I know a pump is supposed to lower a1c levels and stuff but i dont see how without a continuous monitor because you dont know what your blood sugar is all the time. a continuous monitor wouldnt be of much use alone either because you woulld have to go excersice or have an insulin shot if your blood sugar is high. I understand how the 2 would work toghether though and want a pump with a continuous monitor for my first pump but my mom wont let that happen. Can anyone explain how a single one of these works successfully to lower regular blood sugars and a1cs?
figure skater girl,
My first observation is that no one tool that I have seen to date guarantees, or on its own, will lower A1C or produce better control. While I am sharing what I have seen and a bit of what I have read, please keep in mind, I am wrong a lot and the number of things I do not know grossly outnumber the things that I do. I expect others may do a better job with this – but I did want to chime in…
The CGM gives you more information about what your blood sugar is doing what direction it is trending and gives you a lot of information that, as you learn how to use it, can let you make better dosing choices and allow you to catch your blood sugar more quickly if/when they start to head outside of your target zones. It is a tool for awareness but what you do with the information is what will make a difference with your control.
The insulin pump is another way of giving insulin. With Multiple Daily Injection (MDI) therapy, assuming good eyesight and coordination, you can pretty consistently give insulin down to the nearest .5 unit. Also, on MDI you will need to give two types of insulin. A basal or long acting insulin to cover your body’s production of glucose throughout the day and boluses to cover food as you eat it and correct for high blood sugar. With MDI, the basal dose that you give is set at the time of injection, there is no way to vary it after you inject. With the pump, you can have your basals varied throughout the day to match your body’s changing needs, you can also increase them or decrease them based on activity, illness, etc. On top of those advantages, you can deliver insulin in doses accurate down to .05/.025 of a unit (pump depending) and you will likely need less total insulin per day when using the pump which seems to help level out the peaks and valleys in blood sugar for a lot of people. It does not guarantee that A1C’s or control will improve, however, it allows some options for the insulin delivery that, if used correctly, can allow for better control which will result in better A1C’s.
You can use the two tools together but the way the work neither one depends on the other.
When I started to write this, I imagined I’d put down a quick paragraph… ummm… hopefully this made some sense…
Cheers!
A-D
Thanks! that helped alot. I under stand how they work better now.
I have had my pump and CGM for about a year. My thought was to get them together and I hadn't really seen a need for the pump withou the CGM. I have the Medtronic system. They are both more complex than I anticipated! I started with the pump for a month and then added the CGM. I am glad I did this, but it has taken a lot of patience and determination! I now feel I am in control of both machines--after a year. My A1-c has improved and I have lost weight--just because I am not as hungry--I think due to more stable glucose levels.
Good luck!
[quote user="Marf"] I have lost weight--just because I am not as hungry[/quote]
Right now my blood sugar is really stable or far from what I want it to be. I was diagnose d in september and I have gained 30 pounds since then. I could lose a little weigh but If my appetite goes down anymore I would be eating enough carbs. But it might be that put on weight and lose appetite thing before a growth spurt...