I've had Type 1 for about 5 years now and have been on NovoLog and Lantus pens since the start. I just started college this year and was thinking of switching but thought I'd better not make any big changes at the same time as my big move, so I stayed on injections for the time being. My diabetes has been going pretty well with injections. I haven't had any real complications, and I'm wondering if the pump is worth switching to now that I'm settled. I know it is more convenient as far as the actual insulin giving goes, but I have also heard it requires much more testing and can be a pain to have.
If you have any thoughts on this (in particular if you've used both injections and the pump and prefer one to the other) I'd love to hear from you. Thanks.
i use the omni pod which is wireless and im pretty satisfied with it but u should really look into the price of the pump and the individual needle thing, sorry i dont know the name. ok so for example i have a pdm which controls the wireless pods and it cost like 700 - 1000 dollars and each individual pod cost 24 dollars and i use 2 a day so it really adds up and when i graduate from high school im probably going 2 have 2 switch because of the price. but u should really ask your doctor because certain pumps work better for certain people depending on their age, body fat , and their lifestyle
There's a great book calle "Pumping Insulin" by John Walsh that gives a great overview of pumps and might help you decide if this is the righ time or not.
I did shots for 25 years and have used a Minimed Paradigm pump for the last 9. The pump has a lot of advantages because you can set a base rate of insulin, then take more when you eat. This has allowed me to sleep late, skip meals, and even fast for a whole day with totally normal blood sugars.
Pumps just use short acting insulin (not Lantus) so you don't have weird times when insulin from a shot you took 15 hours ago is still active. Makes dosing and control a lot easier.
Biggest diadvantage with a pump is cost. They're a lot more expensive than shots.
Jozef: It is not a bigger size. It is more concentrated. Long ago, insulin came in 3 dilutions, u40 (for kids) u100 ( most widely available) and u500 for insulin resistant individuals that need a lot of insulin at one time. The designation refers to how many units of insulin are in one mililiter of solution. Speak to your endo after doing the research.