Can I Treat Diabetes Without Drugs
If you have type 1 diabetes, you must take daily insulin injections to keep your blood glucose in a normal range. Your body produces little or no insulin. Insulin is a vital hormone that helps your body convert food into energy. Without insulin, you would die. If you have type 2 diabetes, the answer to this question is much less clear. Many people can keep their blood glucose in a healthy range without medications if they lose weight and keep their weight down, are regularly physically active, and follow a meal plan that helps them keep portion sizes under control and helps them spread the amount of carbohydrate they eat at each meal throughout the day. Eventually, however, many people with type 2 diabetes find that despite their best efforts, weight control, exercise and diet aren’t enough to keep their blood glucose in a healthy range. This is not unusual. One theory is that some people’s insulin-producing cells just get tired out from having to produce more and more insulin because their cells are resistant to the effects of insulin. If your healthcare team tells you that you need to take oral diabetes medications or insulin injections to manage your blood glucose, it’s important that you follow their instructions. Keeping your blood glucose in a healthy range is key to preventing long-term complications, such as eye disease, kidney disease, heart attacks, and other problems that poorly controlled blood glucose can cause over a period of years.Continue reading > >
What Are The Reactions Your Type 2 Patients Have Had To Get On An Insulin Pump Do They Feel More Confident Making Decisions Surrounding Food
It starts with building trust and our care plan around all the things to protect and keep someone safe. So, its not usually the very first thing we talk about when someone comes in, especially if theyre a new patient, but it might be something we end up discussing. Theres a long continuum of whats happening in a persons diabetes journey. I may have a patient who comes in that says theyre considering an insulin pump, and my job is to help them explore the pros, cons, and which pump fits their personal goals. Theres a lot of consideration that goes into deciding the right time to go on an insulin pump.
After that, we have insurance verifiers and trained diabetes care and education team members who help people figure out the insurance part of obtaining a pump. We determine if will cover the pump, what the payment is, and which is the better option. Then we focus on the education and how to shift from multiple daily injections to pump therapy. A lot of the questions for someone with diabetes on MDI can be addressed with pump therapy. I get questions about needing to feed their insulin, meaning someone takes their insulin but doesnt feel like eating. They eat anyway to avoid going low. With an insulin pump, you can adjust your basal rate, which gives you a steady dose of insulin throughout the day, or extend a bolus . Thats part of the beauty of transitioning someone from MDI to a pump.
Travelling With An Insulin Pump: Your One
So you’ve decided you may want to make the switch to a pump, or you already have a pump and are now deciding you want to go on holiday somewhere. So maybe you have some of the following questions …
“Do you have trouble at the airports when travelling with an insulin pump?”
“Do you ever just switch back to insulin pens?”
“Is it annoying carrying insulin pump supplies?”
The answer is…yes, no and maybe! Keep reading…
When I travel I always bring an insulin pump and insulin pens with me, and if I am on a long term trip, I will bring a spare insulin pump too. This is for many reasons, one being that I need backup insulin if my pump fails me, and another being there are actually situations in which the insulin pump just wonât cooperate with. This ranges from hot springs, to water parks to scuba diving .
I hope to one day visit Iceland and embrace the lagoons there, but when in Chile, Bradley and I ventured off into our car and came across a deserted area in the location of a volcano which not only produced breathtaking scenery, but some amazing hot springs!
Psst!! … Do you have travel insurance sorted?
Before traveling anywhere, make sure you have your travel insurance in place. We recommend SafetyWing.â
Why?
- You can pause and restart policies each month
- They are more affordable than many providers
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Traveling With A Pump
When traveling , you should always carry several days of extra supplies and all supplies and medications should be kept in your carry on. Make sure all medications, including insulin are in their original container with the prescription label on it. It doesnt hurt to have a letter from your provider stating you are wearing a medical device. Carry syringes and back up long-acting insulin with you when you travel, just in case. Dont forget extra batteries or your charger cable for you pump or CGM.
Your pump is OK to go through screening, but not through the Xray machine. You can also request a pat down rather than having to remove your pump.
If you are going out of the country, many pump companies will offer you a loaner pump to take with you just in case of a malfunction. Its also helpful to change the time on your insulin pump once you arrive at your destination, otherwise you basal rates will not be programmed correctly.
Further reading:
If you are going through a very large time change, talk to your educator about how and when to change the time for your basal. Also, if you are going to be more active on your vacation, you may just plan to set a complete separate basal pattern for while you are away. Just make sure to set an alarm in your phone or leave yourself a note at home to change your time or basal pattern back when you return.
On Average About How Long Does The Insulin Pump Process Take
Answer:
I am not quite sure what it youre asking. There are several steps involved in starting an insulin pump:
As you can see, this is not a question that can be answered simply. The pump is a great tool for controlling blood sugars and giving you a lot of flexibility, but it requires a strong commitment on your part with guidance from a diabetes team experienced in insulin pump therapy.
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Which Pump Is Best
All insulin pumps have benefits and drawbacks. Your choice will depend on whatâs most important to you. Do you want easy setup? Low up-front cost? Ease of use? Since most insurance companies will replace your pump only after several years of use, itâs important to find one that works for you.
Some things to think about:
- Which is best for your lifestyle: a traditional pump, tubeless pump, or pump with handheld remote?
- Pump reservoirs hold between 176 and 315 units of insulin. Kids may be fine with smaller reservoirs adults may want larger.
- Can the pump deliver insulin in small amounts? Kids and people who are very sensitive to insulin may want one that does.
- Does the pump come with carb counts of common foods to help you decide how much insulin you need?
- Can the pump interact with a blood glucose meter or continuous glucose meter ?
- Does the pump software work with your phone or laptop?
What Should Be Considered When Choosing An Insulin Pump
The following list may seem formidable and long, but keep in mind that not all of it may apply to you. Discuss which features and elements are most relevant to your care with your doctor.
- Weight, size and color of pump
- Lowest basal rate delivery
- Amount of insulin a cartridge can hold
- Number of different background, or basal, insulin patterns available
- Insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio program feature
- Insulin-sensitivity factor and target glucose features
- Number of different customized bolus programs available for example: breakfast, lunch, dinner, pizza, use of pramlintide, etc.
- Nutritional information
- Types of alarms and alerts
- Waterproof, watertight, or water-resistant
- Ease of use programming, delivering a bolus, navigating program menus
- Infusion set compatibility brand-specific or universal
- Durability
- Customer service technical support, clinical support, warranty, trial period, upgrades, cost of upgrade
- Future features of upgrades
II. Starting on the pump:
You will attend an insulin pump start class on two consecutive mornings taught by certified diabetes educators. This is when you will start pumping insulin.
III. Follow up:
Make appointments with pump team
- MD 2 to 5 visits or more
- RN 2 to 4 visits or more
- RD 0 to 2 visits or more
Once you are given the dates for your pump class be sure to schedule your pump team follow up appointments.
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Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans
Many Part C plans come bundled with a prescription drug plan. If this is the case, then you can have all of your diabetes costs and your insulin prescription covered under the same plan.
Not all Part C plans offer this coverage, and for those that do, the coverage will vary. If you need additional drugs covered, make sure that you investigate the plan in detail before you commit.
It can also be the case that a bundled plan will cost more than just buying a Medicare Part C plan and a separate prescription drug plan, so make sure that you shop around and compare quotes and cost-sharing options for each plan before you commit.
Although Medicare Advantage can be more difficult to navigate due to the variety, it is a good option for many and shouldnt be overlooked.
Demonstrate Your Commitment To Diabetes Control
Using an insulin pump requires significant dedication. You will need to test your blood glucose levels at least 4 times per day and be confident in carbohydrate counting and adjusting insulin doses for different activities.
Your health team may also require you to attend a carbohydrate counting structured education course Moving onto a pump can be a significant change so its important that you and your health team have no doubts over your ability to monitor and control your diabetes.
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Why Should I Use An Insulin Pump
The choice to use an insulin pump instead of injections usually comes down to personal preference. However, you may want to consider an insulin pump if:
- You have frequent low blood sugar reactions.
- You have a condition called gastroparesis, which causes a delay in your stomach’s ability to absorb food.
- You are planning to get pregnant.
- You want to use the pump’s bolus calculator functions to set up insulin doses.
About 25% of people with type 1 diabetes use an insulin pump. Some people switch between injections and pump use. For instance, children may use an insulin pump during the school year but not in the summer.
You can use an insulin pump to give your body insulin, but you still need to check your blood sugar level. By checking your blood sugar regularly, you can make sure that the pump and the infusion are working correctly.
Everything You Need To Know About Insulin Pumps
By Angela Manderfeld MS, RD, LD, CDE
Everyone needs insulin to live. Insulin is a hormone that helps our bodies use and store the food we eat. People with Type 1 Diabetes no longer make insulin and have to give insulin in order to sustain life. People with Type 2 Diabetes dont use their own insulin well, and over time can have trouble making enough. So, all people with Type 1 diabetes and some people with Type 2 diabetes need insulin.
When people give insulin injections, they may take 1-2 injections of a long acting insulin every day and 3+ injections of rapid acting insulin for meals and snacks. The typical person with Type 1 Diabetes could take anywhere from 4-7+ injections a day. Many people currently give insulin through an insulin pen or a syringe.
But, there is another option, an insulin pump. An insulin pump delivers rapid acting insulin in two ways. First, the pump is programmed to give you insulin every hour throughout the hour referred to basal insulin. Basal, think base, is the insulin your body needs even in the absence of food, it is also referred to as background insulin. This basal rate replaces the long acting injection that you take. Second, is bolus, this is the insulin you take for food or to correct a high blood sugar. If you get basal and bolus confused, think bowl, as in you eat out of a bowl, to help you remember bolus is for food. Once you are on a pump, all insulin is delivered through the pump and shots are no longer necessary.
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What Should My Expectations Be When Considering The Pump
Often times people have wrong expectations of what a pump can do, so lets set the record straight. Its not something that you can just hook up and let it go.yet. It requires just as much, if not more attention than giving insulin injections. There are three main areas to think about when it comes to transitioning to a pump:
Medicare Advantage And Insulin Coverage
Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is a way of receiving your Medicare benefits through a private health insurance company. This means that although coverage is regulated, there will still be some variety in coverage and cost.
Although Part C plans can offer more coverage than Original Medicare, they are not allowed to offer less. This means that if any service is covered under Medicare Part B or Part A, it will be covered by Medicare Advantage as well. Because Part C plans can offer more coverage than Original Medicare, you may have more covered services related to diabetes available on some plans.
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A Personal Advocacy Mission
With all of that in mind, it might seem the implantable pump is a concept of the past. So why all the fuss is about this technology now?
For Greg Peterson, implantable pumps are a huge life-changer and should not be abandoned. Its simply a matter of raising awareness about how great this technology is and motivating at least one leading company to invest in the concept, he says.
Peterson lives in the East Bay area of the greater San Fransisco Bay Area, where his IIPF is based. Diagnosed at age 8 back in 1957, he used all the primitive tools back in the day urine testing in a test tube with boiling water on the kitchen stove, glass syringes with a once-a-day injected regular and long-acting PZI insulin, and an unchanging meal regimen each day. As he grew up, he was on as many as 10 insulin shots per day once home glucose monitoring came around.
I became interested in the science of diabetes at a fairly young age and that interest stayed with me throughout my life, Peterson says, noting that he started studying the much-debated issue of glycemic control in the 70s and that led him to finding two researchers exploring the idea of an implantable pump Dr. Peter Forsham, who founded the UCSF Metabolic Unit and Dr. John Karam.
Peterson studied the idea intensely over the years, but it wasnt until January 1992 that he got his first implantable insulin pump. He was No. 3 in a test group at a clinic in San Mateo, CA.
What Type Of Insulin Goes Into An Insulin Pump A Helpful Guide
Insulin pumps are effective forms of diabetes equipment that diabetes patients use to manage their condition. However, many things about how this piece of equipment works leave people confused and with many questions unanswered.
One of these areas of confusion is the question of what type of insulin goes into an insulin pump. And does it matter what insulin is used in an insulin pump?
This article will give a clear understanding of what types of insulin go into an insulin pump. But first, lets give a quick summary of what type of insulin goes into an insulin pump, then well get into more explanation as to why.
What type of insulin goes into an insulin pump? Short-acting or fast-acting insulin, like Aspart, Lispro, and Glulisine, is what goes into an insulin pump. This helps insulin pumps work similarly to the natural pancreas of an average person. However, basal-bolus insulin therapy replaces the need to use both short-acting and long-acting insulin.
So, now weve seen the quick rundown answer, lets take a deeper dive into some of the nuances of this question.
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