Bruce is my inseparable buddy and we have been together for just over two and a half years. Bruce is my insulin pump which I received after I changed from Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) to pump therapy in August 2012. I had been struggling with MDI for several years to the point that I was on 5 injections a day but still having problems with unexplained hypos and hypers. My Health Care Professional (HCP) had mentioned an insulin pump to me and I had immediately dismissed the idea because I didn’t want to be attached to something all the time.
But we reached the end of the line with what we could do on MDI and my HCP said to me the only course of action was to stick with my current MDI regime and wait for a new insulin to be developed that might help. She said there was something on the horizon but it was at least a year away, so I asked for some more info about an insulin pump.
The decision
I had not quickly changed my mind and decided to try to get a pump but I wanted to see if and how it could help me improve my control. I was given some brochures for Animas, Medtronic and Accu-Chek to take away with me. I studied them intently during my holiday, talked it through with my wife as it would impact on her too, and decided to take the plunge. I would like to say that I weighed up the pros and cons and listed them out, considered the long-term benefits and improvements it could deliver in my blood sugar control, thought about the effort I would need to put in to get that improvement in my control, discussed it at length with my wife to ensure we both understood the implications of a pump on our relationship, but I didn’t.
I did discuss it with my wife and thought about the pros and cons but I didn’t spend a long time deliberating over it. I think partly because there was nothing else to do on MDI and also I think I was wowed by the technology factor, as I am a geek. Ultimately I chose the Accu-Chek Combo, partly because I was already using an Accu-Chek Expert meter but mainly because I would be able to control the pump entirely from the meter. I wouldn’t have to use the meter then separately use the pump to administer the insulin. I would be able to leave it entirely under my clothes and not touch it all day long. This was the biggest selling point for me as I really dislike the idea of having to access the pump after using the meter to give myself my bolus.
So I had decided, I was going to get an insulin pump.
I will blog about moving onto my pump in my next post but I would be really interested in hearing your pump decision stories.
The Type 1 Astronomer.