Hi, I know some of you are on the insulin pump. Have you ever had problems with very low blood sugar? I've heard that can be quite common. Any advice would be appreciated.
Kelly, I was on an insulin pump for three years after 46 1/2 years of injecting. I had some serious lows during those three years. The hypoglycemic events were not so much because of the pump, but because I did not monitor myself as well as I should have. Over the last 1 1/2 years on the pump, I tested 7-8 times a day and did not experience any serious lows. The pump is deceptive in that it leads you to believe that you can live a more normal life. If you survive Type 1 as long as I did, you typically become insensitive to hypoglycemic conditions - at least until they are out of your control. While you can live a somewhat normal life, once one is a Type 1 diabetic, you can never expect to live fully like a normal human being. Survival takes work, a lot of it.
I received a double organ transplant of a kidney and a pancreas 3 1/2 months ago from a very generous donor who gave me a gift in her death after I had survived 48 1/2 years of being a Type 1. I am now want I call "a reformed diabetic." No insulin with blood glucose readings every morning in the mid-80s to mid-90s and, if you understand creatinine levels (an indication of kidney function), mine are now consistently a very normal 0.7 to 0.9 (fortunately my kidneys never got so bad as to put me into dialysis). No insulin now since the transplant except for an occasional supplemental shot of one or two units in the first two weeks after surgery.
The pump is wonderful, and I recommend that all Type 1s give it try under the supervision of a endo who really understands both the disease (and some don't) and is into the pump and its methodolgy. I tried a continuos glucose monitor, but it didn't work for me and was very expensive and a bit painful to put in every 4-5 days.
I wish you all the best. I have substituted oral anti-rejection drugs for insulin - as I said, once a diabetic, you never are "normal" again. BUT YOU CAN AND SHOULD LIVE AND ENJOY THAT GIFT!!!
Hi Kelly!
I have been on a pump for about 10 years. What I found is that I don't go high or low any more often than I did on shots. It's all about testing and control. If you take the time to get under good control on shots, then take the time to do it on a pump too! Then, the pump is a huge asset. I love not having to give myself shots every day, plus the new pumps allow you to put your bs and your carb intake into it, and using your preprogrammed bolus rates, calculates the amount of insulin you need. No more rounding or pulling out a calculator when you carb count!!
So I personally don't have problems with the severe lows (that is, not any more than I did before I was on a pump), and am a huge advocate of being on one!!!
Hi Kelly,
I find the number of lows I have is actually less than when I was doing shots. I have been on a pump for 10 years now. If I do have a low it is generally because I counted my carbs wrong or something that I did, nothing the pump did. i think the pump is wonderful . Before the pump I could not feel lows, I still don't at times, and I was having seizures late at night due to the lows. i have not had a seizure since getting my pump. i do check my blood sugar much more than i used to so I know that helps but i also have the CGM which alerts me when I am dropping low. Good luck!