One week in and so tired...

[annettekp]

My 3 year old started on a pump last Monday. Getting the night time settings right is proving tough and we're still checking his blood sugar twice a night so needless to say we're all knackered. Erland sleeps right through it all thankfully.

I just didn't think it was possible to be this tired without a new baby! I'm doing the 2am check and my other half is doing 5am but last night I had to waken him up to tell him his alarm was going off! He said he could hear a noise but he just didn't know what it was.

But we're already seeing the advantages of the pump through the day, already his blood sugar is much more stable so I know we've made the right decision.

Annette

 

[Osidge]

Hi Annette

It is good to hear that the pump is doing good things for the daytime BS. I am sure that, given time, you will conquer the night time settings and be able to get a good night's sleep!!

Regards

Doug

 

[SophiaW]

Hi Annette, the first few weeks are very tiring and can be frustrating too as you try to get all the basals fine tuned. Hang in there, it's good that your other half is helping you with the checks so that you can share the load. You will get there however frustrating it may feel at times

 

[Niamh's Mum]

Hi Annette,

It's good to hear your comments. My daughter Niamh is 12, diagnosed January '10. We have moved from Novomix to MDI 14 months and although we have found it has made a huge difference, we have been away on several diabetes weekend and saw children on pumps. Niamh wasn't interested the first year but this year asked if it would make a difference to her. I asked our Consultant during our 3 monthly appointment in May. He said we fitted the criteria and he would refer us to the nearest hospital as to-date there isn't a child using the pump at our hospital yet. We have been referred over to Liverpool and our appointment is this Friday.

Niamh manages her diabetes totally with me looking over her shoulder. I'm looking for answers to see if this is for her. I'm not sure how she will cope with having something fitted to her constantly. I have read every review I can get my hands on re the pumps and it does seem the way forward, but maybe not for everyone. I just need to find out if it is for us.....

Gayle

 

[serankine]

Leah is 5 years old, We asked about our diabetic nurse about the pump (accu chek combi) about April time, we had the pump on trial for 3 weeks to see if we (Leah) liked it.
I didnt know how she would be connected to it 24 hours aday. But she loved it so asked for funding we now have our own pump and we have to renew it in 4 years if we would like it again. Also no one told us that you have to get your pump insured that costs us £7 a month.
The pump is hard work but like everything that comes with diabetes its worth the effort. We have fantastic belts which are from the U.S.A the pump fits into and you dnt even realise she has it on under her clothes.
They are in great colours and she does all her activies in them (horse riding etc) and it doesnt move.
The only problem we have had is that we have been moved onto the cleo lines and they dnt seem as sticky as our old ones and she keeps knocking them since Leah will only let us put the canula into her bum or top of her leg.
We have to do her fastings every couple of months the night time one is a pain. B.Gs every 2 hours but Leah is the age where she sleeps in our bed for a treat.
We still have hypos and hypers trying to get her basal rate right since it keeps changing but she is so much happier with it.
Hope you find this helpful. I would deffinatly see if you can get it on trial and see how it goes. Good Luck.

 

[annettekp]

Hi Serakine

We just added the pump to our household insurance and it didn't cost anything extra.

Annette

 

[SandraR]

Hi

We have an Animas 2020 pump for my son (15) and have been pumping for over 2 years now. It has changed our lives very much for the better. Even at this stage, I feel we are still learning to use the pump to best effect. There are just loads of situations in which it can help. For instance, when Hugh was on injections, I dreaded him falling ill - being sick or unable to eat. Now, I know that we can just sail through these events and just turn the pump basals up or down accordingly. Being able to eat out and bolusing for each course as he chooses is liberating - or spreading the bolus out over a longer period of hours for food which digests slowly (pizza for example).

Getting the night settings right is a continuous pursuit. I know many pump-parents always night-test at least once per night. However, we don't. Putting the arguments for and against this to one side for a moment (they do get heated) I would say that we are happy to only do night testing when we feel there is a reason to re-set the night basals - usually to catch up with his growth. The rest of the time we sleep undisturbed. Our pump never seems to alarm for any occlusions or errors and we have found it to be surprisingly low-maintenance. Hugh has only once had a set come loose and hasn't had any infected sites or any other troubles to speak of.

Being a lad, Hugh is not much bothered about actually wearing the pump - the bump under his clothing or a cannula tube dangling out from his school uniform sweater doesn't cause him any grief. However, I am aware that some teenage girls do struggle to accept a pump being visible and 'spoiling' their appearance i.e. being difficult to wear with skimpier clothing.

Hugh went from being very anti-pump to being very pro-pump once he had overcome his reservations about inserting the set. I think you would have a very hard job to part him from his pump and he would view injections with total horror these days.

Hugh does still have hypos and hypers of course, but they are just not so dramatic as they were. His levels float more gently up and down, instead of skyrocketing and nosediving! I know he feels better overall since pumping than before.

I know pumps are not for everyone and I do know of at least one young person who went back to injections. For us though, it really has been the best decision we ever made with Hugh's diabetes management and is about as close to not having the condition as we can possibly achieve with today's available regimes.

I wish Annette & Erland a continuing good experience with the pump. It does get easier!!

Sandra

 

[yucww210]

Leah is 5 years old, We asked about our diabetic nurse about the pump (accu chek combi) about April time, we had the pump on trial for 3 weeks to see if we (Leah) liked it.
I didnt know how she would be connected to it 24 hours aday. But she loved it so asked for funding we now have our own pump and we have to renew it in 4 years if we would like it again. Also no one told us that you have to get your pump insured that costs us £7 a month.
The pump is hard work but like everything that comes with diabetes its worth the effort. We have fantastic belts which are from the U.S.A the pump fits into and you dnt even realise she has it on under her clothes.
They are in great colours and she does all her activies in them (horse riding etc) and it doesnt move.
The only problem we have had is that we have been moved onto the cleo lines and they dnt seem as sticky as our old ones and she keeps knocking them since Leah will only let us put the canula into her bum or top of her leg.
We have to do her fastings every couple of months the night time one is a pain. B.Gs every 2 hours but Leah is the age where she sleeps in our bed for a treat.
We still have hypos and hypers trying to get her basal rate right since it keeps changing but she is so much happier with it.
Hope you find this helpful. I would deffinatly see if you can get it on trial and see how it goes. Good Luck.

Say very nice Well done

 

[Vikki2]

Hi!
Just wanted to add:
Keep strong Annette! It's So worth it and yes SO tiring at the beginning. It took us 3-4 weeks to get settled on the pump.We are now 1 yr into the pump. My daughter is 6. The pump has brought back into our lives 'normality', flexibility & spontaneity.
Keep going - this is the zombie stage - I just piled on the make up
Good luck
Vikki