Anyone taken off insulin pump?

[sharishine]

I've been a Type 1 for 15 years now. I'm 29 years old. I've never had really "great" control of my BS, my best A1C that I've had in a long time was 7.0. I've been on a pump since 1996.

I've started to show signs of kidney damage and have been on an ACE.

My endo has recently (in the last 2 weeks) taken me off of my pump and put me back on shots. I"m now taking Lantus and humalog. The reason for the taking me off of my pump was because I was constantly having high BS's even when taking boluses. I was constantly changing my sites, but it seemed I wasn't absorbing the insulin anywhere around my middle, flank, abdomen, etc.

When I would take a regular shot to try and get it down, say in my leg or arm, it would come down right away. So my endo decided to try the shots for awhile and see if my sites would get rested up.

My question is, has anyone else ever had this problem with insulin absorption or site problems?

Even with the shots, we are still trying to get the amount of insulin right. My blood sugars are running generally between 190-330 on a daily basis. They keep increasing my insulin, but it doesnt seem to make a different.

I'm so confused, frustrated and tired of the **** that goes along with Diabetes!

Thanks for letting me vent!

[duck]

Some here have taken a pump vacation and then returned, others have left the pumping lifestyle behind completely...You have to do what you have to do to control this disease. It sounds like you and your endo are taking the correct steps based on the evidence at hand. And yeah, it takes a while to make the switch from pumping back to MDI, but stick with it.

[type1_rider]

I also have type 1 diabetes and am on the insulin pump. My doctors noticed my sites were becoming puffy and stiff which is a sign of scarring which would affect insulin being absorbed. They said should rest those sites but I could use others and that has helped tremendously. I had only used my stomach but now I use my stomach and my buttox. You can inject pump sites anywhere you give injections (upper arm, thigh, ect.) Hope that helps!

[notme]

I have had few absorption problems, but have not been pumping as long as you have. I started pumping in 2001. I have always used lower abdomen, upper thighs and backside. I have never used my arms.

I have never thought about going back to MDI and I wonder how you felt about the change back. How long before you noticed that you were having absorption problems?

[blue_eyed_devil]

i have luckly not had this problem, but has your dr ever suggested you try oral hypoglycaemics? such as metformin? these are designed to help with insuling absorbtion and effectiveness... maybe that might help?

[BlueSky]

... I've never had really "great" control of my BS, my best A1C that I've had in a long time was 7.0. I've been on a pump since 1996. ...

What are you eating? Whether you are on a pump or MDI, the quickest and easiest way to moderate absorption problems and improve the HBA1c is to reduce carbs in the diet.

[Cyborg]

I agree, lower the carbs to help reduce the bg. Living with numbers that high will more than likely cause complications.

As far as absorption problems go, I am starting to find that when I put a new set it, it takes awhile for it to start working well. This, in fact, happened again yesterday and it's very annoying. I think from now on, I won't eat anything for 4-6 after putting in a new set.

Good luck with the MDI. If you decide to switch back to the pump, you may want to try different infusion sets to see if you get better results.

[dompusr]

Yes I took myself off the pump because of scare tissue problems. The pump is bad news for many people in your situation and people not in your situation. You would think the inventors would be smart enough by now to figure out after injecting needles into the skin for a certain amount of time problems will occur. I'm on the inhaler and its working great best product I've used in a long time.

If I were you, I would stay with injecting insulin and remember to inject in areas that keep your sugars under control. You have to experiment with Diabetes that’s the name of the game.

[sharishine]

Notme: I did NOT want to go back to using shots! AS a matter of fact, I have asked my endo if I can try the pump again and he still wants me on the shots and Lantus, so I'm stuck with it. Not having the insulin readily available to me -- stuck on me, makes it hard to remember to take the shots when needed. I sometimes dont always have pockets (cause i wear skirts) and hate to carry my purse all the time so its very inconvenient to take shots too.

With that being said, I noticed the problems with the higher blood sugars and lack of absorption about 4 weeks before my endo took me off the pump. I basal rates on my pump got up to almost 3.3/units/hr before they took me off.

My blood sugars are still not "good", but i'm having less 4-500 now than I was, but still running 2-300 a lot.

[notme]

I am sorry you are having such a hard time sharishine. Running that high makes you feel awful I am sure.

I hope someday soon you can go back to your pump and have more success. Maybe your body just needs a break from the sites for awhile. Time to heal and have the scarring go down. Sucks!

[lilituc]

Have you been tested for anti-insulin antibodies? It could be that your body is fighting the insulin. You may want to try different kinds of insulin. Humalog can sometimes crystallize for some pump users - have you tried Novolog or Apidra? Good luck.

[cheryl]

I agree, lower the carbs to help reduce the bg. Living with numbers that high will more than likely cause complications.

As far as absorption problems go, I am starting to find that when I put a new set it, it takes awhile for it to start working well. This, in fact, happened again yesterday and it's very annoying. I think from now on, I won't eat anything for 4-6 after putting in a new set.

Good luck with the MDI. If you decide to switch back to the pump, you may want to try different infusion sets to see if you get better results.

Hey As dumb as this may sound sometimes my changes get stubborn so what i have done is set alarm for 6 hours before i wake up or when i am supposed to eat breakfast, so I will get up at 2 or 3 am in the morning and change my set, I feel atleast, also if i end up having a kink, it is not as bad on the bg's for me as is if I thought that i was fine ate and then skyrocketed, and once I had a kink in the middle of the night, and my bg only hit 205 and came down nice and quick.....by morning i was 102 not bad, so that is what i do so I don't feel starved and know that my site is working and all....

Cheryl

[jen_slc]

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems. Your situation kinda reminds me of mine. I'm 28, been diabetic for 15 years, started pumping in '96. Even following the recommended timing and rotations, I started having absorption problems into my 6th and 7th years of pumping. In 2002 I stopped pumping and haven't looked back since. For me, the #1 problem was pain, the #2 problem was bad absorption. I could only use my trunk/ab/butt/hip area for sites and I guess they just got used too much. My sugars didn't get to the levels that you're experiencing, but I couldn't get my A1c under a 7 on the pump, even though it decreased initially.

The big difference is that I wanted to quit pumping; which means I was happy to carry around my insulin and take several shots a day, even though it was more work, that's how miserable I was on the pump in that last year or so.

I hope, for your sake, that giving your sites a rest and trying out different sets lets you return to pumping once you get things back under control. But if you decide to stick with MDI, just know that you can have good control. It might not be as convenient as pumping, but everything takes work, right? Whether it's pumping or MDI.

[sharishine]

Jen_slc - thanks for the advice!! Its nice to know someone else has a similar story! I just got so frustrated that I can't get my blood sugars under control no matter what I do. I can eat the same thing, at the same time and do the exact same activities in a day and my blood sugars will never be the same. I know stress, etc can cause problems too, but its just so annoying.

I know my huisband probably gets tired of me complaining, and I'm not a complainer usually, but I'm just so worn out, tired, have headaches, etc since these high blood sugars and it puts me in a mood. :)

When I was first pumping I was on Novalog. For whatever reason, that didn't seem to work well for me. I've never been on any of the other kinds besides Humalog for pumping.

I've also never been tested for anti-insulin antibodies. I didn't know there was such a thing???