[Chappo]

Well i cannot contain my excitement, so i'm posting about my pump start tomorrow!

In all it's taken just a week and a half since i had the commitment from my health fund to pay the full price of the pump They've been excellent, my endocrinologist has been excellent and the pump supplier has been absolutely outstanding! I decided to run with the Animas 2020 (mainly for the waterproof feature and the aesthetics), my other choice would have been the Cozmo but personally i'm not attracted to it.

My pump rep today said they won't have black (my colour choice) until next week - so they will supply me with a silver one until then and swap next week

I've thought about it closely with my pump rep and decided to go with the 9mm Inset II's - this is my only little qualm. I have about 0 body fat and would prefer to go with the 6mm, but she has been adamant about the 9mm ones. I tried out a few, and put a 9mm on my hip (possibly the boniest structure in my body apart from my cheeks!) and it was still very comfortable. I would just prefer to go with the 6mm so i have more range of sites. Any tips?

I'm really excited, and hope to be posting soon about the good new for being "officially attached!"

A big thanks also to Gary, who has been a great source of info and support! Thanks mate!

[HelenM]

I've had mine for just over a month. Its been going well though so far but I've still got a lot to learn.
Good luck

[kgm0612]

Congratulations Alex & Good Luck!
Be sure to keep us posted on how you're doing.

Karen

[gettingby]

Originally Posted by Chappo

Well i cannot contain my excitement, so i'm posting about my pump start tomorrow!

In all it's taken just a week and a half since i had the commitment from my health fund to pay the full price of the pump They've been excellent, my endocrinologist has been excellent and the pump supplier has been absolutely outstanding! I decided to run with the Animas 2020 (mainly for the waterproof feature and the aesthetics), my other choice would have been the Cozmo but personally i'm not attracted to it.

My pump rep today said they won't have black (my colour choice) until next week - so they will supply me with a silver one until then and swap next week

I've thought about it closely with my pump rep and decided to go with the 9mm Inset II's - this is my only little qualm. I have about 0 body fat and would prefer to go with the 6mm, but she has been adamant about the 9mm ones. I tried out a few, and put a 9mm on my hip (possibly the boniest structure in my body apart from my cheeks!) and it was still very comfortable. I would just prefer to go with the 6mm so i have more range of sites. Any tips?

I'm really excited, and hope to be posting soon about the good new for being "officially attached!"

A big thanks also to Gary, who has been a great source of info and support! Thanks mate!

Congrats Alex. I hope that your transistion to pump therapy is easy and kink-free (pun intended, lol). I've been pumping with a Cozmo since Oct. '07 and would never go back to injections unless absolutely necessary.

[Subby]

That's great Alex, good luck with it. About the sets, I wouldn't be concerned with being able to pick the perfect set first off... it tends to be trial and error anyway, to truly assess a set type. Personally I'd just take try out the recommended, then order other types you are interested in and try them out at your leisure. It's not like you are going to run out of sites that quickly.

[Chappo]

Hi all!

Thanks for the kind replies It's sad, but only 12 hours to go!

Thanks Subby, i will definitely follow that advice. My pump rep has a few samples of each type (6mm, 9mm and both Insets and Inset II's) that i will get tomorrow, so when I feel like testing some out I can

I look forward to updating this thread!

[notme]

Congratulations on your new (almost) pump, Alex! Getting my first pump was very liberating for me and I hope you find it the same.

I am curious why your trainer was adamant about the 9mm cannula? When I signed up for pumping they also started me on the 9mm. I found that I did not have enough belly fat to use it. The biggest problem I had was the cannula would bend and my blood sugar would rise dramatically. I would not get a "NO DELIVERY" because it would leak just enough insulin to stop the pump from warning. Make sure you check your cannula carefully when you remove it. If you find it is bending, call your supplier and get the 6mm. I have done very well with them.

[Gary_W]

Hi Alex,

I don't blame you for being excited; it really is a night and day difference in the way you live.

I'm a month in now, and the benefits to date include:

Fewer hypos
Fewer highs
Better quality of sleep
More flexibility to cope with a wider range of foods
Just generally feeling better...
Ability to go out for a meal and bolus for the beer, starter, main, desert and more beer without anyone commenting on 'why are you injecting 5 times?'
No longer feeling like a pincushion
The pump doing the maths for you when you're high and tired

My body STILL messes me about, but the pump makes it a lot easier to keep up with its fickle ways in a timley manner. I've actually got a follow up with the nurse at my hospital at 8.30 tomorrow just to tell her how things are going. Overall, swimmingly.

Good luck to you; you'll wonder why you weren't doing it sooner...

Gary

[BlueSky]

How exciting! I hope it all goes well for you. Maybe using the pump will enable you to put on some weight!

[Janlaton]

Hope you enjly the pump. Someday They will invent one for type 2s to put their pills in!

[judi t]

Originally Posted by Gary_W

Hi Alex,

I don't blame you for being excited; it really is a night and day difference in the way you live.

I'm a month in now, and the benefits to date include:

Fewer hypos
Fewer highs
Better quality of sleep
More flexibility to cope with a wider range of foods
Just generally feeling better...
Ability to go out for a meal and bolus for the beer, starter, main, desert and more beer without anyone commenting on 'why are you injecting 5 times?'
No longer feeling like a pincushion
The pump doing the maths for you when you're high and tired

My body STILL messes me about, but the pump makes it a lot easier to keep up with its fickle ways in a timley manner. I've actually got a follow up with the nurse at my hospital at 8.30 tomorrow just to tell her how things are going. Overall, swimmingly.

Good luck to you; you'll wonder why you weren't doing it sooner...

Gary

This is just so good to hear, Gary, when I too, am about to become a pumper. God, it's scary though. I keep imagining how I'm going to cope on my annual beach holiday, one of the thrills of which is a couple of ocean swims a day, and ocean fishing. Will the pump ruin the spontaneity, or is it that easy to detach, prior to the plunge? Does one have to do all that swabbing and sterilising every time one reconnects? Eeeek! But good eeeek. I think. Can hardly wait and am also on countdown.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by judi t

I keep imagining how I'm going to cope on my annual beach holiday, one of the thrills of which is a couple of ocean swims a day, and ocean fishing. Will the pump ruin the spontaneity, or is it that easy to detach, prior to the plunge? Does one have to do all that swabbing and sterilising every time one reconnects? Eeeek! But good eeeek. I think. Can hardly wait and am also on countdown.

Judi, I was just up at Noosa for a week holiday and got some swimming in at the beach for the first time on the pump. So I can answer some of those questions: extremely easy to detach and plunge on in - be more hassle taking a watch off. No need to swab or worry about sterility at all, you can use little caps on the sets (come with every set) if any concerns. I never bother.

Only real issue is leaving an $8000 pump on the beach, I was a bit nervous as I only had my partner and we swam together a bit. A couple times a hid it well amongst the rocks and crabs, a couple other times I just kept my bag well in sight. Anyone trustworthy as keeper would fix that.

Seeing as it was far too cold (25) for the queenslanders to swim there was hardly anyone on the beach anyway

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, back to regular transmission... hows the pump going Alex?

[Chappo]

Well, i'm on! And can i just say:




WOW.



Had one of the best sleeps last night of my lie, particularly after 4am (which i know is when my DP kicks in). Since 1pm yesterday, my blood sugars have fluctuated between 5.4 and 6.8, so very very stable, and no DP!!!!

I can see why Gary raves about the sleep improvement - i slept like a baby (apart from being woken up every hour by the nurses to check my BG's ). Yes, i'm in hospital (wireless!) overnight as a requirement of my insurance company.

But i have to say wow. I thought I would be able to see the benefits, but not immediately.

It seems my insulin:carb ratio is perfect as well as my ISF. I did a small correct at 6.8 and it brought me back

The only thing i did do was do a 5-hour temp basal of -20% when i went to sleep - I sometimes wake up with hypo's at 3am, so i reduced my basal by 20% and for some reason my guesswork paid off. Then, right at 4am when my DP kicks in my basal jumped back up to 0.825u/hr, and did its job

Anyway, WOO HOO!

[Gary_W]

Good for you, Alex; it's fab isn't it?

I went mildly hypo earlier on this evening due to me fouling up the carb counting. It was a really mild one, and the first for 4 days. The last one was really mild as well. Two mild ones in a week is a huge, huge improvement.

I'm really glad for you. Wait till you get out and find more benefits

[Chappo]

Absolutely fantastic! I can't wait to get out today and start eating :p

I know the carb counting will be a little difficult at times, but with close to 20 years of this stuff under my belt, i should be ok.

By the way, your poem is BRILLIANT!