Diabetics - Farmington,MI

My husband, my 9 year old son and my 5 year old daughter all use Medtronic insulin pumps. They all have Type 1 Diabetes. As far as I am concerned, there are NO cons to using pump therapy, only pros!
Pump therapy fine tunes insulin dosage so that your body is getting exactly the right amount of insulin. Your husband will see an improvement in his HbAlc, fewer lows and highs, etc.

Ask to talk to a diabetes nurse educator. He can actually trial a pump using saline, while taking his regular insulin shots. We love the Medtronic pumps but other options to look at are the Animas pump and the Omnipod. The Omnipod is controlled by remote.

The pump is costly, upfront. The infusion sets (tubing and catheter inserted into the skin), and reservoirs (connects to the infusion set and is filled with insulin) are also more expensive than syringes, but we will never, ever go back to shots. If you have any questions, feel free to private message me.

As always, I like to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes to anyone reading and say that insulin is the only treatment for T1D. Exercise and nutrition are extremely beneficial but are not substitutes for insulin therapy.

Edit* I went to the American Diabetes Association website and wasn't impressed with their info. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF, has much better info, in my opinion.

DITTO to everything Sunshine said!!
My husband has had Type I since he was 8. He uses the Omnipod, and I definitely think it is the way to go. DH is very active, works out 1-2 times a day, and the pump holds up very well during the workouts. The biggest "con" is that the pump occasionally gets knocked off by an enthusiastic child, scraping against a door frame, etc. You also have to be aware of placement during...ahem...adult time. The pods also malfunction from time to time, which is annoying. The companies will replace them in certain circumstances, but not in others. Even with those inconveniences, I would never want to go back to injections only. He has not had a serious low (drunken, erratic behavior, loss of motor control, etc) since we started with the pumps. He also rarely has a serious high, unless the kids kicked the pump off in the middle of the night or something :)

On the education side, I agree that JDRF is the place to go, not ADA. ADA is definitely focused on Type II.

Like Sunshine, this is a bit of a soapbox topic for me. People with Type I cannot process sugar at all. That means that a Type I person could eat nothing but skinless chicken and exercise around the clock every day and still be in a coma or dead from high blood sugar in a matter of days or weeks.

PM me any time, DH and I have been together for 14 years and I am still learning about what it means to help manage Type I.

This is info for it, via the 'American Diabetes Association":
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-an...

And here is info on alternatives to the diabetic pump:
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/insulin/

My late Dad was diabetic.
I assume your Husband also has to take meds, for his Diabetes?
And has seen a Nutritionist for his Diabetes and exercises?
These things, are crucial for controlling it etc.

Hello J.,

It is expensive upfront. However the doctor would not have recommended it if he felt he would not greatly benefit from it. It isnt recommended for everyone at all. I have been an R.N. for 15 years and although I am not a diabetic, my husband is too and I have found many patients who have used pumps and they loved having them. It makes life alot easier and will regulate his blood sugars so much better.Regular insulin is alot to manage and requires a lot of checking. In the end, it is a personal choice. Maybe speak with his doctor again before you make the decision, and maybe that would help with the pros/cons. Best wishes to you and your husband.

I have a friend who has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed as a kid, so he has been taking insulin for 30+ years. He does not use the pump because he worries that it may not be accurate for detecting insulin levels because there is a lag between the time his blood sugar is checked, the time it takes to pump insulin, and the time it takes for his body to respond to the insulin. The pump may give too much insulin or not enough within the time frame that it is needed.

Incidentally, this friend recently (about two months ago) went on a gluten-free diet to try to help control his blood sugar. To his surprise, he needs far less insulin that he used to. We're talking 75% less than what he used to take. He was not expecting these results, and he did not go low carb. The only thing eliminated from his diet was gluten. You might want to try it for a month and see if it helps at all. Good luck to you!

I am type 2 so don't use one but, many type 1's do and they love them. from what I hear it gives people way more freedom. Go to the American Diabetes Association web-site there is lots of info and forums there with alot of discussion about the pump.

my sister and niece both use pumps. They LOVE their pumps. Iwould say the only "con" is having that small little box somewhere on your body at all times. Pocket, clipped to belt, etc. but I would think that you would become accustomed to it very quickly. My sis found that the most convenient spot for her is tucked in her bra. It is much more convenient than hauling around needles and figuring out how to keep your insulin at the optimal temp at all times.