We got it!

We had our session with our DSN and pump rep today and Jess has her lovely new pink Animas 2020 pump We are all so chuffed with it. It's set up on saline for now, just for a week so we can get used to it and then we'll be going live with insulin around the middle of January (delayed due to holidays etc).

Putting in the infusion set was easy and Jess said it didn't hurt at all, she said she didn't feel it go in. I'm really pleased because that was something that was worrying me. So we have the pump but it will be around a month before we get it connected with insulin, but at least we're heading in the right direction and I feel like progress is being made.

We've chosen to go with a steel cannula that is manually inserted and if it works out well then we'll probably stay with that one as I think it's going to be quite reliable with avoiding kinking etc. Jess tried to use the automatic insertion on the inset II but found it difficult to pull it backwards to "load" the inserter, she also didn't have enough strength to squeeze the device to make it insert and she didn't like the sound it made on insertion. She's very happy with the manual insertion and says it's comfortable to wear.

We feel very fortunate to have the pump and I hope all those of you waiting or hoping to get one will be where we are soon.

iHs said:

Good news then - well done

What infusion set are you using? At the mo I am using a luer connecting 6mm steel needle set called Rapid D Link.

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It's a "contact detach" which has a luer connection https://estore.animascorp.com/ProductDe ... tegoryid=6. We currently have the 8mm because that's all they had with them but the 6mm are on order. Jess says the 8mm is comfortable but we will switch over to the 6mm as soon as they're available.

Leggott, I hope you get your pumps soon. Because you're needing two should make no difference, each patient should be assessed as an individual, it's not like you're wanting two pumps for one patient! The pump should be a godsend for dealing with rising morning BGs which I read in the other forum section your son is having problems with. This is one of the driving reasons why Jess needed the pump, low BG at 2am and high BG by 5am onwards. Splitting the dose never solved the problem for us.

Jess came home from school today absolutely beaming! She apparently was showing all her friends her smart new pump and they were asking lots of questions which she was very proud to be able to answer. She is very lucky to have such a supportive bunch of kids in her class and I think the work that her year 4 teacher did last year by using the JDRF teaching pack really has been a great help to have everyone understand what diabetes is all about. Pumps are fantastic in that they are more like a cool gadget than a scary needle.

I hope Jess won't react badly to a steel cannula, we'll do a site change tomorrow and I'm hoping everything will look okay. I would expect that if she was allergic to the steel it would have posed as a problem already?

Nigel, her teacher last year was amazing. One of those teachers who teach because they love it and the children and it really shows. All Jess' teachers at school over the years have been great but last years teacher was exceptional. Her husband is a teacher at my son's school and he is equally fantastic.

Thanks Catherine, I really appreciate your supportive comments. The support Jess receives from her peers is certainly going to be a godsend as they get older together.

iHs, thanks for the advice. I have a free sample of lift plus which someone recommended that I get, it might have been you or Jopar, I can't remember now. But we'll use that and hopefully the removal will go well. We've been advised to change the set and tubing every 2 days so that's what we plan to do.