I was curious if anyone uses an insulin pump. I'm looking into getting one and I want to hear opinions on the kinds they use.
I did shots for 25 years and have used a pump for 10. I'd never willingly go back to shots.
It really depends on the person. Some do well on shots. I'm not a scheduled person and hated having to take another shot every time I wanted to eat. I have a pretty laid back attitude to my diabetes and with a pump have a 6.5 A1c with few lows. When I was pregnant and really fine tuning my diabetes I had a 5.1. Never could manage that with shots. Things I love about the pump:
* It uses only short acting insulin so it's much easier to calculate. Pumps also have bolus wizards where you can enter current blood sugar and carbs eaten and it will calculate the dose.
* It takes into account insulin on board. It never forgets that I've already dosed for a meal or that I did a slight correction 1 1/2 hrs. ago.
* Having a base (basal) rate that provides exactly the insulin I need, not a flat rate like with Lantus.
* Dual wave boluses that allow small doses to be given over an extended time, so I can eat pizza or other fatty food and time insulin to it.
* Being able to easily correct a slight high. I won't take a shot to correct a 140 blood sugar, but it's easy with a pump.
* Being able to turn off my pump if blood sugar is likely to drop from exercise.
The downside to the pump is the expense and that it's hard on your skin. Especially if you're small or lean, it can be a challenge to find enough infusion sites. You have to be open to using every available area and using different types of infusion sets in more muscular areas. Pumps are also a pain if you're at the beach or pool all day, but you find ways to work around it.
I've used Minimed pumps and it's been a good experience, great customer service. The other major pump is the One Touch Ping. I'm actually in the process of getting a new type of pump that's recently been approved by the FDA. It's manufactured by Tandem Diabetes and is called a tSlim. It's styled more like an iPhone. They're supposed to have their distributors in place and start shipping pumps within the next month.
www.tandemdiabetes.com/.../t-slim
See if your library has a copy of "Pumping Insulin" by John Walsh. Gives a great overview. Youtube also has videos so you can see pumps in action.
T1 since 1977 Minimed pump since 2002
Thanks! I will look at that and hopefully my local library has that book. :)