I have Type 1 diabetes & PCOS

[SuperK72]

I think they should change the title of this forum. I do not have type 2, I have type 1, and I wear an insulin pump, I do not take metformin. I cannot relate to anyone on here regarding diabetes because most people on here take metformin, not insulin.
Is there anyone out there that uses a pump? A type 1? With PCOS?

I would love to hear your story!

~k

[Saille]

I can't help you there, Type 2, no pump, and the only insulin I've taken was during my first pregnancy. I have a T1 cousin on the pump and I know the differences between T2 and T1 -- enough that it's barely even the same disease.

There must be some other T1's around, though!

[msmedical2017]

ive taken insulin with the pump in the past my body was able 2 only make a small amount amount of insulin then sum how i went from 2 little insulin 2 too much i was on the pump cause i hated the shots i cant stand needles

[Julieben]

I'm Type 1, I was also taking metformin but it didn't make a difference so I just quit it. I may go back on. I'm on Novolog and Novolin and take 4 injections a day (1 before breakfast w/ long and short acting, 1 before lunch and dinner and 1 long acting before bed) I'm not on the pump, but think I want to be, I'm tired of trying to find a patch of skin thats not too tough to inject. I was treated like type 2 since I was diagnosed at 27 yrs old in october of '05 but they never did the test to differentiate between type 1 and 2 until this June and turns out I'm in "beta cell failure consistent with type 1 diabetes" gee- no wonder met alone for 8 months just left my A1C climbing and climbing!! My A1C in March was 15.1!! I switched Endos since then, but a lot of damage was done- by June I was in ketoacidosis (think I actually had been in it for months) but was hospitalized

So whats your story? :-)

[SuperK72]

Hello!
Finally!
Well, I just started on the pump today. Last week I had used it for a three day interval with saline vs. insulin, so I could get used to its features. It seemed easy but now that I have it on with actual insulin, I am a little scared, overwhelmed, intimidated, and really, really bummed out. I hate having this disease. It sucks. Totally sucks.
My first impression of this pump was a bad one. I got really, really low as I was about to drive out of the parking garage from the educator's office, so I turned off my car, disconnected the pump, tried to unwrap a glucose pill but started to really feel weird, so I ran back to the office and by the time I got off the elevator and into the office, I was white as a sheet and my skin was cold as ice. I had no color in my face. The weird thing? My sugar was 109. That is not really very low.
BUT....what happened was it went to 109 from a whopping 185 in about 30 minutes. My educator thinks perhaps I still had some Lantus hanging around i my body, which can happen. My last dose of Lantus was the night before last, and she said it can hang around for two days or less. Lantus is a 24 hr. insulin.
So, she changed some of the settings and put my blood sugar target at 150 instead of 120. I feel much better now, tonight, but now I am too high.

She said that it will take some tweaking to get it right, and that I will love the pump once I get adjusted. I do agree with that----I am so sick of carrying around an insulin syringe and also forgetting it if we go out to eat. The pump is an amazing device, and once I get used to it it will literally save my life, because my A1C's have been terrible the past year.
I cannot tell you how many times I have forgotten my insulin when we go out to eat, or out of town, or wherever. With the pump, I have it with me all the time and will never have to worry about eating and worrying about going too high.
The begining is hard; I realize this. Today was scary. My advice to you is....when/if you get the pump, and you get it hooked up with real insulin, tell the educator to put your target blood sugar at 130 or 140 to begin with. Trust me. Especially if you have had high sugars for a long period of time. It was a shock to my system today to have it plummet like that so fast.
I was a Type 2 three years ago and was controlling my sugars with diet and exercise. After I got pregnant and gave birth, it was like my pancreas just died a slow death and now I make absolutely no insulin at all.
This pump will be a lifesaver, once I get used to using it. It is a little intimidating at first. It helps to have a good support group around you, including family/friends/educator/endo.
Tell me more about your story....
Thanks for listening, and anyone else who is Type 1 and wears a pump, I really could use some advice/support! Thank you!
~K

[SuperK72]

One more thing: This is rather interesting. Today when I had that awful low, I was at 109. That felt way more intense than all the previous times I have gotten too low at 45 or 55 from injectable insulin! How is that possible? My educator says that insulin delivered from an injection is not near as "powerful" as insulin delivered through a pump.
Hmmm....weird, huh?

[ScreamingBeauty]

yay! i'm glad you posted this. i asked the same question last week and got no replies. i have been type 1 for 11 yrs and type 2 for about 9. its rare to have both. i was hoping to find someone with both here but of course no luck.

i do not use the pump but i recently started seeing a new doc who thinks it might be a better fit for me. the idea of it kind of scares me even though when i was younger all i wanted was a pump...but now, i'm not sure. after all these years its still very hard to have to stick myself so often. i take a humolog pen so i have to stick anytime i eat which works better for me than set times because i often don't eat breakfast. anyways, i end up eating 4 or 5 times a day which gets hard even if its just a snack. I also take long acting insulin before bed. I think one of the main things that keeps me away from the pump is just the idea of always having a needle in me and fear of it ripping out.

anyways, i'm glad you're here.

[SuperK72]

Hi Screaming Beauty!!

It is Day 4 on my pump and let me just say I LOVE IT!!!

For one thing, the needle thing is not even an issue. I stuck myself way more when I used syringe pens. And when I insert the needle when I change out the pump, I don't even feel it. It is virtually painless, no joke.
The only challenge is sleeping. I wear a waist pouch which works well for me, because I sleep nude.

Going out in public is awesome. I no longer have to remember to bring my insulin pens with me and changing out the needle. The pump also keeps me disciplined as far as how many carbs I eat in one sitting. I am much more aware of what I am eating now. That is a good, good thing.

It will not rip out unless you rip it out.....it is awesome. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the pump. Not only will my A1C's improve, but my diet and carb intake will improve as well.

More later, and feel free to reply with any questions/comments!

[SuperK72]

Oh, and one more thing:

You change out the infusion set/needle every 3 days when you wear a pump. And once you insert the infusion set, the needle comes out, so you don't have a needle in you, only a soft, flexible cannula which looks like a clear flexible needle. it is soft. Hard to explain, but it does NOT hurt when it is in at all. Absolutely pain free.
When I pull out the needle, I don't feel it at all. It is amazing! I love it!!!

[Julieben]

I'm sorry that I didn't see these responses sooner! I did a saline trial with my pump a coulple of weeks ago and today I started on my pump! I really liked it during the trial. I know some ladies who own a specialty undergarment shop (bras, maternity underwear, post mastectomy bras etc) so I stopped by on the way home and bought a post-mastectomy bra that has a velcro on pocket on the bra for drains but I bought it to put my pump in! So far it works great!! What else do you do to wear your pump?

[mlj9979]

I am also a type 1 diabetic. I have been on an insulin pump for 8 years. Julieben, please let me know how the post mastectomy bra works for your pump. That is not something I would have thought of. What brand of insulin pump did you get? I am currently using a medtronic paridigm 712 but it is time for an upgrade....

[Julieben]

The bra worked GREAT!! I have a minimed 722... best decision I've ever made I think! Now if I can lose all of the weight I put on from having so many lows before I started pumping (eating to combat the lows)..

[goldeneyez]

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this, but here goes.

My almost 15 yr old daughter is Type 1 diabetic and has been showing signs of pcos for a couple years. (I was diagnosed w/ pcos in 2001) I finally got her ped to test her blood while he was doing her A1C and low and behold, her testosterone was high and some others were borderline. Her ped only did the test to shut me up! LOL Her blood sugars have been hard to control since she hit puberty and it was so nice to finally be vindicated, however I hate that she may have this disorder. We have been trying to get her endocrinologist to do soemthing about it for years, but he has only told us that there isn't anything wrong with her except that we are 'non-compliant' She was in the hospital for 3 months on some other testing she needed done and they had a horrendous time getting her sugars worked out. They were never under control even in hospital where everything was regulated. His answer to that was the hospital she was in wasn't a diabetic hospital!! ARGH!! I saw this forum and was so happy that I may have found some other people she might be able to talk to.

[flyfisher]

Hi everyone...I am type 2. I have a stupid question. How can you be both type 1 and type 2? I've never heard of that before...How do you know if you are both?? I am on levemir 20 units every night before bed and 2000mg met daily. I was also on byetta, but my new endo took me off it a few weeks ago.

[Julieben]

Well type 2 is different than type 1, even if you are one or the other you can be insulin dependent- so a type 2 who has to take insulin all the time is still not a type 1 technically, as type 1 is truly an auto-immune disease. You can also have insulin resistance related to pcos in either type 1 or 2 diabetes, so having PCOS and type 2 diabetes doesn't mean you are a type 1 and having type 1 and pcos doesn't mean you are a type 2. And there is EVEN a type 1.5

Confused yet? lol Sorry about that, check out www.diabetes.org for more information

I'm doing a fundraiser for my local diabetes walk, you can read more about me and the walk here:

http://main. diabetes. org/site/TR/StepOut/StepOut460018010?px=4308108&pg=personal&fr_id=5371