"Delighted with insulin pump"

My daughter was diagnosed aged 13 with type 1 diabetes. Her blood sugars were very high and she had lost a lot of weight and had been incredibly tired for the preceding months. She was admitted to hospital and her blood sugars were stabilised and she was commenced on 4 daily short acting insulin injections and one long-acting insulin injections.  This regime was incredibly difficult for my daughter, and complex. Initially she was unable to attend school and then she went in for a few hours and then for longer periods.

Over the next few months she eventually felt able to give her insulin herself before her lunch in order for her to eat in school. She was constantly monitoring her blood sugars 6-7 times daily and adjusting her insulin and working out her insulin dose depending on her carbohydrate intake. This was all difficult and time consuming and difficult when with her peers and especially at school. Her bloods sugars were not particularly stable and she would often have big highs and many many hypos. She was eating sweets so often to treat the hypos that’s she got sick of them.  

On her diagnosis the medical team had talked about her possibly getting a pump and a libre- we were so keen to get them both as we knew it could help to improve her diabetic control and improve her independence and give her flexibility. She was given a libre within the first few months which was just absolutely amazing. This saved her at least 14 injections in 3 days- which psychologically helped my daughter and helped her integrate better with her peers and made meals times a little easier and also helped to protect her skin, something that is vital, especially as her disease progresses, that she takes great care to protect.   Also she now didn’t have to use her glucometer and prick her finger to check her blood sugar before her lunch and then subsequently work out her insulin dose depending on the dose and the amount of carbohydrate she was taking for lunch. 

We waited and waited patiently for an insulin pump. We had hoped because she was young she would have been seen as a priority. However it took just over 2yrs before she finally got word that she was going to get a pump. 

The diabetic nurses were excellent preparing us for getting the pump and managing it. My daughter was delighted with the pump - this now saved her another 14 injections every three days. When she received her pump she was absolutely delighted. She was able to know, by the touch of a button what her blood sugar was and also she was able to give her insulin just by the touch of a button. This enabled her to be discreet about monitoring and giving her insulin. She was flexible as to when she was able to eat and was able to fit in better with her peers and instead of them working around her routine she could just blend in and be essentially a ‘normal’ teenager. 

Recently she had her first review three months after getting her insulin pumps. We already knew that her blood sugars were more stable, that she had only had a few hypo’s and barely needed sweets!! How refreshing! I never thought a diabetic child would have ever eaten so many sweets! This was something I was horrified about and was so relieved that this pattern was changing. My daughter subsequently lost weight as a result and simply felt so much better in herself. She had more energy and her quality of sleep was much better. Her HBA1c improved after she got her pump - we were absolutely delighted to know that her diabetic control had improved so much and that it was helping to safeguard her from all the potential long term risks of diabetes. 

I am saddened by the fact that if there had of been sufficient funding she could have received a pump sooner. I would be a great advocate of initiating pump therapy for children in particular and adults also so as to help reduce the risk of longer complications and improve the quality of life. 

Please give a thought for these patients, and for the fact there there is technology out there to make a significant impact in their lives and their disease progression and to their mental health and that it would enable these patients to integrate better and to significantly improve their outlook. 

I would be grateful if you could seriously consider finding these pumps and training up sufficient staff in order for patients and families to be trained up and supervised as the pumps are initiated.

I cannot put into words the different the pump and the dexcom had made to my daughter's life in just 3 months. I am looking forward to the future more confidently now, my daughter has energy and hope now and we do too. We are so thankful to the doctors and the diabetic nurses who have taken such great care of her since her diagnosis, we couldn’t have got through this very difficult time without their frequent  help and advice and support. They are all worth their weight in gold.