I just got an animas ping pump today...finally figured out what basal means and am looking forward to being less of a pin cushion...any tips from you experts would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!
Congratulations! My personal belief is that the pump is the best we have right now for treatment. My A1c has dropped to 5.7 for the last 6 months. No way I could have achieved this on shots. I hope you enjoy the journey. It isn't magic. It still takes a lot of finger sticks, very important with the pump because you will stay much closer to "normal" blood sugars and it is much easier to crash too low.
Congratulations! Think you'll really like the pump.
One trick that helps me is to have one target blood sugar, instead of a range, programmed in the pump. My target is 100. Work with your diabetes educator to program in an accurate insulin duration time, target blood sugar, and correction factor. It will take a while to figure out your basal rate, so be patient. Periodically I still have to adjust my basal rate. It seems to change slightly with each season and Also make sure you learn how to use square and dual rate boluses.
If you don't have it, there's a great book by John Walsh called "Pumping Insulin." I've used a pump for almost 10 years and still find the book helpful.
Wow, 5.7, I'm so jealous.
My target BS is about 100 (5.5 in Canada). I'm testing frequently since these are my first few days and my stomach is enjoying the rest. Hopefully, I'll catch on quickly.
Thanks for your support and suggestions.