I want an insulin pump

I am totally gutted last week i saw my consultant at the hospital to ask about getting an insulin pump. I am a type one diabetic have been so for 24 years and take humalog and lantus insulin. I completed the DAFNE course back in February which i found really helpful and enjoyable and would recommend it to any type one diabetics who are thinking about going on one. My consultant told me that because my HBA1C is 7.9 and i am getting hypo awareness he thinks my chances of getting a pump are very small. I insisted that he writes a letter to my PCT supporting my request for a pump because i believe this is the way forward because although my HBA1C was good other times previously it has been bad and i believe that i would get much better control and feel better in myself if i had a pump. I was wondering if any one else has been in a similar situation and if there are any organizations who can help me in my fight to get a pump.

I don't understand why you would want a pump, Their big a bulky and dont do anything apart from release the insulin you tell it and when you tell it to. Kind of like.... An insulin pen.
Pumps are VERY expensive and cost the NHS a lot of money for just 1 patient for just 1 Year. And in our current climate and NHS deficit I don't think you will get one even with a fight, Unless you ABSOLUTELY NEED one. Your HBA1C is very good at 7.9, Perhaps it could come down a point or two. But i'm sure you could manage this by being a bit more vigilant in your control.

As for organizations to help, I've been looking around on the internet, and you'll probably be on your own, Pumps are very expensive and are usually a last resort for most people. My diabetes control was poor for about a year, but that was just me being lazy, You just have to get into a habit of testing and correcting, and LEARNING, thats what DAFNE is all about, no one will get it instantly, it takes practice and vigilance, but with a bit of both, you'll have excellent control and you'll feel much better after that.

Don't be gutted about not getting a pump, Honestly, I'd feel Insulin pens are much better and more flexible for most our lives. And im sure once you got the pump, you'd still find it frustrating having a to carry around a device the size of a small mobile phone ALL THE TIME, when you sleep, out with friends and such.

Here's more info if your interested, but I think its a long shot, especially with our NHS practically being bankrupt:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/insulin/Getting-an-insulin-pump.html

I agree with Anil........

Pumps should be reserved for people who cant get control through no fault of thier own.

If you can control yours, which you can from the blood result posted, then you shouldnt have one, you dont need one.

Also you say you have been diabetic for 24 years, thats a while, long enough surely to have accepted the condition. It should just be a part of life now surely.

Just my opinion though, everyone has specific needs.

My lowest result in years has been 8.0 thanks to dafne, and its sure to drop.

I agree with both Anil and Novorapidboi26 regarding pumps been used when you can't get control.

I went on DAFNE course in Jan this year and my HBAC1 before this were all in the 8's, this is why I got sent on the course and it has now come down to 6.6 (my last one in March). Which show that I can control it and i still only do around 4 injection a day. I would like to try a pump but I know there are worse people out there with less control I than I have got and really I live a normal life. There is people with diabetes that really need the pumps and can't get one and they are ill all the time due to not having control.

If i got offered one now, I would turn it down as I lead a normal life and someone out there would benifit from it much more than I would.

Dear Steve o, I am sorry your consultant didnt seem very forward at helping you. Perhaps maybe he was testing you on how important it was to you and your desire to have one as there is no point in him fighting to get you one if your not passionate about having one. When you next see him, go armed with some research. Look at the different pumps that are funded in the Uk, ie The veo, Accu-chec, and the medtronic. Find some strong resons why you would benefit from one. Do you do shifts? Are you active? Is one day differnt from the next? Do you have lots of hypos? All good reasons to have a pump.

I am rather offended by the other posts on here. Anyone who is trying to improve their control or quality of life should be offerd the chance of having a pump. I understand they are expensive but the cost to the NHS would be lowered due to better control with the pump and thus lowering complications with not only ie, foot ulcers but other things such as depression.

I had reasonable contol after doing DAFNE. My HbA1c wasnt sky high and my hypo awareness is there. I got funding for a pump no problem. It has given me my own normal life back after it was snatched away by the GP who told me I was Type 1 down the phone. I now dont inject in public, my handset tells my pump what to do. My levels are much more stable and consistent instead of peaks and troughs and I have my very own pancreas in my pocket instead of stabbing my poor thigh/tummy/bottom with a nasty needle. I love my pump and it wasnt hard to get but it would be damn near impossible for anyone to take it away from me.

Steve o fight your corner and insist you need one.

Hi Katy

I totally agree with you thats if it is going to help you in the long run then fight for it all the way. All I was trying to say is that since doing DAFNE i have got back some control and I can manage my diabetes really well. As my last HBA1C is now 6.2 which is in the perfect range.

Everyone is different, maybe I have the wrong attitude but I have injected for over 21 years now and I can't remeber any different as far as I am concered injecting is part of my life.

I am glad to hear you had no problems getting your pump, did you have any problems getting it??? As it seems to me depending on where you live depends whether you can have one or not. I am sorry if I upset anyone by what I wrote in my perious post.

Ah ok Rachie. The posts above all seemed rather attacking rather than supportive to me. Like why would you want one, cost to NHS and turning one down... In response to Anil, they are absolutly not like a pen, where after you have injected you cant take it out, and thinking the day in advance whether you need to adjust background because you're going to be particularly active. They can be suspended completely and the basal rate can be adjusted hour by hour. If you are heading low you turn it off rather than having to eat. You can go out on a jog on the spur of the moment. Why would anyone turn down such a clever, flexible gadget? Yes you tell it when your eating but it can calculate how much active insulin you have left from your last snack and take into consideration your glucose level there and then and it makes its own calculations and delivers the insulin acordingly based on how many carbs you told it you are about to eat! It can deliver insulin over a longer period of time, ie if eating fatty pizza or a curry, tell it so and it can deliver over 45 mins if you so wish, like a real pancreas would and not in some big ball of liquid in your leg.

The cost to the NHS is irrelivant. Its what you want and how you want to be treated that matters. In other countrys they have a much higher pumping rate than the uk.

DAFNE is amazing and im so pleased to hear your HbA1c is fab! Well done as it takes effort and comitment. I personally see the pump as the final step in getting the best contol. Ok it might not be for eveyone (I can not for the life of me work out why anyone wouldnt want the next best thing to having their own pancreas back) but we should support those that do. I didnt want injecting to be part of my life. I hate fiddling with them, I hate disposing of them, I hate getting them out in public or infront of my colleages or family members, I hate the little blobs of blood they leave on my clothes. I love my pump, its amazing.

I didnt have to fit criteria, I showed how passionately I wanted/needed one to be how I percieved as being a normal person if I got one. I showed I had knowledge and understanding and committed to learing the ins and outs of it. My hospital were fab, I asked an I got and my specialist is the most special man to me as its given me everything about a normal life back. Bein DAFNE trained means you are one step closer to getting one if you asked as you have to carb count to use it!

I am one of thise posts who was slightly negative towards pumps, or not the actual pumps but the motivation behind them.

I have not heard any stories yet on here that to me warrant the use of a pump.

Wanting one purely to make life easier is not an option I beleive, eveyone else has to test and inject and if that is hard for some people, thats unfortunate, but they will get used to it.

I am all for pumps if control is difficult, not purely so you dont need to jag up infront of friends and family etc.

And rememeber, money makes the world go round, pumps must surely be more expensive to maintain and to make the insulin delivery cartridges.

The cost to the NHS is also very relevant, do you know ho many people are diabetic in the UK. (and world)

If you have one enjoy it..........................

I have been Diabetic for 7 years and finished DAFNE course 2 months ago. I am getting a pump next week and am very apprehensive about it. I have had no hypo awarness now for 18 months despite efforts to get these symptoms back. I have about 3 hypos a day at various times and many result in hospital treatment and fits. I would love to manage with my pen alone and the thought of excercise would be a dream but just not possible at the moment. However on my dafne course the consultant said that anybody who met the NICE criteria could request a pump and would be given one. I know two graduates who were on my course for that reason alone, even with relativly stable BG's. Good luck , hope you get what you want.

Now thats the kinda control where a pump would benefit in order to regulate delivery over longer periods.................

Its strange that though.....

I have one or two a week, and thats me got good control now........

I would love to learn about why people like yourself cupcake have so many hypos..................

Do you know why it is????

What units of insulin are you on??