Life on an Insulin Pump - the only way for me...

*DISCLAIMER - Please note in this article I am purely referring to Type One Diabetes and my personal views in relation to Insulin Pumps and in particular the Animas Vibe. Remember Your Doses May Vary and all information found in this blog post is my opinion and what works for me ONLY and is not indented as medical advice. Please consult the relevant health care professionals if you feel the need to make a change to your treatment plan after reading this post*

As I've only been on an insulin pump for just over 9 months, in the world of diabetes I would consider myself a 'newbie' when it comes to this area of diabetes treatment. Nonetheless, despite this limited time-frame, I can honestly say that it has been the biggest and most life-changing decision of my diabetes adventure to date and I'm defintely not looking back!! 

I had never really considered myself to have any major issues when it came to injecting insulin, but after 16 years of Multiple Daily Injections (MDI), this was no longer the best, nor the right treatment method for me.

I will never forget the moment in July last year when I was handed my Animas Vibe Insulin Pump in a box. It was a huge moment for me. Due to the urgency of me needing to start on a pump, I didn't get to choose the colour of my Animas Vibe. Although I would naturally have chosen the blue one as I don't consider myself to be much of a pink person, the baby pink colour of the Animas Vibe I was given has really grown on me.

During my training sessions with the pump, and seeing the functions available to me in terms of Temporary Basal Rates (TBR) and the tiny increments of insulin I could select, it was clear to me that the Animas Vibe was the answer for the 'insulin-sensitive-erratic-bloods' person that I had become over the last few years. The Animas Representative was great in answering my many, many questions and continued to check in on me throughout my initial six months and still does in clinic appointments. Equally, I must say that the Animas Helpline have also been fantastic for those 'out-of-the-blue' queries that I've had too.


So what is the Animas Vibe like? Well aside from having the many wonderful and essential functions that other insulin pumps share, such as varying basal profiles throughout the day, extended bolus waves and TBR, one thing I certainly didn't expect to be doing a month after starting it was swimming while my pump was still attached to me! I had thought that all pumps needed to be removed for things such as swimming so was very pleasantly surprised to find out the Animas Vibe didn't need to be. Personally I felt strangely liberated by this in terms of reducing my basal while I was in the pool and then increasing it again after swimming. The whole unit is waterproof so I don't need to be concerned about it when changing my doses in the water.
 

I also love the cannula sets and how everything is ready to go and easy to carry around. Unlike many insertion kits, namely the manual ones, I found the Inset II sets to be the easiest to use and to transport around with me. The cannula adhesives are also really strong and despite having got occasionally acquainted with door handles where your tubing gets caught, I have found that the cannula has stayed put completely with only two accidental removals to date where it was completely my fault! the adhesive also comes off easliy after removal and has not caused any unsightly marks or irritations either which is great.

The other great function of the Animas Vibe is the ability to use the in-built CGM function with a Dexcom sensor. This allows you to monitor your blood sugar levels at a click of a button on your pump, to review the graphs of your levels during downloads and on the pump itself and to use the alarm functions to try and prevent hyper and hypo blood levels. For many people, this is the reason that they choose the Animas Vibe, due to the seamless connectivity between the the Dexcom and the pump. I have only trialled the Dexcom a few times and have seen the benefit of the alarms and the ease of accessing the readings all in one place on the pump. However, I have not had a full and successful trial with the sensor as yet and so do not feel that I could personally comment on this function beyond what I have. That does not mean though that I am not eager to use this great feature of the Animas Vibe without the need of an additional handset.

So is there anything I would change? Well yes, like most things there are elements that you would like to see developed in the future, and for me the main one would be the introduction of a handset. I don't find wearing the pump at all uncomfortable and I can hide it away discretely under most clothing, however the fact that you need to access it to input into the pump means that this can sometimes be a bit more tricky! Thankfully, I have discovered the wide variety of waist and thigh belts out there that have helped make this less of an issue. Nonetheless, a handset that could be kept in a handbag would make life a bit easier.

The only other thing I would mention would be the screen. Despite having an easily accessible option to dim and brighten the screen, during sunny days the screen can be a little difficult to see and so you might see me trying to block out the light to get a proper view of the screen...

Overall though, I think the two areas that I've raised as 'future developments' are for me, pretty insignificant compared to the diabetes control and improved daily life that the Animas Vibe has given me. I am sure that many other pumps could have done this or similar, but the ability to increase my insulin rates by increments of 0.025 on the Animas Vibe mean that I can radically reduce my insulin intake per hour whenever I need to. It has also given me the confidence in falling asleep comfortably and without the fear of waking up on a drip and in a hospital bed after a severe hypo as had happened so many times before I started on an insulin pump.

As you can probably tell from my smiles and enthusiasm about the Animas Vibe in this blog, I am really happy to be on this insulin pump and the features and freedom that it gives me. To sum it up, I'd say that you would have to wrestle it off me in order to get me to give it up as it really has been the answer to my diabetes-control prayers...

Thank you once again for taking the time to read my blog post.
Until next time, keep injecting 💉 or pumping 📟 insulin!
Ros x


For further information about the Animas Vibe, please visit https://www.animascorp.co.uk 

Low-carbohydrate living and loving it!! #Diabetes

*DISCLAIMER - Please note in this article I am purely referring to my Type 1 Diabetes. Remember Your Doses May Vary and all information found in this blog post is my opinion and what works for me ONLY and is not indented as medical advice. Please consult the relevant health care professionals if you feel the need to make a change to your treatment plan after reading this post*

Since my last post at the end of January, I am happy to say that I have stuck to my Fitness Resolution and apart from the occasional and very necessary hypo treatments, all is going well. I am eating healthy, exercising far more than I was before and most importantly I have seen good blood glucose numbers for the vast majority of the time since going on the meal plan 💪🏼. Sadly, despite the great benefits I have seen so far in terms of more energy, sleeping better and eating a tasty and varied diet...DavidJohn (DJ) and the Elite Program cannot prevent illness and all the joys that brings to a person with Diabetes!

Nonetheless, DJ has been a fabulous in terms of support, and checked-in with me throughout the week of illness to make sure I was doing okay. I will say that this is the most supported I have felt in terms of any fitness scheme or initiative I have done before - so thank you for that DJ!! The Diabetic Warriors are very supportive too. Thank you 👍🏼

So, what am I actually doing differently? Well despite having started eating low- carbohydrates meals before starting working with DJ, the plan is based around continually eating low carbohydrates options. I will say that the thought of this absolutely terrified me initially!!! As many of my followers will be aware, at the beginning of last year and right up until July I suffered from a number of nigh time/ sleeping hypos, with some leading to a few stays at hospital due to the severity of them. 

Despite being aware of how far technology and insulin has developed since I was first diagnosed, I must say that carbohydrates have always been pained as being a diabetic's best friend for almost all of my time with diabetes. Therefore, a fully low carbohydrates diet did make me concerned that I may cause a return of the horrid night hypos which made me a little nervous to say the least.
With this in mind, my initial few days were more of a 'weaning' period for me in order to reduce my carbohydrates intake and to gain confidence in the plan. DJ has been in daily contact to ensure that I was happy with every aspect of the plan and he also encouraged me to adjust to the diet first before contemplating starting on an intensive exercise regime!

After a number of conversations with DJ, and a few tweaks in my Bolus ratio as I reduced my carbohydrates intake, I found that my blood sugars were far less erratic and with very few spikes or drops in my levels compared to previously. Despite the insulin pump making a HUGE difference to my life and control since I started on it just over 7 months ago, I still found that due to insulin sensitivity and the number of carbohydrates in a meal that my bloods would raise and drop rapidly and by a few more mmol that I would want as shown in the graph below of a typical 'pre-low carbohydrates diet' day.

Since starting on the low carbohydrates approach, my blood glucose levels have been far more stable despite still not being quite as good as they can be, my graphs are looking far more like the one below where it shows my blood glucose pattern to be less of a 'mountain range' and more of a 'mole hill' when it comes to meal times. As you can see, I am actually having less dramatic hypos than before as there is less insulin in my system due to fewer carbohydrates being eaten and my hypos do not seem to be as severe as my ratios and rates of insulin decreased, meaning I need less insulin to deal with the smaller amount of carbohydrates I am eating.

As far as the food side of things is concerned – this is not a ‘diet’ or a ‘fad’ in my opinion. Lower carbohydrate foods are a lifestyle choice that I have made for the benefits they are giving me based on research and slowly-introduced changes. There are many no or low carbohydrate options out there that are not full of unhealthy fats as many people seem to believe. Lots of yummy recipes are easily available with fresh, natural fruit, vegetables, eggs and nuts/ seeds being the foundation to the vast majority of meals. Eating out today is also not an issue at all. In fact, if the Elite Program means I get to eat more food like the one in the photograph below from a family lunch this week, then I’m more than happy to make this lifestyle choice and change, for my fitness, health and diabetes control and for the amazing, tasty food options I can enjoy.

Never one to be content with the basics, I am always looking for new low or no carbohydrate snacks, meal  or recipe ideas, so if you have any suggestions then please do get in contact. As someone who enjoys food and cooking - I really would appreciate any recommendatioins you may have! 

So, what's next? The main focus of the next few weeks for me will be increasing my exercise sessions and to try and stabilise my blood glucose further, avoiding hypo and hyper readings as best I can. This will mean that I will need to continue to monitor my blood sugars regularly and to adjust my insulin doses post-exercise to avoid any peaks (as I have found with my personal post-exercise blood glucose levels). This is a very individual process as we all find that exertion in different ways causes varying results with our diabetes both during and post-exercise. This will be my main focus as I start building my fitness-levels and increase the amount of exercise I’m doing.

Of course, I would, as always state that ‘Your Doses May Vary (YDMV)’ especially pre and post-exercise and that you should seek the help of your Health Care Professional if you have any medical/ dosing questions and if you have not exercised for a long period of time or since diagnosis.

Just remember that whatever your exercise choice is, the most important part is to keep moving and ensure that exercise in any form is a regular part of your daily life, whether you have diabetes or not!

Until next time, keep injecting 💉 or pumping 📟 insulin!
Ros x