insulin pump
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13,862 Posts
i dont use the pump
but i do have the insulin pen, for me it is very easy to travel with
the best thing is i dont need to keep the pen cool, it lasts just fine in a pocket, or in the trunk
their web site says no refridgeration needed,
the pen looks just like a fat fountain pen
you twist it to -dial up- a dosage
each pen holds 300 units
the needle tips are disposable
like any thing else, you do pay for convience
but i do have the insulin pen, for me it is very easy to travel with
the best thing is i dont need to keep the pen cool, it lasts just fine in a pocket, or in the trunk
their web site says no refridgeration needed,
the pen looks just like a fat fountain pen
you twist it to -dial up- a dosage
each pen holds 300 units
the needle tips are disposable
like any thing else, you do pay for convience
Joined
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3,115 Posts
As a doctor and a diabetic myself, I would recommend avoiding the pump unless you have no choice... I personally use Lantus and Humalog. Using a pump is like living with a beeper attached to you ess. 24 hrs a day... not fun.
Pumps were invented before we had good basal insulins like Lantus, and good short acting insulins like Humalog. The old insulins didn't do the job well for many and putting the stuff in a pump and mimicking what the body does with a pump worked better for these folks.
Now that we have Lantus and Humalog, they make the pump old technology... and you can essentially mimic what the body does with these two insulins. Much easier and the pens they come in are very easy to use...
I have patients who still use the pump, they just prefer it or feel they do better with it... but I've taken some off the pump and placed them on Lantus and Humalog and they are happier they no longer have to drag the pump around... and just use the insulin pens...
99.9% of diabetics that need insulin can be controlled with insulin via the pens...
Pumps were invented before we had good basal insulins like Lantus, and good short acting insulins like Humalog. The old insulins didn't do the job well for many and putting the stuff in a pump and mimicking what the body does with a pump worked better for these folks.
Now that we have Lantus and Humalog, they make the pump old technology... and you can essentially mimic what the body does with these two insulins. Much easier and the pens they come in are very easy to use...
I have patients who still use the pump, they just prefer it or feel they do better with it... but I've taken some off the pump and placed them on Lantus and Humalog and they are happier they no longer have to drag the pump around... and just use the insulin pens...
99.9% of diabetics that need insulin can be controlled with insulin via the pens...
Joined
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5,286 Posts
My sister in law and a long time friend use the pump for type 1. They are very happy with the results. Sister in law is 58, my buddy is 43 yrs old
Neither ride motorcycles.
Neither ride motorcycles.
Joined
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2,405 Posts
I agree, You should study how the pump works on your body, before jumping into it, "hose" that connects to you from the pump can only be left in one spot for so long, then a new location has to be found and when you run out of space you have to go back to the method your using now.
My wife considered using one, but upon futher research keeps using Lantus & Humalog - the pump is not quite there Teno. wise yet.
the big thing that is really missing in all of this is a device to auto test blood sugar levels 24 hours a day, to me its almost unbelievable that a device that does this at a reasonable cost is not on the market, that would probably lead to the biggest changes in diabetes treatment since insulin was discovered
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13,862 Posts
thats would be almost as big a breakthru as keeping candy bars out of your goldwing trunk
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2,008 Posts
this is my problem
Joined
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3,115 Posts
Trust me....if the technology was there to make such a device, it would exist. There are TRILLIONS, not billions.... Trillions of dollars to be made by the company that comes up with it.
Oh how we would like a device like a Oxygen sat monitor to use to monitor blood sugar... a Oxygen sat monitor is no bigger than a cigarette lighter and just fits on the end of your finger and can read your blood Oxygen saturation in seconds...painless, easy.
Cycledude, invent the device, and Bill Gate's wealth will pale in comparison to yours...
G
Guest
·I use the Novolog 70/30 pen. Much better than a syringe and vial. I still have to use that for Symlin though. Never used a pump.
5 shots a day... such fun being diabetic! :roll:
5 shots a day... such fun being diabetic! :roll:
:flg:.
This country has way to many diebetics, What do you folks do to get it so bad ??
I shoot up 22 units of NPH and 17 units of R insulin in the mornings, and again in the evenings, Take a 500 units of Stinky Metformin a day plus maximum Glucose per day. At night I use a little less.
I do everything with the VA and would like to try the pen.,, I know I had better regulation when I was using Novalog than . The type N insulin lasts about 10 hours of so, and the type R takes a little over an hour to start working.
Yep, a non intrusive way to measure blood sugar would be a boom to the industry ..
Hey Doc, what are Americans so bad with diabetes ?? I used to carry candy bars in the airplane for low blood sugars prior to becoming a diabetic
JMHO
:flg:
This country has way to many diebetics, What do you folks do to get it so bad ??
I shoot up 22 units of NPH and 17 units of R insulin in the mornings, and again in the evenings, Take a 500 units of Stinky Metformin a day plus maximum Glucose per day. At night I use a little less.
I do everything with the VA and would like to try the pen.,, I know I had better regulation when I was using Novalog than . The type N insulin lasts about 10 hours of so, and the type R takes a little over an hour to start working.
Yep, a non intrusive way to measure blood sugar would be a boom to the industry ..
Hey Doc, what are Americans so bad with diabetes ?? I used to carry candy bars in the airplane for low blood sugars prior to becoming a diabetic
JMHO
:flg:
like i said its unbelievable that such a device is not on the market already
they can send men to the moon and back but they cannot invent a device to monitor blood sugar 24/7 ?
15 years ago they were saying such a device would b out in a year or 2, nowdays they don't even mention it, i think maybe the old teststrip bussiness is just to profitable for the bigboys
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651 Posts
I've been a Type 1 diabetic for 43 years now, and have seen Insulin improve greatly over the years. I use Lantus and Humalog, and just love it compared to all the previous types. I agree that the testing is a PITA, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and I love spending long days on the road..... Ride, Baby, Ride!!!!:yes1::yes1::yes1:
:flg:
Yes sir:At around a buck a piece those strips are a gold mine for the folks that make em.. A lot of palms get a little here and a little there on the way.
The meters are basically free, about 8 bucks worth of components and labor and packaging. The test strip come in a container with 50 strips and they sell for 55 bucks and UP !! I do not see more than about 2 cents to produce a strip..
I use a minimum of 4 strips a day but probably avg 6 strips a day.
I often wondered that some day at a rest stop while checking blood and needing to shoot up, that a cop wouldn't pull in for a drug bust LOL but I have never been checked.
JMHO
:flg:
Yes sir:At around a buck a piece those strips are a gold mine for the folks that make em.. A lot of palms get a little here and a little there on the way.
The meters are basically free, about 8 bucks worth of components and labor and packaging. The test strip come in a container with 50 strips and they sell for 55 bucks and UP !! I do not see more than about 2 cents to produce a strip..
I use a minimum of 4 strips a day but probably avg 6 strips a day.
I often wondered that some day at a rest stop while checking blood and needing to shoot up, that a cop wouldn't pull in for a drug bust LOL but I have never been checked.
JMHO
:flg:
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4,684 Posts
Oldest daughter has had the pump for over ten years. She does landscaping - from riding her mower to weed eating and digging out shrubs - also rides a Shadow Aero - seems to do fine. She does get messed up when her cannula doesn't go in right. Also when she guesses at her levels instead of testing. This is all human error, though. She does a lot better than before she got the pump.
Joined
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3,115 Posts
KA.... many who have diabetes are just obese and have it because of this, but that is not the entire picture, as many folks have it and are not overweight... and certainly those with type 1, insulin dependent, are usually not overweight.
It's a complex issue, for many, they produce some insulin, but not enough to overcome the "insulin resistance" their body is developing. It isn't fully understood why this happens.
Certainly some is genetics, some is viral.... I believe the theory that some have a virus attack their insulin producing cells and destroy most of them... why your body cannot increase them back to necessary levels is unknown.
The reason there are "so many" with diabetes now is those who have developed it are surviving longer with the new meds etc... Before 1990, the death rate from complications from diabetes was much higher, people who got it died sooner...
In the 70s and earlier, type 1 diabetics were lucky if they survived passed 40. Type 2 diabetics died of heart disease and kidney failure much quicker... now that we have better meds, insulins, and techniques to treat them, more are surviving... hence, more folks have it...
It's a complex issue, for many, they produce some insulin, but not enough to overcome the "insulin resistance" their body is developing. It isn't fully understood why this happens.
Certainly some is genetics, some is viral.... I believe the theory that some have a virus attack their insulin producing cells and destroy most of them... why your body cannot increase them back to necessary levels is unknown.
The reason there are "so many" with diabetes now is those who have developed it are surviving longer with the new meds etc... Before 1990, the death rate from complications from diabetes was much higher, people who got it died sooner...
In the 70s and earlier, type 1 diabetics were lucky if they survived passed 40. Type 2 diabetics died of heart disease and kidney failure much quicker... now that we have better meds, insulins, and techniques to treat them, more are surviving... hence, more folks have it...
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