which stops the pump until you tell it to start again and it can stay on you. (Still only recommended for an hour)

I tend to just press suspend because each class is 45 minutes and if I decide I want to do more after I still have my pump, so I can start it up again atfer the 45 minutes and usually do some streaching/ weights (which for me are not as hard on the sugar levels as a cardio work-out). Not sure what I would do if I wanted to do more than an hour cardio though. In the summer I plan to start running again so I guess I'll find out.

(To be honest I don't understand why you can only be disconnected for an hour if you are going to be exercising anyway?)

If you tend to hypo after your work-out you can also set a temp basal rate as a % of what you would normally have if you didn't exercise. This is handy if you know that you tend to hypo at 2am as I do! So once I've finished in the gym I'll set a temp rate at 75% of what I normally have for 7 hours (This is guess work to be honest, and still needs a bit of tweeking to get it right.)
then after 7 hours the pump will switch back to the programmed basal rate.
I hope you followed that. scratch


And that's that.

Have a Merry Chistmas and New year all! santa
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Post  Nick Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:48 am

Thanks Beanie, I find it fascinating and so glad that there is something out there that can allow people to have a better life than they had been used to.

Take care and have a great Xmas. I'll ask my friend who had one re the turning it off for an hour and pass on anything if he can help.

Best wishes
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Post  beaniequeenie Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:01 pm

Found out something new today. I'm not meant to be stopping my pump when I exercise. I should instead be using a lower basal rate. (The same idea as I described about after the exercise.) Not sure how that one will pan out, seeing as I've been turning it off have having my bg level drop down from approx 7.9 to 4.2.
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Post  capturetheworld Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:22 pm

There's a special forum for pump users. I'm also a part of it and I think you can find the answer to any of your questions regarding pumps there:
link

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Post  Nick Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:50 pm

Hi Capture (do you have a name? nickname? we could use instead?)

Sorry the link hasn't come up on here. Could you try again please?

Thanks
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Post  capturetheworld Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:54 pm

Capture will work for me:)
http://www.insulinpumpforums.com/

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Post  Nick Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:57 pm

Then Capture it shall be Smile

Thanks for the link
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Post  beaniequeenie Fri Dec 03, 2010 10:30 am

So I've had my pump a year now.

I would strongly recommend it! It's the best move I've made. Ok so things are still not perfect, and there have still been a few hick-ups along the way.
But overall things are much smoother day-to-day. I can eat when I want (or not if I don't want to), I can excercise when I want. Hypo's are (nearly) a thing of the past. (This meant that my HbA1c numbers went up, but really that just shows how inaccurate that test is! At least now I have a better measure of how I am doing!)

I feel alot healthier and I think I look it too. I'm not waking up exhusted every moring because my BG levels are not bouncing all over the place!

Now I'm just waiting for a smaller version to be released....
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Post  Nick Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:26 pm

Brilliant news Beanie... I'm really pleased for you Very Happy

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Post  Guest Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:21 pm

Hey Beanie,
I was on the Insulin pump for a while before receiving my new pancreas transplant. i found ur postings very interesting.. altho I do realise they are old ones now.. I'm still playing catch up ! Very Happy
My pump was a blessing really and I noticed Nick mentioned me in a message a while back.
I think with the diabetes being very good and I was able to control dosage alot easier according to the days activities. In theory if I didn't want to eat a set mealtime .. I would not give any insulin bolus. Obviously this was never recommended in any booklet. I always like to take things to the extreme.. test the water so to spk.

I think my biggest problem was having '3 in a bed'... the gal friend , myself and the insulin pump.. many times I would yelp in the night if my partner had rolled onto... practice makes perfect thats all I can say! lol

I was amazed when I went on holiday once... I was told to switch the pump off whilst I walked through the security checks. It appeared that most of the ppl in the security area knew about these lil insulin pocket devices...... at long least I felt as if I was a normal person again.. and not a special case!

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Post  beaniequeenie Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:13 pm

Hey Taz,

I'm not sure what going on. I would definitley say that the pump is much better than injections but I still have really rubbish times.

Yeah the boyfriend tugging on the cable in the middle of the night isn't so good. Or when you wake up and forget about it then it drops on the floor. Not the best.

I had a massage once, where I said to be careful and showed the lady the wire etc. Then after about half hour she suddenly said what's this? And ripped the plaster off, pulling the whole set out. Needless to say I was less than impressed. Evil or Very Mad
Got a full refund though, cos I was too angry to stay and finish the massage. Laughing
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