Type 2 and Pumping

jeggeman31 · #1 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 07:41 AM

Do we have any Type 2 pumpers on this forum ? Just trying to get some feedback as to how the pumping is going, with some of your other medication you may be taking.

Thanks

liz32 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 11:07 AM

I don't pump but would like to hear the same info.. they seem to be able to have all the fun. There's a girl in my church who has a pump and just went out for a Dairy Queen Blizzard for the first time. She was ecstatic..and so would I be! I would love to have a little more freedom..so it anyone has any info I would be glad to hear about it too! Thanks!

TvBabe · #3 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 12:30 PM

I'd like to hear about type 2 pumpers myself! I am on four shots a day at present and doing very well but do wonder if pumping might be an option for me as well.

jeggeman31 · #4 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TvBabe

I am on four shots a day at present and doing very well but do wonder if pumping might be an option for me as well.

I would think you would. I am on 2, sometimes 3 shots a day and my ENDO says it is something he would like me to do later in the year. Wants to get some of his own testing done, and wanted me to get my bs numbers down. I have done that, so if all goes well I will be looking at pumps in Aug.

ricardo · #5 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TvBabe

I'd like to hear about type 2 pumpers myself! I am on four shots a day at present and doing very well but do wonder if pumping might be an option for me as well.

If you are doing quite well on MDI, you might not appreciate the benefit that pumping does for the other type of patient. Like me. I could never get regulated on MDI. That was before Humalog and Novolog and lantus, etc. I used to use Regular, Ultralente, Lente and Semi Lente. Not all during the same period of time.

pumpers tend to be highly motivated individuals who are struggling with their blood sugar control. You'll be tethered 24/7 to your pump. You need to check your bg's at least 6 times a day (bare minimum). You could go into DKA if your infusion set fails because you'd have no long acting insulin in your body. Pumping is expensive. figure at least $175 a month on top of strips and insulin. $6000 for the pump. If insurance covers it great, but you still need to be MOTIVATED. I don't know how much motivation there is for someone who admits to doing well on MDI. Your insurance might need to see some documentation that your control is poor currently. depends on the insurance exactly what's required for coverage.

Don't pump just because it sounds cool or trendy. Pump because you NEED to.

Ricardo

liz32 · #6 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 04:23 PM

Pumping is of interest not because it's trendy, but because from all I've heard here and at home from pumpers, it's very liberating. Being T2 is more like the old way T1's lived. You need to eat at the same time every day, do the same amount of excersize, no skipping meals and very few sugary treats. If I was to want an ice cream, I'd have no recourse but to live with high sugars for awhile. Pumpers can bolus for it and go on with life. I don't have that option. I doubt I'd want to pump any time soon but it would be nice to know that it is an option. I doubt many diabetics do things because it's trendy, we're like every one else and just want to live life to its fullest and not let this disease hold us back.

ricardo · #7 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liz32

Pumping is of interest not because it's trendy, but because from all I've heard here and at home from pumpers, it's very liberating. Being T2 is more like the old way T1's lived. You need to eat at the same time every day, do the same amount of excersize, no skipping meals and very few sugary treats. If I was to want an ice cream, I'd have no recourse but to live with high sugars for awhile. Pumpers can bolus for it and go on with life. I don't have that option. I doubt I'd want to pump any time soon but it would be nice to know that it is an option. I doubt many diabetics do things because it's trendy, we're like every one else and just want to live life to its fullest and not let this disease hold us back.

I'm not so sure about the "trendy" thing; I'm gonna give Novolog a try tomorrow because of all the talk about it. I'm doing ok on Humalog, but I want to try a newer insulin. I consider my decision as being a bit "trendy". Nothing wrong with it. If I don't like it I'll go back to Humalog. A pump is a more serious commitment for those who's needs are serious. From your own admission, you aren't interested in pumping "any time soon". that indicates a total lack of motivation. You aren't going to the ER and getting shot up with Glucagon every month or two, are you?? If your disease is already well managed, you'd only add a bit of convenience to your regimen by pumping. If you are on a peakless insulin, you aren't as tied to meal times as I was on UltraLente back in my pre-pumping days. Ultimately, you'd have to convince your endo that a pump is a medical necessity.

Dewey · #8 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeggeman31

Do we have any Type 2 pumpers on this forum ? Just trying to get some feedback as to how the pumping is going, with some of your other medication you may be taking.

Thanks

Hi Jim,

Though I'm Type I and can't really offer too much help on your question, I can say that I've heard of plenty of Type II pumpers.

Truthfully, ALL regimens should be available to anyone who's willing and able to try them. Though pumping does require alot of testing, supplies, proper education for patients and comes with a possibility of causing DKA (if a set fails, and/or if a user is not on the untethered regimen where a background basal is working, etc..), everyone who is able to properly care for him or herself should be entitled to try it. I've seen people who've gone so far as to get a pump, then turn around and sell it, cause they decided it "wasn't for them." It's each person's choice, and it should ultimately be up to them to decide whether or not it'll work out.

gettingby · #9 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 05:06 PM

Ricardo,
I have to say that something you said in your previous post is unsettling to me.
No one person can say that another is suffering from a lack of motivation.
All these members have asked is to learn about pumps for future reference. I have done that myself. Am I considered unmotivated?? I don't think so.
I get the impression from what you have said that you believe a person is not motivated enough to get good control unless they jump right on the pump. Correct me if I'm wrong? I have to say that I consider myself highly motivated. The reason I am not on a pump now is because of the $$$ required to do it.

ricardo · #10 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettingby

Ricardo,
I have to say that something you said in your previous post is unsettling to me.
No one person can say that another is suffering from a lack of motivation.
All these members have asked is to learn about pumps for future reference. I have done that myself. Am I considered unmotivated?? I don't think so.
I get the impression from what you have said that you believe a person is not motivated enough to get good control unless they jump right on the pump. Correct me if I'm wrong? I have to say that I consider myself highly motivated. The reason I am not on a pump now is because of the $$$ required to do it.

I guess you are reading my words differently than I intended. What I'm saying, as clearly as I can, is that a HIGHLY MOTIVATED PUMPER is not going to be interested in putting off getting a pump. They want it YESTERDAY. They NEED it yesterday, because their control is not good on MDI. If someone is just casually asking for "future reference", by definition, that shows an extreme lack of TRUE motivation. The day I got my pump is etched deeply in my memory. My life turned around, that day, about 9 years ago. I know plenty of others who experienced the same excitement and improvement in quality of life. I sense none of that urgency on the part of the other poster.

I stand by my ealier comments regarding their level of interest in pumping. That's my OPINION. You are entitled to look at their motivation from your point of view. And we shall forever disagree on this point.

Ricardo

gettingby · #11 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 05:49 PM

You are right. We need to agree to disagree on this subject. I don't want to start a "flame war" with you. I just think that you appeared to be coming across as rude to these members. My reason for not being on a pump is the money it takes to manage one each and every month. Am I unmotivated because I let money stand in the way?? Not that I see. I have a family to think of. I'm perfectly content on MDI and doing fairly well (see Monitoring). Maybe someday but right now, it's just not possible. Now, I want to just drop this argument before the thread gets closed. It does have merit.

TAutry · #12 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 06:30 PM

Ricardo,

Opinions are like noses, most people have at least one.

I'm not sure why it seems that this issue inflames you. Either find a way to contain yourself and refrain from being tactless, rude and demeaning or find a new hangout. Need I remind you that you are here conditionally?

Travis Autry
Draconian Super Moderator

ricardo · #13 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAutry

Ricardo,

Opinions are like noses, most people have at least one.

I'm not sure why it seems that this issue inflames you. Either find a way to contain yourself and refrain from being tactless, rude and demeaning or find a new hangout. Need I remind you that you are here conditionally?

Travis Autry
Draconian Super Moderator

I thought I'd made it plain that my comments were merely OPINIONS and that I doubted I'd agree with an opposing view. I don't recall being rude in my putting forth my OPINION. Not everyone will be deemed a good candidate for pumping, and therefore won't get a prescription from their endo. that happens to be FACT; not opinion. Medical necessity is the name of the game. I'm not sure what about my last couple of posts offend you, Travis.
Ricardo

duck · #14 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 07:29 PM

This is very much a pump-centric board...It seems to me it became that way in the last 12 months or so...My first time around here there were a few of us pumping, nowadays there seems to me a LOT of us pumping, and the number is growing. I think that is a good thing, you all know my feelings about my pumping and its benefits for us all in general--UNLESS it detracts from what can be good control on MDI, as Deus oftens argues. Ricardo believes in his pump as much as much as I believe in mine, and I can certainly empathize with that sentiment.

Now, after reading Liz and Jim's initial statements, I have spent the better part of today trying to figure out why a Type 2 would not be a good candidate for a pump...besides it being a "more invasive" therapy, if it improves control, shouldn't it be a therapy that is considered? Some Type 2s take insulin, so if we burn that bridge, why not consider a pump if the "patient" so desires and proves to their care-team they'd be committed? (I'm asking, not offering an opinion--this is open to debate for me).

TAutry · #15 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 07:42 PM

Ricardo,

What offends me is your attitude. What further offends me is the fact that you were allowed to remain a member of the forums after you were previously banned under the ID 'happypumper', and you squandered the opportunity. You were allowed that priviledge because it appeared that you desperately wanted to be a member here, that you might actually learn a lesson and contribute something valuable to the discussions.

For awhile you seemed to try to discuss without being abrasive or abusive. You have returned to your old ways and that's too bad. The occasional valuable comments you have offered will be missed.

Travis Autry
Draconian Super Moderator