It may seem trivial to
someone whose body is clever
enough to monitor and
regulate its own glucose
levels, but one of the many
frustrating things I find about
type 1 is the lack of control
I have once the day is done and I shut down for as
many trouble-free hours of sleep as I can manage.
We all try to meet BGL targets, and it’s a
happy bedtime if your BGL is 5, 6 or 7 –
provided you haven’t got insulin or a bedtime
snack ready to ruin it. The cruncher comes
when you wake up dry and busting for a wee
with a BGL of 15 at 3am for no apparent
reason. Or, if you have a CGM and a pump
and the alarm wakes you to ask you to get a
lid on your rising sugar. Sure, it’s great to
be notified, but uninterrupted sleep has
just gone by the wayside.
Right now I am as excited as a
six-year-old on Christmas Eve.
The so-called loop of diabetes
management is as close to closed as
it has ever been. Tomorrow [at time of writing] I’ll
strap into the new Medtronic 670 pump. I’m yet to
learn its powers fully, but am hopeful of diabetic
Jedi status soon. The anticipation is epic and the
thought of a device making subtle changes to
insulin delivery, keeping my BGL stable as I dream
of a world made of chocolate, is positive in the
extreme. Stand by for a three-week assessment...
Week 1: Right. It’s. Awesome. Albeit a little
finicky at first. The pluses of the pump are
immense and I can watch the mechanics of it, as it
works, on the mini screen. It sees sensor glucose
levels changing thanks to the link with the CGM
and administers or withholds insulin accordingly.
Basal or background insulin is now a thing of the
past. This pump seems to act more like a normal
pancreas than anything before it. I still need to tell
it what I am eating, though, as sharp rises in BSL
are too much for the pump to cope with without
my instruction. I found the hardest thing initially
was to let the pump run its race.
Week 2: I was so determined to see
the pump work on its own I starved
myself for two days just to watch it
maintain a flat glucose line (we all know
how satisfying they are). Also, it’s really
worth getting your carbohydrate count
right. Use a carb count app such as
CalorieKing to make sure what you tell
the pump is, in fact, right and make sure
your carb:insulin ratio is correct.
When possible, give your pre-
meal bolus 15 minutes to
work before eating, too.
Getting the carbs wrong a few times was pretty
frustrating at first, but you do adapt pretty quickly,
and good communication with your diabetes
educator is essential.
Week 3: I transitioned into a control over my
sugar I have never had. I spent 85 per cent of my
time in my target range after just two weeks on the
670 pump. Moving ahead I’m as optimistic as I’ve
ever been about my new-found freedom and the
opportunity and longevity it may provide. ■Our resident type 1 columnist, Rob Palmer, puts the latest insulin
pump to the test — and comes away excited by its potential
PHOTOGRAPHYDAVIDTHOMSON^(ROB’SPHOTO),^ MEDTRONIC,GETTYIMAGEScontrol
I’m in
postcards from the shed
138 MAY/JUNE 2019 diabetic living