Hi! I am new to Juvenation. I have been type 1 since I was 10. I have tried two different insulin pumps and neither one worked for me. I had serious reactions to the infusion sets.......like I couldn't keep them in for more than a day at a time without developing a hard lump under my skin and a very itchy site. I am so dissappointed about not being able to wear a pump. I am on an insulin carb ratio and I inject whenever I eat.....I was just wondering if there is anyone else out there in the same position and if there is anything else out there to try????
ME TOO! I'm so glad to come across you! Definitely send me a message.
I'm on Lantus and novolog and have good control, but doctors and other T1's make me feel irresponsible for not using the pump even though it didn't work for me. I also wonder and worry whether my control could be any better if I could use the pump.
I am on lantus and apidra. Don't feel irresponsible.....it's your choice. When I was on the pump, I was in pretty bad shape due to the reactions to it. I have always been up and down with my blood sugars. EVERYTHING affects me.....stress is a biggy!! If you go on the pump again, control might not be best. If you are in good control now....stay with what you are doing!!! When I first started the pump, it was all good, but then I developed problems.....bad reactions!
[quote user="Sarah"]
ME TOO! I'm so glad to come across you! Definitely send me a message.
I'm on Lantus and novolog and have good control, but doctors and other T1's make me feel irresponsible for not using the pump even though it didn't work for me. I also wonder and worry whether my control could be any better if I could use the pump.
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I agree don't feel irresponsible, if I remember right you have children and have done a great job so far!!!!!! LOL job haha. I am not on a pump also, maybe someday. I use Lantus and Novolog with a 2 units for every 15 carbs. I some what watch what I eat, mostly what I eat has to be worth the effort to inject. That means fries are not worth injecting for so I order a side salad, as an example. Sorry minor side track might be a little early in the morning. Without a pump my last a1c was 5.7 the Dr.'s tell me that's in the normal(?) range. Wonder what it would be with a pump????
I was wondering if you are at a 5.7, do you experience a lot of lows??? My doctor tells me that she wants me to try to get myself to below 7.0. I am usually all over the place.....
[quote user="Angela"]
I was wondering if you are at a 5.7, do you experience a lot of lows??? My doctor tells me that she wants me to try to get myself to below 7.0. I am usually all over the place.....
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No I don't have a lot of lows, I go weeks some times. I think I have a slight advantage as I was dx'ed at age 52 and my body is done with changes except getting old. LOL My a1c has been coming down since my dx.. Started at 13.3 and I was dx'ed aug./08
Wow......13.3 is really high.....keep up the good work whatever you are doing??!! What are you doing to keep your number at 5.7???
Thanks Angela! My a1c went up to 7.5 on the pump -- the hives at my insertion site affected the absorption. I gave it 6 months until my nurse educator told me it was okay to forget it! On MDI, I've been 5's to 6.1 the last 2 years. (In response to your question to Keith, I went back on a CGM to catch the lows I was having in order to keep my numbers down.) I've moved since my pump experience, and my situation is fairly rare, so the new endos seem a little suspicious if it's so bad to warrant staying on MDI. But, I agree, my numbers are pretty good, so why change? But, so many people are so pro-pump, it does get to me and make me question my decisions...
I had the exact same problem as you on the pump....I got these large often painful hives....but my endo blamed it on a reaction to the tubing....so you are allergic to certain types of insulin??? How did you find that out?
I know that I had a few reactions with a different type of tubing. With that being said, I found a type of tubing I can wear that doesn't cause me to have reactions before my 3 days are up. If I go a few hours over 3 days, I get large hard spots where my site is and it iches really bad. However, if a pump is something you are interested in because of ease, they do have hypoallergenic infusion sets. Basically there is no canula. You keep a smaller needle inserted the whole time. You can't feel it and it is comfortable. Just a thought if you really want to try one. Good luck in whatever you choose!!!
For me, I get hives w/ any type of insulin. The same infusion site for 3 days led to huge hives...
That's cool about those hypoallergenic infusions!
[quote user="Angela"]
Wow......13.3 is really high.....keep up the good work whatever you are doing??!! What are you doing to keep your number at 5.7???
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Not to sure. LOL I do 30 units of lantus in the morning, this I figured out by fasting 12 hrs and seeing if my bs went up or down and adjusted. My carb. ratio, again by finding what worked for me is 2 units novolog for every 15 grams carbs and fudge up on insulin if there is a question. Oh, the 13.3 was when I was dx'ed in ICU, DKA and bs of 672!!! Now I still have those days, you know, woke up at 44 and was really stupid!!! over treated the low (every thing tasted SO GOOD LOL) next check you guessed it high at 243, just a little over done. I an ok after a correction got to 93, so getting good at this if I am not so low as to be stupid!!! LOL Also being dx'ed at 52 my body had pretty much quit growing up still growing round. ROFLMAO
There's a blog that I really love (damdiabetes.blogspot.com) written by a T1 woman with an allergy to insulin who is on a pump. She mixes insulin with a steroid agent, and that makes her able to use the pump.
Not saying you should be using the pump, but if you are interested, it's something to look into. Someone's doing it.
I also had a reaction while on the pump. I have a LOT of different things going on so it took 3 years for me to realize it was pump related. After I went off of my pump I continued to get hives wherever I injected Novolog, so I switched back to Humalog, but now my A1C is highes it's ever been; 9.1:( I have developed a ton of complications in the past 5 years, mostly nerve related, but causing me much anguish... I live in a small town, but when I told my educator about it, she had never heard of that happening. Before I went on the pump my A1C was 6.7 and steadily went up after going on the pump... Nice to know I'm not the only one...
Jana, I often get endos suspicious of it being an insulin allergy, but I've been to numerous allergists, been tested for allergies to the additives, etc. I think doctors just don't like when there's something they don't know what to do with! My problem started when I was around 8 years old.
Ajax, I'll definitely check out that site. Thanks! When I used syringes back in the dark ages, I mixed steroids with insulin, but it didn't help me enough to make it worth it. I'm already wishing I could cut back on the steroids I'm on for another autoimmune disease. (:
hi Sarah , I haven't read all this post but did read a little and when I read this-I felt kind of sad about it. You have always been so responsible and on top of your d care. You also have very good A1C's so you are doing great !!!
...The pump..my thoughts have always gone back to the same thing..Is my daughter missing out on something that would make her d care easier..I also do noticed that there are less people around on MDI 's and it does make me feel like we are in a small group...We should start a new group for us :)
[quote user="Sarah"]
ME TOO! I'm so glad to come across you! Definitely send me a message.
I'm on Lantus and novolog and have good control, but doctors and other T1's make me feel irresponsible for not using the pump even though it didn't work for me. I also wonder and worry whether my control could be any better if I could use the pump.
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Forgot the quote :)
Thanks Brandy....tried a hypoallergenic infusion set also....didn't work either. I am going to talk to my endo about the mixing of steroid and insulin. I saw that this helps some people too. May be an option. Wondering why my endo didn't suggest it after having so many unsuccessful tries with the pump:(