I am part of the Welcome Committee and was just checking in on you to make sure you are aware of all that TuDiabetes has to offer. We would love to hear from you so click on About Us and please read the New Member Guide where you can read about all the things you can do in the community.
I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Hi Linda.I have been pumping since February 07.My basal rates are just about set but I still occasionally have lows.I corrected last night before bed because I had cake at supper and at 2 am I was down to 2.2.I get a little frustrated that I still get lows.I think my cf might be different in the evening.My doctor isn't very supporting about the pump.I don't know why.Maybe he's a little old fashioned.When I saw him in Sept. he said "You might as well be on injections."I was fluctuating a bit but my A1c was down from 8 on injections to 6.5 on the pump so how can I complain?I too am looking into the Ping since the Ontario Government is now covering insulin pumps and supplies.It came into effect in Sept.08.I bought my pump in Feb.I can't recover the cost though.The coverage for pumps is retroactive.The government will pay for the Ping when it comes out in Windsor,Ontario.My rep has already talked to me about showing it when it comes here.I am so excited.

Hi Linda-
I'm another surgical diabetic. I had a Total Pancreatectomy with Auto Islet Transplant on 12/17/07. I have no current islet function and will start pumping this Friday - Animas 2020. Glad to "meet" you.

hey linda. I have a question. I am currently using a Minimed722 and when my warranty is up I want to switch to the Animas 2020. I saw that you made this switch and wanted to get the "low down" on the switch and the benifts of it.

Hello Again,

My pancreas was pretty much wiped out by the pancreatitis to the point that almost all of it became nercotic except for the head and a small piece of the tail. Unfortunately, the tail section developed a fistula and never healed so after 3 months of surgical drains sucking nasty stuff out of my abdomen, I opted to have them go in again and take the tail section out too. The thing that really stunk about that was that my original incision had just finally closed. Consequently, I produce very little of my own insulin and take shots of Apidra and Lantus. Since they had to go in twice through the same incision, I also developed a ventral hernia that I had fixed in December. Three major surgeries and 6 hospital stays (I also had some trouble with a pancreatic pseudocyst that kept flaring up and making me sick) in 9 months was not fun, but like you said, we are lucky to be alive and I'm focusing on the future. I'm actually having pretty good luck keeping my blood sugars in check...my last A1C was 5.5 and I eat pretty much the same as I did before I got sick. I've cut out the obscene carbs like regular soda and regular syrup, but I still eat pasta etc. and if I calculate my carbs right I'm back around 100 an hour and a half after I eat. Out of curiousity, what hospital did your surgery?

Steve

Hi Linda,

I'm new to this site, but somehow stumbled onto your page and saw that you were a surgical diabetic. Me too...and I have pretty much the same story as you. I got sick on Jan. 8th of 2007, and went to the ER in extreme pain. The Dr's at my small town hospital diagnosed me with pancreatitis, but said I would be out of the hospital in a few days. A few hours later my blood pressue dropped, my kidneys failed, and my lungs started filling with fluid. I managed to fight through that and was transferred to Indiana Univ. Medical Center where I spent the next month and a half. I too lost all of my pancreas except the head, plus my gall bladder and spleen. I'm glad to have found someone else like me. I have not been able to find much information at all on surgical diabetes.

Steve

It is a great site, Thanks to Manny!!!