Doctor wont let me have a pump

Been type 1 diabetic for two years now. I carb count, check blood sugar and still a1c have not come down by much since my diagnose. I go to bed wirh perfect sugar and wake with highs.
On humalog and lantus.
My doctor still advises me i shouldn’t have a pump my sugars are constantly up. I have been hospitalized 4 times for keto acidosis. And even while in hospital they control diet and still they couldnt keep sugar under control while in hospital for weeks!
My friend she is also type 1 she has had the same problems untill she got a pump.
Iv also had infections and 4 surgeries for removal of infections in the past year.
Its starting to get to me mentally
I dont know what to do

You should fire your doctor.

I used to have a doctor at Kaiser. That is one of the worst experience I have. The insulin pump is covered by my insurance but Kaiser would save money and never ordered the pump for me.

45% insulin is given as basal stage and the other 55% was given for bolus before food intake. USE NPH or combination of NPH with short acting insulin is STUPID. That injection would expect you have low sugar at lunch time. You failed to take enough carbohydrate, then you would have a low sugar or take too much food then you would have a high sugar., With insulin pump then you can give a bolus before a meal. If you delay a meal, then you delay your your bolus.

New insulin pump with continuous glucose monitoring devise is much better than the old insulin pump.

Never tell your doctor that you have a low glucose. I met two uneducated Kaiser doctors who wrote to DMV to suspend my driver license. Never tell your doctor that you have memory loss low sugar, high sugar. Those uneducated doctors would get your driving privilege. It made so frustrated and SICK for one year until I got my driving license back with a history of driving license being suspended. Very careful to check your doctors - many discriminate diabetics.

Your doctor from Kaiser? That medical system would save money and might see you die early so they don’t want to have patients with pre-existed medical condition to participate the medical system.

I have 62 years of diabetes at the age of 9. I don’t have complications and feel as if I am 35.

Your body need 0.3-0.9 units of insulin to maintain your glucose level in normal range. If you depends on a NPH or long acting with humalog insulin to keep your glucose at low from 8 pm to the never morning is RIDICULOUS. With insulin pump, you keep your basal level at 0.3-0.9 unit/hour to keep your glucose at normal level.

Normal person needs half of their insulin to make glucose at 80-120 range. When you eat a meal then you need bolus insulin form insulin pump. Many diabetic doctors do not know that half of insulin is used to maintain glucose at 80-120 mg/dl without eating any food. Many doctor does not how to use or set up insulin pump so they would not ask you to use a devise S/he does not know how to program.

1 Like

If you can’t get or don’t want a pump, try supplementing your regimen with “N” insulin, also called NPH, and Lily calls it “Humalin” insulin. It lasts longer than “Humalog” --about 6 hours, and it smooths out the highs that occur when you use Humalog and Lantus only. I had A1Cs around 7 to 7.4 on this regimen for about 20 years. Doctors prefer that you use only 2 insulins, so you may have to search around to find someone to prescribe Humalin for you, and you may have to work on the dosages yourself. I usually added one or two units of Humalin to a couple of units of Humalog for a meal.

1 Like

Get a second opinion from an Endocrinologist! They work with the pump companies and can help you transition into using a pump, if you wish. If you are diagnosed with Type 1, there should be no reason a doctor would tell you not to use one, unless they themselves don’t know how to support your Diabetes Care. Check out the different pump manufacturers on the web. They can actually help you find a doctor that is trained / can support pump/CGM usage. Good Luck!

Patrick, you are both correct and not quite on that reply. It may be worthwhile for @molly4155 to get referral and visit another endocrinologist - the new endo may prescribe a pump but may also provide more fitting advice for Molly to manage her diagnosis. I maintained Hb A1c within one decimal point of 6.0 for many years with MDI before I switched to a pump.
Recently while discussing diabetes management with an outstanding endocrinologist she told me that she hesitates [or refuses] to prescribe a pump for a few of her patients until they get better hold of diabetes variables.
BTW, today I was with the Medtronic regional clinical training director ‘being educated’ in the really awesome features and use of the new 670G pump. YES, the endocrinologist I mentioned above who will NOT prescribe a pump for all her patients will prescribe this new pump for me.

Thank you so much for that advice

You are very welcome Molly @molly4155 , happy that I could contribute. As you may know, there are about 10 million of us with T1D and no two of us are exactly the same - we all have to figure out what works for ourselves.
I’m not a medical doctor but I have lived with diabetes for over 60 years and I’ve learned many tweaks that work for some people - I’m still learning and sharing whenever possible. If you want to talk more specifically about what you may consider for your management feel free to message me or email me; I will not be a replacement for your doctor [and you are best telling your doctor all changes you make] but I could supplement her/his advice from “the User” point of view. I haven’t always been “The Perfect Diabetic”, I make mistakes but I think I learn from them.