thinking about taking an extended pump vacation

[tcc123]

sooo.. as the summer has gotten under way I have been switching between shots and the pump. I have started to notice that I am having just as good of blood sugars on shots without all the hassle of a pump. I actually have better blood sugars on shots bc the pump can have so many little problems that I have to check whenever I have a high blood sugar. I just took out a site that had a bent cannula but never got a no delivary warning, just high postprandial blood sugars. When I am on shots I also watch what I eat more and don't drink as much, which I think is also a positive. I love the pump when it works, but with bent cannulas recently ( I never had any the first 6 months of pumping) and the fact I will be out at the lake or swimming most of the summer I am hoping shots will be easier. Any thoughts?
THanks
Cary

[tanyatype1]

Wow! With A1C's like yours, I'd do whatever makes you happy! Have a great summer!

[AMBlass]

I've been on Lantus/pump for about two months now and I really like it. I take Lantus as my basal and I just connect to the pump to bolus. It's been working pretty well for me right now. I have also done it where I use my pump to calculate my bolus but then I take an injection b/c I didn't want to wear the site. That worked really well too! Of course, I can't get it to .8 of a unit, so I would just round up or down to the half unit depending on my blood sugar. If you have any more questions, just let me know.

[tcc123]

yeah AMblass that sounds like a good idea. It just seems like I dont get as much variation with shots.. i dunno know why. But when I went back on shots my morning #s were all below 100, and on the pump they were staying around 110 to 120.
Tanya thanks for the compliment, some of it is due to the honeymoon, but I put in a fair amount of work on them too

[jeggeman31]

I've been on Lantus/pump for about two months now and I really like it. I take Lantus as my basal and I just connect to the pump to bolus.

Do you wear your pump 24/7 or just throw it on to bolus? I have been thinking about this, as I have way better control on Lantus than using the pump for my basal.

[duck]

I've been on Lantus/pump for about two months now and I really like it. I take Lantus as my basal and I just connect to the pump to bolus. It's been working pretty well for me right now. I have also done it where I use my pump to calculate my bolus but then I take an injection b/c I didn't want to wear the site. That worked really well too! Of course, I can't get it to .8 of a unit, so I would just round up or down to the half unit depending on my blood sugar. If you have any more questions, just let me know.

Ahhhhh...the Untethered Regimen. Neato. I may look into this one day.

[Gordonm]

No way would I go back to shots. If your morning BS are high I would redo my basal review on the puimp. I spend most of the summer at the beach and am worried about the pump and outdoor activities but it will not stop me from any of it. I can't imagine how I would have better control on shots than the pump but everyone is different. It sounds as though your mind is made up already to go back to shots. The pump for me is just so much easier. No supplies to carry around and I can eat whenever I want and don't have to run and get the supplies. Good luck and keep us informed on how it works out.

[AMBlass]

I wear the set 24/7 (well, so far... I did go a week where I just did shot, sans set/pump because I lazy and never bothered to put a set in!). I prime about .5 units everytime I bolus just in case there is some occlusion or air in the tubing from having it disconnected. But so far it works pretty decently and NO SHOTS!

It's actually not really the Untethered Regime as described by Dr. Steve Edelman. He wears the pump 24/7 during the week, but receives 75% of his basal using Lantus, and then on the weekend will switch to shots and 100% basal using Lantus. I don't do that. I always take the same amount of Lantus all the time, and I only use shots sometimes. I call it TOTO Technique - Tether On, Tether Off.

Oh, and as far as carrying supplies around, I keep my pump in the front pocket of my meter (it's a tight fit, but it works!) and I keep a syringe and my bottle of Lantus in one of the pockets of my meter. I reuse syringes (honestly, who doesn't?) and this way I always have everything with me.

[kgm0612]

Cary.........good luck in whatever you decide to do!

Karen

[tcc123]

haha so I put the pump back on today. I just cant get good morning #'s with shots and dont want to try. I had a bad low this morning bc of all the extra basal insulin. I think I was only getting mad bc in the past month I have had 2 bent cannulas and one site that hurt whenever I moved. I am gonna continue what I have been doing this summer and using shots whenever I got out to the lake.
If shots could give me ok morning numbers and alcohol didn't lower my blood sugar so much, I would stay on shots. I think they are so much easier to deal with and you always know the insulin is going in..

[duck]

I wonder if it would be possible to attach to the pump only overnight in order to address your "dawn phenomenon"?

[AMBlass]

Just so you know, it took me 3 weeks before I was able to figure out my basals. I ended up taking 21 units at 10 a.m. and 5 units at 10 p.m. It's not perfect, but the overnights are almost as good as when I was on the pump. I have a tendancy to go low, so taking one shot a day or taking it 50/50 causes me to go low. Just something to think about.

[BriOnH]

As spring/summer comes along pumpers switching to MDI seems to be a common trend. Some people that have good experience with this are Jeggrman (jim who posted above) and Jen_SLC. Few others have done it too just for vacations.

I don't get why someone would use lantus and a pump. Why tether yourself when your basal is given and then you can just inject 8 or so times a day to bolus (or if you fast for the day 0 other injections). The pump basal, imo, is one of the huge selling points of the pump and being able to change basal rates only a few hours in advanced as opposed to 12-24 hours with lantus / levemir. Lantus with a pump imho is like taking away the advantages of the pump, and keeping the pump for its disadvantages.

[duck]

As spring/summer comes along pumpers switching to MDI seems to be a common trend. Some people that have good experience with this are Jeggrman (jim who posted above) and Jen_SLC. Few others have done it too just for vacations.

I don't get why someone would use lantus and a pump. Why tether yourself when your basal is given and then you can just inject 8 or so times a day to bolus (or if you fast for the day 0 other injections). The pump basal, imo, is one of the huge selling points of the pump and being able to change basal rates only a few hours in advanced as opposed to 12-24 hours with lantus / levemir. Lantus with a pump imho is like taking away the advantages of the pump, and keeping the pump for its disadvantages.

Yeah, the predictability of the short-acting insulins, used as a basal in a pump was the BIG selling point for me, especially since I was using NPH back in the day when I was researching the pump. However, I can see the allure of using Lantus to cover the basal and only connecting for boluses--especially in the summer. It would allow me to D/C when I am out in the sun, or working out, or at the beach showing off my white hide...

[AMBlass]

Why tether yourself when your basal is given and then you can just inject 8 or so times a day to bolus (or if you fast for the day 0 other injections).

Because I HATE injections. And I also get the finely tuned doses of an insulin pump, plus I get the active insulin factored in so I don't have to worry about going low from doubling up on insulin. The varied basal rates are not the only pro of an insulin pump. There are others I still get.