Come talk about your pumping experience ...

[LiveNormal]

I am among one of the many who is deciding to go pumping.

Scour the web and found both many scary and wonderful experiences in going pumping.

Want to get close and interact with you pumpers, can you tell what are the worst and best things that have ever happened since pumping? How frequent does the worst thing you experienced happened? Are you still pumping now?

If any non-pumpers would like to add to the question list, pls shoot.

------------------------------
Dx Jun'00
Recent A1c 6.5%
MDI with Actrapid and Insulatard

[trifona]

In my POV, There are no relevant drawbacks to pumping vs conventional therapy or MDI. If you have insurance that will pay for the pump & consumables, go for it.

The biggest problem for me was getting over the emotional hurdle of having a pump "attached" to me 24/7.

I got hoooked up during my senior year in college. God, if I was smart, I would have done it years sooner.

I got my life back when I went on the pump, I'd feel naked without it today.

[duck]

What scary stories have you heard?

If I had to do it over and over again, I'd go pump over MDI every time.

[poodlebone]

For the first few months of pumping I wasn't sure I made the right decision. I ran high a lot but once my numbers fell into place I was extremely happy. Unlike a lot of people, I did not/do not mind the thought of having something attached to me all the time. Usually I forget it's there. Sleeping with it is no problem.

Worst thing that has happened to me is having problems with the original infusion set I was using, the Minimed Quick-Set. Check the forums, and you'll see many other horror stories about them. But, you'll also find many users who son't have problems with the Quick-Sets. I use Silhouttes now and love them. Anyway, while having many infusion set problems my BG could go high, but the highest it went was mid-400's. I admit that I am still afraid of pulling the set out during the night and walking up in DKA, but that's not enough to even get me to consider going back to injections. Since I switched infusion sets I have not had problems with bent cannulas.

The pump is convenient - you always have your insulin with you. No weird stares or comments in a restaurant when you need to take insulin to cover your meal. If you're out running errands and decide you want a snack, no need to worry that you left your insulin at home or in the car.

The pump keeps track of the insulin I've taken, and lets me know (approximately) how much is active at any given time. I used to stack injections all the time, which led to many bad lows. I'd have a high BG and correct, and if I wasn't in range 90 minutes later I'd do another correction. The first correction would continue working and the second would cause me to crash later.

If you're going to be very active you can lower your basal rates to avoid going low. If you're sick you can raise them. You can account for dawn phenomenon by having a higher basal rate in the early morning hours. You'll never have to worry about forgetting an injection, something I did more than I'd like to admit. Or, sometimes I did inject but forgot, and double dosed. That usually happened with my long acting insulin but I've also doubled up for food insulin.

The only negatives I can think of about the pump are:
It's expensive, so if you don't have insurance (and even if you do) you might not be able to afford it.
It is easier to end up in DKA due to infusion set problems, but as long as you test frequently and don't change your sets right before bed it shouldn't be a worry.

[notme]

Best thing that ever happened was my lowered A1c, not having to feed insulin, no more embarrassing shots when out to dinner, better health and energy, no more worrying about forgetting to bring insulin along when I am out, better blood sugar after eating fatty, high carb foods.

Worst thing that ever happened???? Forgetting to put it back on after a bath.

I love my pump.

[LiveNormal]

What scary stories have you heard?

If I had to do it over and over again, I'd go pump over MDI every time.

Like the insulin delivery stopped in the middle of the night for some reason and BS rose to 1800 mg/dL...

[duck]

Like the insulin delivery stopped in the middle of the night for some reason and BS rose to 1800 mg/dL...

My Cozmore is very annoying when such things happen, I wouldn't be able to sleep through it. However, that is a stronger possibility of happening on a pump than MDI. Since it has never happened to me on either protocol, I wouldn't even worry about it (I guess I am taking myself out of the equation for this scenario).

[notme]

I have forgotten my pump after a bath and left it off from 10:30 pm until 7:00 am and my blood sugar was in the high 400's. I doubt you could get that high over night unless you ate and entire cake just before bed.

[Tim_Roy]

Is your pump not waterproof? I just take it in with me.

[JanTx]

Remember I'm new:
I don't like disconnecting the tubing. I have a hard time getting it to smoothly turn and I'm afraid I'm going to pull out the set. Unreasonable, I know, but ... my own current little phobia. So when I bathe I stick the pump in a wicker basket beside the tub that I store towels in. I have the long tubing and it reaches just fine. Well, last night I changed out before my bath and waited until afterwards to put it all back in. I thought it would be such a huge relief to be untethered for that little time. Looked forward to it, in fact. But found ... no big deal. Absolutely no big deal. I guess I've been assimilated? :)

[Funnygrl]

Like the insulin delivery stopped in the middle of the night for some reason and BS rose to 1800 mg/dL...
1800? Whoa...a few hours without basal wouldn't do that to me. A few days might do it to some people.

[Tokyo Cate]

I had several good years with my pump and it certainly saved my life in the first few years as I had been experiencing serious lows using Lente as long-acting insulin. It gave me freedom to bolus for food eaten and the opportunity to suspend if a meal was delayed or I was going low.

I had a lot of trouble with infusion sets not working well causing delivery problems and site infections that caused a lot of scar tissue that interfered with insulin absorbtion in my last few years of pumping. My last A1C as a pumper was 7.4%; my first A1C just a few months later on MDI using Lantus and Humalog was 6.4%.

The things I miss most about pumping, really, are the functions that tell you what your previous boluses were (on MDI, I sometimes can't recall the timing or dose of my most recent injection), the basal rate I used to combat Dawn Phenomenon and the function that tells what total daily dose was. The newer features on pumps look interesting to me, but not something I would be willing to invest so much money in or that would make me want to return to infusion sets which I strongly dislike.

I didn't like having to carry so many supplies with me (I felt I had to always have two spare sets, insulin, test kit and supplies and a few back-up syringes). I HATED changing infusion sets and often felt angry when I had an alarm, the batteries ran low or I ran out of insulin--I didn't like that the machine dictated my actions at those times rather than me controlling the pump.

I am happy on MDI (using Lantus and Novolog pens with 4+ injections daily) and getting good results which is what it is all about. Pumping works for a lot of people here, but perhaps because the only site that worked for me was my stomach and I got serious infections in my legs because I was a runner, I developed scar tissue more quickly than other pumpers.

I had great support from Minimed in my pumping years, but the word on this site is that they have not been keeping up with that. I did not get my pumping supplies directly from Minimed, though, and that may have been a factor in my satisfaction.

For those how are starting out on the pump now, my experience reinforces that you should use as great of variety of sites as possible and if you are having trouble with infusion sets, speak to your rep or your doctor ASAP to get alternative sets that may suit your body or particular sites better.

Pumping is good--I did have good results initially, but I pumped beyond my expiration date and am happy with my current plan.

[notme]

Jan there is a little trick with quicksets if that is what you are using. When you press the two little levers on either side of the canula use a "light hand". Don't squeeze hard.....just a very light hand and turn toward the arrow mark. When you reconnect, DO NOT press the little levers or buttons on either side. Just put the canula with the two arrows pointing at one another and twist back on with a light hand toward the line. Try a couple of times and you will see how smoothly they go on and off. You dont' have to wear your pump in the shower or bath.

Tim, Medtronic pumps are waterproof for showering or bathing. I just don't see the sense in taking a $6,000 pump in the tub when I can easily disconnect for that short period of time. Besides....what the heck do you clip it to????? Never mind. LOL

[xMenace]

I've had more troubles stacking with the pump than without. If I'm plugged into a bad spot, I could be high for long periods followed by dramatic and dngerous drops. I now treat highs as dangerous events and really watch my adjustments closely.

I also try to eat known foods more. I make too many errors guessing the carbs in stuff like pizza and gloppy stuff like rice and pasta.

On the plus I finally have normal sugars in the mornings for the first time ever. I'm not a morning person.

[KAnderson]

Best thing about my pump: 500+ injections I haven't had to take since July.
Worst thing about my pump: Learning how to be careful and not tear out an infusion set.
Wouldn't trade my pump and go back to MDI for the world! I haven't had an A1c below 8 in years, now I'm at 6.3. Any con is far outweighed by the pros IMHO...
Ken

[melissata]

Jan there is a little trick with quicksets if that is what you are using. When you press the two little levers on either side of the canula use a "light hand". Don't squeeze hard.....just a very light hand and turn toward the arrow mark. When you reconnect, DO NOT press the little levers or buttons on either side. Just put the canula with the two arrows pointing at one another and twist back on with a light hand toward the line. Try a couple of times and you will see how smoothly they go on and off. You dont' have to wear your pump in the shower or bath.

Tim, Medtronic pumps are waterproof for showering or bathing. I just don't see the sense in taking a $6,000 pump in the tub when I can easily disconnect for that short period of time. Besides....what the heck do you clip it to????? Never mind. LOL

Nancy, Where did you get that info about Medtronic pumps being waterproof? They are not, and have not been for about 3 years now, unless there is some new info that I haven't seen. They are only able to withstand being splashed with water. My daughter had just received her pump when they sent out the letter telling us that they were no longer to be considered waterproof. We had just switched over from the Dtron Plus, and my daughter liked using their shower holder and leaving the pump on. The only thing that Minimed would do was send their version of a holder, which we didn't like. It didn't stay on well and we would have had to pay for them after using the samples that they sent. I would hate to see someone void their warranty by using them in the shower or swimming.

[Tokyo Cate]

It didn't stay on well and we would have had to pay for them after using the samples that they sent. I would hate to see someone void their warranty by using them in the shower or swimming.


When I was pumping (before the development of Quick Release sets), I used Minimed's Sport Guard case in the shower as it is water proof. It was intended for use in contact sports or for swimming, but wearing something that clunky and unattractive while swimming wasn't my style. Perfect for the shower; not so perfect for sports.

[spike]

Nancy, Where did you get that info about Medtronic pumps being waterproof? They are not, and have not been for about 3 years now, unless there is some new info that I haven't seen. They are only able to withstand being splashed with water. My daughter had just received her pump when they sent out the letter telling us that they were no longer to be considered waterproof. We had just switched over from the Dtron Plus, and my daughter liked using their shower holder and leaving the pump on. The only thing that Minimed would do was send their version of a holder, which we didn't like. It didn't stay on well and we would have had to pay for them after using the samples that they sent. I would hate to see someone void their warranty by using them in the shower or swimming.
The MM pumps are hermetically sealed and therefore water resistant as much as they were before the letters went out to owners of the 511 that rescinded the water resistant claims. All pump models made subsequently by MM are similarly water resistant. The problem was the FDA received a spate of complaints because of cracked cases, prompting MM to removed the water tightness claim. The pumps continue to be submersible for the occasional swim, snorkeling, etc. If however, the pump case cracks, it WILL leak water. One place that the pump cracks is hard to notice--under the soft Medtronic logo at the bottom of the pump, which is adhered to the case with a cheesy adhesive that often fails.

MM no longer advertises the pumps as water tight.

and one more thing: NO pump is guaranteed water proof. The legal definition of water proof doesn't apply to any current pump on the market. The term you should be using is "water resistant".

[Cyborg]

The Animas is guaranteed to be waterproof. They are actually tested at 12 feet for 24 hours...

[spike]

The Animas is guaranteed to be waterproof. They are actually tested at 12 feet for 24 hours...

sorry, it is not considered waterproof

like i said earlier, due to legal contraints, NO pump is considered waterproof

http://www.animascorp.com/products/userguide/IR1250/tech_specs.pdf

You might want to do some in-depth research regarding the terms "water proof" and "water tight" and "water resistant"

Please don't insist on throwing out erroneous information regarding pump specs. NO pump is water PROOF. There; I've said it again.

[melissata]

What about this fromt the Cozmo site?

Is the pump waterproof?
Every Deltec Cozmo® Insulin Pump is guaranteed to be waterproof when it leaves our manufacturing facility.

[melissata]

The Cozmo uses the word waterproof all over their site. I was surprised to read this in the specs though. I know that they used to promote is for a much longer time than this;

Waterproof
IPX8 - waterproof to a depth of 8 feet for 30 minutes or 12 feet for 3 minutes (pump only)

[Angelique]

My pump has allowed me to live like a normal person. The one thing I hated most about mdi's is having to eat all the time. I eat less with the pump and I eat when I want to eat. I have never had any horrible times with my pump. It's been great.

[mids1999]

Most current pumps are manufactured as waterproof.
Its the possibility of the pump cracking at any time that forces the pump companies to use the term water tight unless of course they use the term waterproof in the way that deltec did stating an exact time while the pump is under the companies direct control that the pump is infact waterproof.

In this instance nobody would be able to have a claim that their pump is not infact waterproof. If someone could prove that the pump wasnt waterproof and it was within the time that deltec claims it to be such then it would not have yet left the factory.

A smart marketing ploy in my opinion

[xMenace]

My pump has allowed me to live like a normal person. The one thing I hated most about mdi's is having to eat all the time. I eat less with the pump and I eat when I want to eat. I have never had any horrible times with my pump. It's been great.

Right on about the food. My insulin intake has dropped from an average of 90+ a day to mid 60's a day, largely because I seem to have broken that viscious cycle of eat-shoot-eat-shoot ...

I'm down 10lbs in 4 months too, and as soon as I'm allowed to be active again, that will continue.

[melissata]

Most current pumps are manufactured as waterproof.
Its the possibility of the pump cracking at any time that forces the pump companies to use the term water tight unless of course they use the term waterproof in the way that deltec did stating an exact time while the pump is under the companies direct control that the pump is infact waterproof.

In this instance nobody would be able to have a claim that their pump is not infact waterproof. If someone could prove that the pump wasnt waterproof and it was within the time that deltec claims it to be such then it would not have yet left the factory.

A smart marketing ploy in my opinion

I don't blame them for saying it like they do. If you know that you haven't dropped it, then you should be able to trust it to be waterproof. I'm not sure that a visual inspection would be good enough. I was hoping for a time longer than 30 minutes though, for swimming. I guess I wouldn't want to trust my daughter to tell me if she dropped it, but I would prefer that she keep it on for long showers. It would probably be safe to use a shower bag with the Paradigm, but I am not one to temp fate. With my luck the pump would konk out and she would be furious with me!

[LiveNormal]

My pump has allowed me to live like a normal person. The one thing I hated most about mdi's is having to eat all the time. I eat less with the pump and I eat when I want to eat. I have never had any horrible times with my pump. It's been great.

:eating: Indeed, we are all born to Live to Eat, not Eat to Live :eating:

[Dobson]

Switching to the pump after about 3,000 shots of Humalog and Lantus is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only did it free me from the constraints of MDI, but several people have told me that it has affected my personality as well. I am not held back in any way.

[LiveNormal]

Thank you for all of your comments.

I gathered that life is definitely more normal with the pump than without.

My next problem is should I persue a refurbished pump for lower price or should I go ahead, buy a new pump and pay big bulks upfront? (Remember, I don't have insurance to cover for me)

I got an offer from Metronics recently that a "recertified" 508R with 4months of infusion set supplies, warranty down to 2 years and costs USD 2.5k. Reason for the recertification comes from a refurbished driver arm in the pump while everything else is new.

Any comments, suggestions or experience to share? Or should I open a new thread for this?