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For insulin pump users: On average, how often do you take insulin using a different method other than through your pump? (E.g., giving an injection, using inhaled insulin, etc.)
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I take an injection only if I suspect my site is bad and I want to get my BG down quickly.
After what is now 60 yrs of T1D, I will be back on a pump.
69 years T1D and never used a pump!!
Only when my infusion set fails
I really don’t like to use the words “always” or “never”, but in this case, I’ve been on the pump since 1998. I cannot remember taking my insulin through any other method than my pump since 1998. Now I may have forgotten, but I’m saying “never.”
Maybe twice a year when a really bG won’t come down with pump.
I give myself an injection if I’ve had a pump infusion set malfunction (rare) and need a quick bolus to help while I’m attaching a new infusion set, and to avoid the pump thinking I gave twice as much insulin on guard as I actually gave. Also rarely, if I misjudged total insulin needed over 3 days and I need a quick bolus before I do the whole reservoir/ infusion set change.
When I have a pump issue or am sick or want faster corrections.
If I am high, I will use Fiasp instead of the aspart in my pump to bring me down faster or if I am higher than I would like to before I eat and cannot wait, I will use the faster acting insulin.
Only when my pump fails (rarely!)
Pump vacations are always nice
That’s a difficult question to answer with any accuracy. I use injections when my pump fails ( not very often), when my blood sugar gets really high and doesn’t respond to boluses even when changing sights and when I have to use more than my alotted pods because of sight failure, high blood sugars , pod ripping off etc. That is quite annoying!
I only do this when my BG rises very high unexpectedly, isn’t responding well to an additional bolus, and it hasn’t really been long enough for me to suspect the site has gone bad.
The other occasion has been to get me through the remainder of a long flight when BG is remaining high despite boluses. It’s difficult to change the site while flying, & I don’t like to tie up the bathroom, especially if there are only 2 for a whole plane full of people.
Every summer I use InPen and lantus because I swim a lot.
I selected once per month on average, but I’ve had to inject more often this month. Once because my pump ran out of insulin at a ball game, and twice after running really high because my Tandem battery died. I’m still getting used to having to plug in my pump to charge. My old Medtronic pump used to alarm like hell when the battery was low. The Tandem just seems to quietly die.
Oops, user error. Just checked my device settings and all my Tandem pump alarms were set to vibrate. Hopefully turning the sound back on will catch me attention.
Ahem. You must have a most extremely obedient and well trained Tandem pump. Mine, when it dies, goes down with a powerful Washington Post March blaring as if Bose speakers were throttling full throttle.
I’m prepared with syringes and pens but I don’t remember ever using them since I got my first pump 30 years ago, so I’m saying “never”. I’d like to try inhaled insulin for corrections sometimes because of it’s rapid action, but it would be quite a splurge since it’s not covered by Medicare.
I am ticked off too because I just got notice today that my request for Afrezza just got denied. I hate the thought of having to fight my insurance to get it. I only want to get it for times when my sugar goes over 200 and just doesn’t decline It doesn’t happen often, but those times are so annoying.
I am still a new pump user but I did have a couple of times when I had to use injection due to problems with infusion sets and waiting for delivery of required items.
The pump is not always the most reliable or effective way to administer insulin, particularly with Afrezza available.
It sure seems that way !!!!
If my bg is over 250 and I want a faster correction than Control IQ will give me I’ll take an injection. It’s not a daily occurrence.
I answered multiple times per week because I am having insulin absorption issues on Day 3 of nearly every infusion site (regardless of which part of my body is used). I noticed this last June and began the process of trying to get more infusion sets and cartridges from Medicare every 90 days last July. Every attempt by my endo failed. I finally changed endo recently in the hopes that they will be able to satisfy the documentation requirements demanded of Medicare for more frequent site changes. Until then, I MUST make the site last the full 3 days or I will run out of pump supplies. That has meant supplementing my pumped insulin with injected insulin during the last half of Day 3. I tracked both my fasting glucose and my total daily insulin use and compared Day 3 results with Day 1 results. My average fasting glucose levels on Day 3 have been higher by 23.7% in April than they were on Day 1 of each site. For the same period, my Total Daily Units of insulin are 8.5% higher on Day 3 than on Day of each site (with no difference in carb grams consumed.) The injected insulin along with carefully monitoring my diet has enabled me to maintain good control. My last A1c was 6.2. I have been a Type 1 since 1976 and using an insulin pump since 2011. I am currently using the Tandem t:slim X2 with Control IQ.
This has to be a hassle! I have a Medicare Advantage Plan and I do get enough supplies to change out every 2 days. My doc did have to do a PA however. Good luck!
When I first started Medicare, my supplier said Medicare only allowed them to send me enough supplies to change sets every 3rd day. I told them they’d have to send me 30% more insulin in that case so I can double my basal on the 3rd day to continue to use a failing site. I think they must have recalculated the relative cost of insulin versus supplies because they now send me enough supplies to change sites when I have to. I should add that my sites seem to last longer with Humalog than with Fiasp in my pump. I think that has to do with the niacinamide in Fiasp that makes it absorb faster.
I used an injection of lantus when I was going to have surgery as I had taken off my pump for the surgery.
Once or twice a month, when the reservoir is getting low, I need to bolus for food, and it’s not convenient to do a whole infusion set swap out. Not frequent, but often enough that I have a scrip for insulin pens as well as vial insulin.
Only inject on the rare occasion that I become hyper beyond CGM or meter’s ability to measure. This has only happened two or three times in the last few years that I’ve been using a pump. It is usually an issue with the site, kinked tubing, or forgetting to bolus.
Only needed if my AutoSoft cannula kinked and resulted in very high glucose level!
I wasn’t able to use Lyumjev in my pump, had site problems and burning so I take injections for meal bolus every day–works the best ever in my 55 yrs as TID.
I answered every few months, but the actual answer is whenever bgs are nearing 300+s and after ruling out any pump problems. I keep a bottle of Ketostix on hand to test for ketones. (I have a strong aversion to hospital IVs!)
I chose “once a month”. My current responsibilities do not always allow me to change my site if it is failing, so if my BG reaches 260 and shows no sign of falling, then I inject. Fiddling with temp basals, bolusing, checking the site, watching trend every 15 minutes is not always possible. Injection and fall alerts quickly corrects the problem.
I have found it important to always carry an Glucometer and a bottle of insulin and some syringes to have a back up system in place especially if my pump runs out of insulin or my Dexcom 6 for some reason stops working. This is especially important when driving over 20 miles from home.