- This topic has 39 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 5 months ago by
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If only….
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@teloz – sorry, MDI is Multiple Daily Injections. A combination of slow and fast acting jabs that keeps us Type One’s alive.
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@aileen – I thought you, of all people, would be very pro-MDI, no?
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Been there, done that, then got a pump.
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@jay451 – yup, that seems to be the general consensus. I wonder if there are any people out there who think “Yes, MDI really rocks! I’m going to give up my pump and go back to injections!”
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I got my pump just before Christmas, and at a recent review, I was asked – did I want to keep it?- errr YES!!!
My HbA1c is down from nearly 12 to 7.7 in three months, I have energy, don’t feel sick all the time, and actually have insulin in my body all the time/when I need it…
Go back to MDIs? No thanks – I didn’t do them properly anyway.. so sorry Tim, but you don’t get my vote (you’re just jealous!! – and rightly so) – good luck with the wait – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you, however, it is making testing quite difficult!
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Pumps? Nope not for me I’m afraid. Much rather be able to leave my diabetic gubbins on the table between meals.
Go go MDI
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@mike – but they look cooooool though! Gadgets are one of the few benefits of diabetes!
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Gadgets, yes. Can someone confirm the rumour that there is a new Lantus pen that can hold it’s weight next to a Novopen?
The Autopen24 needs to go. -
@alex – I use the lantus pre-filled Solostar:
http://www.lantus.com/solostar/solostar_insulin_pen.aspx
It’s crap – but at least it can do single units, rather than the AutoPen’s two units.
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@tim The green Autopens do 1 unit (with a smaller max dose). Though they are still as dreadful as the 2 unit ones. I can’t understand why Lantus has virtually no refillable pens. Sanofi just don’t seem bothered.
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@mike Sanofi’ll just point a blaming finger at Owen Mumford, inventors of both the Mumbo Jumbo (2U) and the Mumbo Mini (1U). To me, they have the appearance of cattle prods designed by Fisher Price…and you can’t back-dial a dose…and you can keep on dialling even if the insulin is finished. A mooing boo to the the experimental cattle who approved of it.
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I once wrote an article about why pens were so ugly:
http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/2010/01/why-are-insulin-pens-so-ugly/
And they are – I hate all of them. Given that you use them every day it’s not much to ask for a decent, heavyweight pen that works. I would happily buy one rather than burden the NHS with such luxury
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Still got a soft spot for NovoPens. Recently changed to the ‘portly executive board member’ styled Memoir purely for the dose/time memory function. The NovoPen Echo would have afforded this without the need to change insulins, but NovoNordisk, in their wisdom, have decided we are not worthy of their new toy in the UK – well not yet anyway.
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Sorry tim but mdi for me was nothing but hassle ! If anyone can manage to keep a tight control on 4 jabs a day well done
but insulin on tap night and day is superb , every one should be given the chance to try one and see the difference . -
I’m starting to feel left out cos I’m on the MDI rigmarole. Apparently though as long as I take my Lantus at the same time everyday and I count my carbs then I’ll be able to work out how much Humalog to take. Therefore, in my massive bag I also carry a calculator to work out the carb content of foods. It’s a pain having to weigh food before I can get stuck in about it so I can work out the carb content. I’m sure the Humapen Luxura comes in half unit increments – but only if you beg on your hands and knees to any diabetic doctor/nurse who will listen. They want the HbA1c below 10 but won’t give us the equipment to tighten our control? Haha leave it up to ‘betic folk to crack the jokes!
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@simon1972 – MDI is a pain in butt (well, stomach and legs) but it is possible to get by on it. I recently read Pumping Insulin on @alison‘s suggestion and have adapted some of the fancy things, like square waves, for MDI. Anyway, A1C has been under 6.5% for a while but that said, that good result disguises a lot of swings – especially to the low.
I just think pumps are a better tool for doing what we’re trying to do – simulate what the pancreas does by itself.
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@gillian – I too carried a calculator around when I was first diagnosed – I just can’t do sums! (My A levels were in English Lit, Geography and History and my degree is law – I do writing, not maths!) I now use my mobile for calculations.
When I started carb counting I carried around a little notepad and every time I had a meal I wrote it down and the amount I injected for it. So, for example, “Spaghetti bolognese = 9 units”. Next time I had spag.bol I would just look it up in my notebook and inject accordingly (obviously allowing a bit either way if BG was high or low; or adding / subtracting if portions were abnormally large or small). Before long I had a useful cheat-sheet of meals and the amounts I needed to stick in.
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@Tim – totally agree. MDI and carb counting gave me an A1C of 7.2 for the first time in years, but couldnt help with the underlying swings that the long term (Lantus) insulin just exacerbated. 1.5 weeks into having a pump, and it appears it’s removing/dealing with my 3am dip which I’ve had all my life and my dawn phenomenon, and does appear to be making it easier to deal with the hormone-induced swings as well.
MDI was a large step forward. Pumps are a jump further. -
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Interestingly, when I was first diagnosed in 1977, I (or rather, my mother) had to carb count in a way. Back then,it was X insulin = Y carbs per meal (so the insulin lead the carbs, rather than the other way round as it is now). And I just kept on doing that, through the changes in advice (you can eat normally, just sensibly/dont eat too many carbs, but dont mind what/and back round to carb counting). So when carb counting as we know it came into trend, I was one step ahead of the game (already knowing how much things counted/how to interpret idiot labelling).
@Mike – I started how I’m doing it now through a course run by my diabetic clinic (which I only did because it was a prerequisite to being considered for a pump, but am really glad I did it now!) -
@mikeinspain – very much worth doing. I was only diagnosed five years ago, so I’ve done nothing but carb count since diagnosis; so I got all my training alongside my initial “here’s how to inject”, etc., stuff.
There’s an online course about carb counting (and other stuff) here http://dafneonline.co.uk/ which might of use.
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Cool, will check it out.. Thanks
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@mikeinspain I was diagnosed aged 4 so my parents learnt to carb count and I’ve never really known any different, it’s just second nature to me now.
There’s also some good online carb training at http://www.bdec-e-learning.com
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Thanks Alison
I did register on the site you mentioned above, however naughtily I have done nothing else since! “hand slapped”
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@Annette Anderson – bit late for you pumpers, but anyone else who suffers an overnight Lantus dip could try shifting the injection to breakfast time. I’ve recently solved a years-of-waking-up-low problem by doing just that: http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2010/05/morning-person.html
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@mike – I didn’t know you had a blog! I’ve duly added it to our (well hidden and underused) links page!
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Added you to ours a few weeks back daaaahlig… Mwah! Mwaaaaaaah!
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@Mike – yes, I did this myself a few years ago (on advice from the DSN) and it certainly helped – reduced night time hypos to a couple of times a month and not too serious. So worth a try for anyone going hypo overnight.
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@mike – I think that’s the first time I’ve been air-kissed on the blog! A day to put on the calendar!
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Who’d have thought ‘air kiss on blog’ would have beaten ‘being sick on a doctor’ to your long list of lifetime achievements.
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@mike: According to my interpretation of Lantus’s action profile, the best time to inject would be at 2AM – which I’ve tried a few times, but I’m not very responsive to importune alarm clocks, so I’m back to 22:00…and waking up with a BG of 2. Which I can live with (Lantus not as efficient an emetic as Protaphane)
@tim: Take an overnight shot of Protaphane and start stalking Dr. Oz in the morning…2 flies with 1 swat.
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@Cecile ( @ckoei?) ah now don’t forget Lantus’s marvellous 3-day lag before settling down. At one stage I tried altering my basal based on my 10pm bg reading. Complete chaos. Afterwards I read that L is well known for taking a few days before grumpily settling in to any new system. Levemir is far more flexible apparently, and since it often exhibits a shorter (16-18h) activity period is often split into two doses for ;
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