Why can't type 2 insulin dependent diabetics get an Insulin pump if they take multiple shots?
Why the unfairness? Type 2's dependents on insulin every day should be approved pumps. If they get multiple shots daily than the pump would serve the same purpose. It also would give better glucose control and carb control. And research also shows that type 2 diabetics on pumps A1C goes down and eventually also shed some weight. I've done the research and I've read a lot about it, also if a type 2 diabetic has a c-peptide level lower that 110 the insurances approve them for pumps. But why so much red tape, if the proof is in your medical chart and lab results why the discrimination. I've educated myself all these years so that when issues come up I have an answer. Obesety does not give diabetes!! people stop following the media.All they do is confuse. I know skinny people who are type 2's and they are not over weight. I'm aware of the differences between the two, but when your an insulin dependent type 2 what does it matter.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on -
Actually, if you scratch below the surface, there is terrible confusion about typing and diagnosis. Consider this:
The "gold standard" of type 1 diagnosis is antibody testing, yet apparently only 85-90% of type 1's test positive.
More like a bronze standard.
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Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Welfare Queen on -
It wasn't that... I just didn't know what type she was, from this discussion, as it's not very evident or apparent, and THAT was confusing... I kind of like knowing what type someone is before giving advice ... I don't want to say things that won't apply or help. You know what I mean?
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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on
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Thanks, but I guess even if you knew the claimed diagnosis, there is a big chance it is "wrong." The same thing can be said about a claimed T2 diagnosis, about 20% of diagnosed T2s are actually antibody positive.
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Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Welfare Queen on
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Fine, split hairs about it... :P But the confused person she was referring to was ME... and not some doctor not knowing how to diagnose.
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Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Welfare Queen on
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Absolutely... I agree. I wasn't meaning in any way to belittle her experience, or yours. I am a Type 2, myself, and I have no prejudices as to whatever type of Diabetes someone might have. I just wanted to get a better grasp of the situation. If you don't want to say what type she is, that's fine. That's your choice. We are all just here for support.
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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on -
Insurance companies don't want to give pumps to Type 2's because there are so many of them, and then the insurance company's expenditures for medical care would go way up, and cut into the profit margin. Medical care insurance for profit is SO WRONG!! And that's what makes it a moral issue. Insurance companies are in it strictly for the profit, and the way they make a profit is to deny medical care. Period.
I once read an article somewhere that said that non-profit organizations like Kaiser actually provide better care, and have fewer bad outcomes.
As far as a Type 2 getting a pump, your best allies are your doctor and the pump companies. They work hard to make a sale and they really want to help you.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Fighting for Stephany on -
Type 2's can get pumps, and depending on their c-peptide levels and how they have managed their glucose. If they are insulin dependent and take multiple shots a day then they can qualify for a pump.
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Permalink Reply by candyberry on -
I think approval is going to be different for each insurance company. I am a type 2 on an insulin pump and cgm. I didn't have a problem getting on the insulin pump but had to fight for the cgm. I fought hard until I won and I am darn glad I did.
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Permalink Reply by Kristin on -
I can understand your frustrations. I had to fight and appeal to get my insulin pump (this was 5 years ago).
Regardless of the insurance companies decisions, it sounds like your daughter has GREAT blood sugar control on injections. Congrats to you and her on that!! Her control may not improve on a pump. If I was able to keep an A1c under 6 on injections, then I don't think that I would use the pump.
I understand that she is sick of injections, but in many ways, I think that the pump is harder than injections (you have to wear it 24 hours a day, change the infusion sets, check your blood sugar more often). When I switched to the pump, I was not diligent about testing often (meaning 10 times a day or more) and my A1c actually got worse on the pump. It's a lot of work to get the settings right in order to experience better blood sugar control on the pump. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing it. I just think that often people who are not on the pump imagine that life on the pump is so wonderful! I actually don't think it's that great and the only reason that I put up with it is that I get better blood sugar control.
Have you considered using i-port until you are able to get a pump? This is something that you insert into your skin (like the infusion set on a pump). If your daughter finds the injections painful or annoying, this might help. For the group on TuDiabetes about I-port, click here
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Permalink Reply by Jen on
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As someone who currently has a worse A1c on the pump than I did on 6-8 shots a day, I totally agree with this! You only get out of the pump what you put in, and the pump IS more hassle than injections in that it takes more thinking (you have a million more variables on the pump than on shots). For me personally I was never able to get an A1c below 7% on shots and am able to do so with the pump (mostly because my basal needs vary a lot throughout the day and also have rapidly changing needs around that time of the month, which the long-acting insulins can't accommodate) BUT only when I am putting in that 100% effort.
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Permalink Reply by Suftroml on -
This is exactly why I DON"T want a pump. I was just diagnosed a few weeks ago but the VA already wants to stick me on a pump. I hate the thought of a machine hooked to me 24/7 that costs more than my first car! I am EXTREMELY active outdoors and don't want to deal with it. Plus, I can't freak out old ladies in the Golden Corral by offering them what I'm sure they think is heroin :D
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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on
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You have that absolutely right! The other part of the problem is the pervasive view that Type 2's not only brought it on themselves, but could "cure" their diabetes if they'd diet and exercise -- in other words, the only reason they need insulin is because they're lazy and gluttonous.
The ignorance about Type 2, not only in the media, the medical profession, Type 2's themselves, and, sad to say, Type 1's, is appalling. So why should the insurance companies do any better?
There is a well-documented loss of about 80% of beta cells in newly diagnosed Type 2's, so why are all the islet-cell transplant researchers ONLY concentrating on Type 1? Type 2's don't have the auto-immune issues of Type 1, and so could benefit from islet-cell transplants, especially when they learn to transform autologous (self) cells into functioning beta cells, when no immunosuppressant drugs would be needed. A recent research article said that they had turned cells from testicular tissue into beta cells -- aha! progress toward a cure for Type 1, but don't even think about Type 2's, in whom they would work RIGHT NOW. (Unfortunately, only men!)
In an overwhelmingly Type 1 DOC, it can be frustrating to be a Type 2 (or an other, somewhere in between, like me). So I just keep on trying to report the truth, even when it doesn't apply to me directly. In truth, I have utmost sympathy for both, and know that all of us would rather just not have it!
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