Insulin Pump Therapy

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

jennagrant — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:54:00 GMT

Minimed 522

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: Gymnastics and a pump?

KWeber — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:08:00 GMT

I did tumbling for two years and at class I'd take the pump off but I would still get low so I'd have to stop halfway through and eat glucose tabs or something. I would not wear the pump (It would fall off otherwise wouldn't it?) and monitor your bg a lot to see if you get low or high. If you're getting low have a snack before hand and/or lower your basal before practice, and if you're high reconnect and give a small dose in the middle

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: Re: to pump or not?

Alisha — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:36:00 GMT

About how much insulin were you using when you were doing shots? I am using about 75u on a daily average. I would love the freedom of just eating when I want with out having to worry about anything!!! I eat pretty much how much I want now (i do my Humalog by carb count) which is nice when going out for a meal or just want to have a bit more carbs than normal!!! My daughter does keep me very busy that's for sure!!! It would be nice to have a CGM as then when I am doing activities with her, I wouldn't have to worry so much about going low or even have to stop to test :)

Thank you for your information :)

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.

Forum Post: Re: unexplained ketones

jennagrant — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Your body needs a certain amount of glucose to run. Keytones are a byproduct caused by the body burning fat, when glucose isn't available. Keytones aren't dangerous at low or moderate levels for short amounts of time.

In your situation, I wouldn't be worried about keytones as much as the high blood sugars. If you've grown, gained a few pounds, are stressed or are fighting an infection it's normal to increase insulin levels. If you get your blood sugar down and drink water keytones will be flushed out.

Eating really low carb causes keytones too. People on Atkins type diets just drink a lot of water to flush them out.

Forum Post: Re: Pump Failure

JoAnnK — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:24:00 GMT

It disturbed me that Minimed said "replacement" and I naturally figured they meant "new." I felt they weren't being upfront about it. Also, when I inserted the battery they sent with the pump, there was an alert that said "weak battery." They should have at least included a new battery!

Forum Post: Re: Researching for the best pump for me

Courtney — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:54:00 GMT

I've had the Animas OneTouch Ping for 2 years now and I absolutely love it. But Rebecca, FYI they have had problems with their pumps being waterproof. I had to get a new one because it had water damage. The pump and the customer service is great. I've had two replacement pumps over the past 2 years and they have been great about getting them to me fast. No matter what pump you go with it's going to be expensive. I have good insurance because my mom works for a hospital and they tend to give great coverage but I still payed around $2000 initially for my pump and then about every 6 months I get supplies which I pay 20% out of pocket for.

There are tons of websites out there that have programs for people who may not be able to afford supplies such as insulin, if you qualify a lot of these programs will give you insulin for free or at least close to free.

As far as the cgm goes currently they have a partnership with DexCom and the offer the DexCom Seven Plus cgm. I've heard great things about this cgm but have never actually tried it myself. Many endocrinologists can offer you a trial cgm for you to determine if it's right for you, I would ask and see if yours offers this.

Good luck!!

Forum Post: Re: 5 years down the road?

LeahMarie — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:54:00 GMT

Rebecca, I totally agree, the nanotech kinda freaked me out. It's like, what if they pop or whatever when you don't need them to?

Dan, you're right. I just couldn't remember the acutal word she had used. I didn't know we didn't make enough though. interesting.

Forum Post: Re: Pump Supplies - Surprised, but not shocked ...

Courtney Ritter — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:42:00 GMT

I also get my supplies from SurePoint Medical. I pay $20 for three months worth of supplies. This includes lancets, testing strips, and I got a Onetouch Ultramini for free. I was also a little skeptical at first, but they are legit and mail everything to you every 3 months free shipping. I was also worried that I would run out of supplies for the amount but the strip containers they send me for the Onetouch actually holds 50 in a bottle instead of the usual 25 per bottle that I bought from my pharmacy.

ALSO I had a question because I am currently considering a pump because even though I have been diabetic for 8 years all of a sudden for the past two months I have been having either crazy lows or crazy highs and it has been very frustrating. My doctor thinks it will help keeping it back to the better control I had before. And I haven't changed any diet or anything. My issue is expenses, i'm currently on a tight budget (hince the doing the mailed supplies). I have blue cross blue shield but i'm afraid of how much it could actually cost out of pocket. Is it expensive?

Forum Post: RE: Bumps

jennagrant — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:50:00 GMT

There's info about this in John Walsh's book "Pumping Insulin." Also found this old link that talks more about Pump Hypertrophy. It's supposed to help that you rotate sites often, but you may need to do it more than every 3 days if you're taking large amounts of insulin.

www.diabetesdaily.com/.../11484-what-possible-solutions-site-skin-problems

Forum Post: Re: new pumper

mimigirl — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:50:00 GMT

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.