Pump

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rainbow321

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent
Hi all

Well my son has been on the pump for a couple of weeks now, he seems to have taken to it better than I thought he would. The change in him has been great he is so much happier in himself.*
** * I was just wondering how long has it taken other people who are on pumps to get used to knowing when to change basal *or to change the carb ratio. At the moment I am getting help with all this but I need to start trying to figure it out myself. Any help would be really appreciated.*
 
Hi Rainbow321,

I think we did our first Temporary Basal after about a month and also tried the 'dual wave' - but everyone is different - I would suggest you try it before some exercise as a practice - and the more you do them the more confident you become. It is lovely to hear your son is happier now he is on a pump.🙂Bev

p.s. I would only make one change at a time as you could get easily confused and not know which change has made the difference. Keep a diary and look for patterns.
 
Last edited:
Yep, I agree with bev, one change at a time 🙂

It took me a couple of months to get the hang of basals. I did lots of basal testing - so I could see what I needed. If things need changing, I watch and wait to see patterns - ie if I'm high or low etc at the same point over 3 days (my rule has always been wait 3 days to spot a pattern). It's all about spotting patterns!
 
Hi Rainbow

Hope you don't mind, but I moved your thread to make sure it got the attention of the forum's pumpers. There will be a redirect in the 'General' list for a few days so others will spot it too 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Hi Rainbow

Hope you don't mind, but I moved your thread to make sure it got the attention of the forum's pumpers. There will be a redirect in the 'General' list for a few days so others will spot it too 🙂
Click to expand...

Can you please tell me how the pump is inserted, is it a local anestetic, a day job or overnight. I want to ask my daughters nurs about one, and have printed out the INPUT info, but if I have as much info as poss, I would feel better able to put her case across in case they try to talk us out of it due to funding. Do you know if there is a chance they will delay it as she is going to finish at the child clinic in December as she will be 16, so we will be changing hospitals, which of them is more likely to have the funding?
 
Anna Walsh said:
Can you please tell me how the pump is inserted, is it a local anestetic, a day job or overnight. I want to ask my daughters nurs about one, and have printed out the INPUT info, but if I have as much info as poss, I would feel better able to put her case across in case they try to talk us out of it due to funding. Do you know if there is a chance they will delay it as she is going to finish at the child clinic in December as she will be 16, so we will be changing hospitals, which of them is more likely to have the funding?
Click to expand...

More experienced users can answer in more detail, but the tubing is inserted with a cannula, this can be done manually or with some aids, but its as simple as a needle injection I believe.

On the funding issue no one can really tell until the question is asked, but first thought from me would be that priority may go to the children.....
 
Hi Anna

The pump is external and so can be put in a pocket, clipped to your belt, etc. Have you had a look at some of the ones available, eg Medtronic or Animas?

The bit that is inserted is the cannula, which sits just under the skin. They needed changing every 2 - 3 days and it's just a case of using an inserting device - definitely no need for local anaesthetic or a stay in hospital to put a cannula in! No worse than an injection in terms of pain.

As for funding - children's clinics have much better chances of getting funding. It can be very difficult to get hold of one via an adult clinic, so if I were you I would definitely push for a pump whilst under the care of a children's clinic 🙂

just for reference, this is a Medtronic pump:

insulin%20pump.jpg


As you can see, the pump itself is attached to the body via a piece of tubing. At the end of the tubing is the cannula 🙂
 
Last edited:
Just a quick question shiv, the cannula in general is just simply a tube isn't it, just put in place with a needle, which is then withdrawn to leave the tube, is this the same for a pump......
 
Yep - a teflon cannula, such as Quicksets in the picture above, is inserted using a needle. The needle is then withdrawn, leaving the cannula under the skin. The cannula is connected to the reservoir of insulin in the pump via a piece of tubing.

Most cannulas offered by pumping companies come with an inserter, which will fire the needle & cannula into the skin - to save you pushing it in by hand 🙂 most people use these, although some choose to do it by hand.

If you have a look on Medtronic's website, there are videos of cannulas etc being inserted 🙂
 
Anna Walsh said:
Can you please tell me how the pump is inserted, is it a local anestetic, a day job or overnight. I want to ask my daughters nurs about one, and have printed out the INPUT info, but if I have as much info as poss, I would feel better able to put her case across in case they try to talk us out of it due to funding. Do you know if there is a chance they will delay it as she is going to finish at the child clinic in December as she will be 16, so we will be changing hospitals, which of them is more likely to have the funding?
Click to expand...

Hi Anna I can't see anything on the Alder Hey site about pumps but both the Royal and Aintree have pump clinics. I read on the Royal's website that they hold joint clinics with Alder Hey to ensure a smooth transition in care - I suspect that Aintree would do the same. Have you asked if she will be transferred at 16. I know that Alder Hey does treat up to 18 for some conditions.
 
novorapidboi26 said:
You beauty...............thanks again.......😉
Click to expand...

Thankss for that, I thought that something was placed perminately under skin! Now it makes more sense. Will let you know how I get on, not sure when I can get a chance to talke with dsn, but will have to try and make time. The day seems to go so quickly and usually its 5pm before I know it.!! Will have to get my ass in gear for Ems sake.
 
Thank you for your advice I guess it will all come to me in time.

I hope everything goes well for you Anna.
 
Anna Walsh said:
Thankss for that, I thought that something was placed perminately under skin! Now it makes more sense. Will let you know how I get on, not sure when I can get a chance to talke with dsn, but will have to try and make time. The day seems to go so quickly and usually its 5pm before I know it.!! Will have to get my ass in gear for Ems sake.
Click to expand...

Hi Anna,

I think (?) Alder Hey is *the* Hospital to get a pump in Liverpool. I would also do this urgently as it is harder to get the older a child gets.🙂Bev
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top