Insulin Pump Therapy

Forum Post: Re: Poll! What Type of Pump Does Everyone Have?

Traci — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:14:00 GMT

Was on the Deltec Cozmo for 7 years until they discontinued it. Now I'm on MM Paradigm (2 years now) and still hate it! But I suppose I prefer it to any other pump. I'm just Deltec spoiled. :(

Forum Post: Re: Is there a way to put the site on my arm by myself?

Elie — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:44:00 GMT

Hmmm.. I'll have to look into that. Thanks, Dani. I guess my main concern is that I'm really lean and getting leaner and so it's getting more awkward and sometimes painful to put sites on, at least in certain places like my arms.

Forum Post: Re: First week...

Nicole1 — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

My daughter just started the pump and my only regret is that we didn't get it sooner! It is AMAZING!!!!!

Forum Post: Re: Diabetes bag

Dan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:52:00 GMT

A bit pricey!

Forum Post: Re: Pump Upgrades? help please!

Joe — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:15:00 GMT

hello Steph,

do you need an upgrade? in my opinion, if you like your current pump - then there's no need to change anything, including the latest greatest or "upgrade" to a new model for the sake of new. If a new or different pump has something you like, that's a different story.

do you really need a new one? in general, yes. Pumps die. the motors burn out, the electronics and sensors get flakey, so I think it's a good idea to get a new pump eventually. I swapped my last one about a year after the warranty expired, just because it felt right and it was before it died on me.

Forum Post: Re: Gymnastics and a pump?

jujismom — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:53:00 GMT

You may have decided by now, but I thought I'd share a few tid bits of my daughters experience w gymnastics and pumps. She started with a Ping and took it off for training and meets, re-attaching to bump her basal if needed. Sometimes she would use Lantus the night before a meet and keep the pump off for the day. (usung humalog pen for bolus) that worked well too. She switched to the Omnipod in October wears it on her arm and never takes it off. So far so good.

The key to staying stong in the gym is check, check, check.

One unique aspect with gymnastics vs other sports is the amount of adrenilin and stress hormones produced, especially before big meets can cause your liver to dump sugar in the blood and cause very high, hard to lower bgs. We had to see a diabetic sports physiologist to address this. Everyone is different but gymnastics training can't be compared to most other sports training regimes.

Forum Post: Re: Omnipod?

Nbee03 — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:29:00 GMT

OmniPod is great if you are very active. However, it can also be horrible if you like to be active. As you know, the pod is quite bulky, and the adhesive is the same as regular infusion sets. Also, I don't like how you can never disconnect. I do not like how you will have to have that bulky pod connected to you ALL THE TIME. One last thing is that I don't think getting in hot water would be a good idea with the pod because of the insulin inside.

Forum Post: Re: Variable insulin effectiveness and nonlinearities

jennagrant — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:58:00 GMT

Carb ratios are very effective, I used them for about 20 years (10 on shots and 10 with a pump) and it works well most of the time. A couple things that may help you:

- Adjusting insulin is an art, as much as a science. Over time, you'll learn how specific foods or times of day affect your son and dose accordingly.

- Like Shandra mentioned, many people have dawn phenomenon and blood sugar is higher in the morning. In your example your son at a higher carb breakfast late in the morning. In that situation your son might take slightly less insulin than normal and test in an hour, then give the remainder.

- Do the same for high carb or high fat meals. Use a dual wave bolus or take a smaller amount of insulin, then test in an hour and give the rest based on my current blood sugar. It helps the insulin hit at the right time.

- There's something called the "Chinese Restaurant Effect" where high carb meals take more insulin than the actual carb count. A big meal or high fat meal takes longer to digest too, so it can take a while to hit the blood stream.

- Make sure your son's pump basal rate is correct. Carb ratios can't be reliable if base insulin isn't correct.

- Make sure your son's insulin duration time is accurate too.

Hope this helps.

Forum Post: Re: Why does my sugar always sky rocket when the site's on my stomach?

Aaron — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:17:00 GMT

I took a break from my stomach and went back some time later, but got super poor absorption there and have had problems there almost immediately again. The "love handle" area has always worked better for me. Alex is probably on to something with the cannula length...

Forum Post: Re: to pump or not?

Jed Dole — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:59:00 GMT

Greetings Alisha

The pump has been the greatest diabetes advancement I have experienced over the past 45 years of living life with Diabetes. The freedom to eat when you can/want, and the improved a1c's are a great bonus. Being a man, weight gain may not be as important to me. It's been almost 12 years with a pump, and 3 years with a CGM. Life is good. Good luck with your decission!! :-)

Happy March 1st.

Forum Post: Re: New Pump?

Jed Dole — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Alex is correct. Co-pay doesn't go away though. My insurance company's have provided me with three so far, as well as CGM supplies.

Forum Post: Re: night time dual wave?

BruceF — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:27:00 GMT

thanks. I think we need to reduce the basals, reduce the carb ratio and lengthen the dual wave, and probably most importantly, convince him to not have many carbs after 8:00 (that will be the hardest). It's always a balancing act - not wanting him to feel so restricted that he rebels and does something foolish when he's old enough vs. trying to keep him in good numbers and good habits. In any case, I appreciate the advice.

Forum Post: Re: changing infusion set effectiveness

jennagrant — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:57:00 GMT

What you're experiencing is normal. The skin can only absorb so much insulin. Sometimes you'll find spots that absorb really well and last longer than normal, then other spots are less effective. When I do leg infusion sites I increase my basal and bolus about 15% and it prevents highs.

Forum Post: Re: ANIMAS or MEDTRONIC ?

alexg0911 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:25:00 GMT

I am using the Animas pump and the Dexcom sensor. From what I've heard from many people, the Medtronic sensor that goes with the pump has many issues, and most people stop using it shortly after getting it. It works for some people, but provides multiple errors and needs to be calibrated more often than the Dexcom sensor.

So, you can use a sensor with either pump, but with Animas, you'd need to purchase the Dexcom sensor, which has a separate screen/device for viewing sensor readings.

Forum Post: Re: Anybody Use Glucose Gel?

Elie — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:43:00 GMT

Cool. I'll def look for some cake frosting. Only problem is it's usually high in fat which (1) slows down absorption and (2) makes me fat. But yea, def will give it a try.

Forum Post: Re: Medtronic Revel

Rebecca — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:28:00 GMT

I've had multilple replacements from minimed for broken pumps, it would have been next day but i was unlucky enough 2 of the times to break it on holiday weekends, when UPS doesn't ship =( Idk if they cover the screen under warranty, i have managed to scratch just about every one of mine, but i didn't really worry about it. but if you can't see anything you might have to do something. I am on animas now, only because it's waterproof, and they use screen covers on the pumps. If you get a new one you can get screen covers for cell phones that you can cut to size, that might help.

Forum Post: Problems with Bruising, Bleeding, etc.

Elie — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:16:00 GMT

For the past few months, I've had frequent issues with bruising. Half the time I remove the infusion set there's a dark purplish black circle. Is this normal? Does anyone else get this? It seems so variable. I don't do anything differently the other half of the time when there is no bruising. Any ideas??

Forum Post: Re: What do you do if you have ketones?

marsbarjunior — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:26:00 GMT

I understand the feeling of embarrassment but this is a very serious issue and I am pleased with the fact that you are asking about this. In the past, there have been times when I have not taken testing ketones as seriously as I should have. There should be instructions on your tube of ketone test strips as to indication of the point at which you need to contact medical care IMMEDIATELY. I will be honest, I recently had a blood sugar so high that I should have been in a coma but somehow managed not to be. I ended up going by ambulance to the ICU in the hospital in Seattle. Take care and let me know if you have any other questions regarding what I have said!

T1 since 2005 Minimed pump since 2005-2006

Forum Post: Re: Rejecting Pump Sites

Rebecca — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:27:00 GMT

If she's on a straight infusion set she could try an angled one if the plastic piece is kinking off. Also, I'm allergic to the adhesive so I use Smith and Nephew skin prep pads. They create a sticky layer that lets your skin breath or something, idk, but if I don't use them the sites get all red and bumpy and itchy. . . she could try those. She could also try taking benedryl, but she probably doesn't want to take that every day. Otherwise, I would ask her doctor, some people are allergic to insulin and get hives from it, and changing brands sometimes helps. Hope you guys figure it out soon =)

Forum Post: Re: Quick Set vs. Silhoette

Rebecca — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:34:00 GMT

I normally save a few in case, and throw away the rest. . . I only use the tubing for 6 days or so because I don't want it to crack or leak, but I have only had an issue once, and it was with 3 day old tubing.