I have been on the insulin pump for about 5 years. I did a ton of research before I chose which one to go with and I ended up going with the Medtronic MiniMed Insulin Pump. I love the customer support they offer and all the new advancements that they are constantly making to their products.
Even with all I know now and the different options for other pumps out there I would still go with the MiniMed. I like that is it small and I can easily hide it in my bra, back jean pocket or attach to the side of my shorts. I would say that it has drastically helped get me in tighter control and made life much easier. I can eat snacks when I want and do a correction right there and then. It comes with me everywhere I go and only comes off when I take a shower or go swimming...or spray tanning ha. I would also say that it is a must have when you are pregnant since insulin doses are much higher the further along you get and doing a million shots a day would just not be ideal.
But with all that said sometimes (like this week) I just want to rip it out all dramatically, cry, throw it across the room (okay maybe not throw it because it's so expensive) and say screw it and just go back to regular insulin injections. Most of the time it works great. I insert my infusion set into the top part of my butt (my favorite spot) hit the start button and we are good to go. No problems. But other times (more frequently than I wish) I will insert the infusion set and a shooting pain will go through my body telling me something is wrong. I will pull it out and blood will start spewing out. Other times I will insert the infusion set and I think everything is fine. A few hours later I will test and I will be 300+. I will take it out and it turns out the infusion set had somehow bent when it was inserted and insulin was never delivered to me. This is beyond frustrating because I have to do it all over again plus for the remainder of the day I cant eat or do much of anything until I get my blood sugars back on track from something that I did not even cause. This always seems to happen at inconvenient times too like when I am on vacation or out with my family. I do always bring a back up just in case but it still puts a major damper in my day.
Now you may be thinking, "Well maybe you are using the wrong infusion set or inserting in the wrong spot?" The truth is I have tried all of the different kinds and inserted in all kinds of places on my body and it still happens every so often no matter what. I have told my Endocrinologist about my pump frustrations and told me that sometimes people go on "pump vacations." This means that for a few weeks or even months you don't use your pump and go back to insulin shots. I have thought about it but haven't done it yet. The thought of being without my little gadget that I have been attached to for so long is frightening, but nonetheless the thought is still on my mind.
If you are type 1 diabetic I would love to hear if you struggle with your pump as well and how you deal with it? I would also love to hear if you have ever taken a pump vacation and what the results were.
See all the posts of this series here.