I probably should not have made it sound so easy to get on an insulin pump. For many people (and for a variety of reasons) it is not. Sometimes it’s a provider issue. Many providers have it in their heads that people have to prove something before they can get an insulin pump: enough time on injections, taking a certain number of classes, demonstrating that they check their blood glucose a certain number of times per day (for a certain length of time), high enough blood glucose levels, low enough blood glucose levels, etc.
I believe that everyone is worthy of a pump until proven otherwise.
People want/need insulin pumps for a variety of reasons. Some people want a pump for convenience – maybe they really hate taking injections. Other people need a pump to eliminate frequent and dangerous low blood glucose events (hypoglycemia). Still others choose pump therapy to bring down high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia). The research shows that insulin pump therapy improves blood glucose management/levels and improves quality of life. While it is important for people with diabetes (or their parents) to understand and feel comfortable with injections (in case the pump fails), there is no magic period of time with injections that makes one “ready” for a pump. I’ve seen a kid go from injections at diagnosis to a pump in six months. I bet there are some who’ve done in sooner.
When someone initiates getting a pump, I take that as a very good sign. I think it would be much more dangerous to force someone to go on a pump (which I would never do). I’ve seen people who never checked their blood glucose, haphazardly took insulin, etc., go on a pump and thrive.
Having to jump through hoops just makes people angry and discouraged. Sometimes it even turns them off so much that they switch providers. If the provider is the roadblock, it may be time to consider a new one. That may not be straightforward either, but it’s worth looking into. I travel three hours each way to my diabetes care provider.
If health insurance is the roadblock to an insulin pump, it can be a much more challenging situation. When I was working on getting a pump (the second time), I had to provide various documents. I even had to have a c-peptide level drawn! When insulin is produced by the pancreas it starts off as “pro-insulin”. This consists of a c-peptide chain and an insulin chain. The c-peptide breaks off and the insulin goes to work. The blood test, therefore, measures the amount of c-peptide in the blood, which indicates how much insulin is produced. I was told by the lab people that it was a fasting test, and I almost started laughing right there. I honestly thought about eating a hot fudge sundae before the test, just to prove that my pancreas does not make insulin (and hadn’t for 28 years at the time). Sometimes health insurance companies need a compelling letter from a health care provider to convince them that an insulin pump is the best way to go. Sometimes it really takes a good (and long, drawn-out) fight. In my experience, the patient usually wins.
If you’ve struggled to get on an insulin pump – what was your experience and how did you resolve it?