Question:
I've been a Type 1 for over ten years, and have had little luck getting my
sugars in a good range. My endocrinologist (sp?) recently suggested that I
give an insulin pump a try.
I've gone through the information packages from Animas and MiniMed...Just
wondering if anyone out there who are on an insulin pump would care to share
their experiences? What type of pump are you using? Why did you pick that
particular model? Good experiences and bad...I can't decide which one I want
to get. I'm looking at the Paradigm 512, Animas IR1000. and the Deltec
Cozmo pumps. I live in Canada, the Dieseltronic(sp?) ones are not available
here right now.
Some background info: I am currently taking 36u of Ultralente at 9am and
9pm...along with NovoRapid insulin before each meal over 30g of carbs, (1 u
for 10g).
I belive my biggest problem is that stupid "dawn phenomenon"...It doesn't
seem to matter what my sugars are at before bed...they steadily rise
throughout the night, and I typically wake up with a sugar of 15 to
25...Then I end up playing "catch-up" for the rest of the day to get my
sugars back down to a normal level.
Right now I am so frustrated! I've been checking my sugars religiously (6 to
10 times a day) and have been watching what I eat...It just seems like
nothings working. I'm in the middle of a book - "Insulin Pump Therapy,
Demystified"...it's been really informative, and I have made up my mind to
go on to the pump, or at least give it a try.
Answer:
I'm on my third pump (About 4 years for each one), and am a rabid pump
advocate. I have always used MiniMed, but last time I did examine all the
available contenders. There are lots of factors to consider when choosing a
pump, but the one that I rank #1 is the performance of the infusion sets.
Try each companies infusion set. How difficult and how painful is the
insertion process? Wear it for 3 days and see how it feels. Does it fall
out? Is it painful when you sleep? In the end I choose the MiniMed
QuickSet and automatic inserter, which is an order of magnitude better than
the infusion sets I was using 10 years ago. That's how I made my choice.
For more information see www.insulin-pumpers.org or phone me.
