Question:
I've been a diabetic for about a year now, and been on injections. my blood
sugars are pretty stable (4.0 - 10), but sometime they do go high.
I just wanted to know what are your views on insulin pumps? Are they worth
the trouble? Are they better than MDI? Can they be dangerous (DKA)?
Answer:
First of all they aren't any trouble (in MY opinion). Been on one since
1996. I'd kill to keep pumping. My DM was not amenable to 18 years of
MDI. the past 9 years of pumping has been a godsend. Insulin CAN be
dangerous. Pumpers can go into DKA. Have I? NEVER. Never close.
You need to be the type of individual who is willing (and can afford or
has good insurance) to check your bg's OFTEN. I don't mean 4 times a
day. I mean at least 10 times per 24 hours. that way you'll avoid
potential problems, plus you should end up with better control UNLESS
you tend to overcompensate each time you see an "out of range" meter
reading.
Sleep, sex, work, is no problem on a pump. I can't believe how many
people think a pump will interfere with life. It gives you BACK YOUR
LIFE. You can sleep in, skip meals, delay meals, exercise heavily with
only a little bit of notice. You can tame the dawn phenomenon. No one
will stare at you for wearing a pump on your belt. If they even NOTICE
it, they think it's a pager. EMT's, SOME doctors and nurses, and other
medical pro's might recognize it as a pump. Finally, airport security
personnel have been trained to spot pumps and not demand their removal
at the metal detectors. I recently flew and was please to see ALL the
metal detector personnel were "with it". I used to have to explain what
the heck it was and get wanded in lieu of going through the detector.
You should study John Walsh's Pumping Insulin Book until you know all
the basics backwards and forwards. You need to count carbs when pumping,
or you'll defeat the accurate delivery feature of the pump's boluses.
You can tailor the basal rate to exactly fit your body's requirements
each 1/2 hour of the day. I have my pump set up to deliver about 8
different rates per day. I get more in the early morning hours to
reduce increased bg's due to DP. The rate is lower during the middle of
the day when I'm active. You can select from 3 pre-set groups (called
"patterns") of basal rates with the MiniMed pump. That allows you to
quickly change all the rates for the day with a few button clicks. You
can have one rate for a typical day, one for a more active day, and one
set up as a "sick day" or inactive day.
Call the pump vendors to receive free literature and/or videos. There
are 3 popular makers for the US market. Medtronic/MiniMed, Animas, and
Deltec
