Started on pump!

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Hello Mand! Just a quick howdy to say that I'm so glad all is going well for you -- and that you are clearly doing brilliantly. Slowly but surely, and the tweaking will come good.

Yay! As Adrienne says, it *is* still all subject to change -- but the change is so much more manageable. And your son is doing so well to take it all in stride -- just great.

Re a band: absolutely. E plays the piano, sings (prob not like A, though! Competent, but not angelic I suspect!), plays percussion and bassoon, if you can believe it! There must be a band in this....
 
Patricia said:
Re a band: absolutely. E plays the piano, sings (prob not like A, though! Competent, but not angelic I suspect!), plays percussion and bassoon, if you can believe it! There must be a band in this....
Click to expand...


Oh yes, there is either a band in this or Northerner will write a poem/rap for them all!

Your boy Mand and maybe E and A (I dont know what ages everyone is) may find this funny. I have to confess, man- I found this damn hillarious! But there is of course no accouting for taste.....!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdF54FZu17I
(I hope I havent posted this before but if I have sorry for the repetition).

How is everything Mand? To me it feels like a long week, I dont know about you?! We have one under our belt. I am very impressed you are on a different set-up to me and you seem very calm and in control and from what I can gather you have more freedom than me, so it sounds like you are doing really well. I am having another pump clinic tomorrow, when do you have your next meet? We must compare notes!

Love to you and yours and chat soon x Lou x
 
Hi everyone!

Hope you have all had a good weekend and that you are all well. Hope your trip to Oxford was good, Adrienne.

Well, I am happy to report that we have got on very well over the weekend with my sons pump! All his readings have been on target apart from a couple of mild hypos which were our own fault as we did not do a temporary basal rate reduction when he went out to play on his bike. Need to sort this out.

The pump keeping him fairly steady through the night, although a little too low for comfort last night. (4.6, 5.6 and 7).

He did his second set change on Saturday and all went well and definately much quicker this time. So again, all positive.

We are doing well but i have to confess it is tiring. The night checks are a bit exhausting and during the day we not taking our eye off the ball. Feels like we are living and breathing it, which we are! But the upside being that we feel much more in control than we did on multiple injections and also getting good readings, considering we so new to it all.

My son seems totally comfortable wearing the pump. Has not made one complaint and is very happy to not have to keep injecting. His fingers are getting sore due to such frequent testing but he understands that this is only a temporary thing until we get him stable.

I definately in love with the pump (even though i am shattered through lack of sleep and the level of commitment given to readings and carb counting etc during the day). We have not even been taught bolus wizard etc so more info to come our way yet! But one step at a time. Slowly, we will get there!

We are not rushing to make adjustments. eg We wait two nights running to study results before making any decison about adjustments. We feel more comfortable doing this as we know that acting on one off readings is not a good idea.

We will be speaking to his dsn on Tuesday and it will be interesting to hear what she advices next.

We are currently working on 1:10 ratio for all meals, 1:4 for correction boluses and on 0.7 u per hr basal. Also we give 10g fast acting carb for lows as we found that 15g sent him too high.

Well that all my news for now. Hope i not bored you all too much!

Yes, Patricia and Bev, we have a band between us! 🙂🙂
 
haaa we were obviously writing at the same time, see my reply to you above! x
 
Hi Lou

I think our posts came it at the same time! Just took a look at the rap! Very good! My son is 12.

I have updated you in the post above. Let's keep comparing notes! Good to be there for each other. xx 🙂 xx
 
Hi guys

Man, I was looking at the rap while you all were getting all synchronised! (I absolutely love it by the way, completely slays me. It'll make E laugh....)

Mand, sounds like a great weekend for you...I can't *believe* you are doing all this without the wizard -- cripes, you must be some kind of expert! We have been leaving it to the wizard to dose the carb from day 1 (checking it, mind!), so hats off for getting *such* good numbers so quickly.

Like Louisa, I'm really fascinated by the different starts on this: we began with 5 different basal rates, and within a couple of days had moved ratios around...very interesting!

Exhaustion: yes. We are struggling at the moment, having had a good run just before France and just after...But evenings before bed are rising (see my thread -- in a minute!), so we are having to correct and test religiously...snore...

We are though back to testing less frequently in the daytime: before breakfast, 11 am, 1.30pm, 4.30 pm, before dinner, and before bed. Usually. Obviously ones in between or if running a dual wave and need to check... I suspect when school gets out we will be testing a little more to get a firm handle on things, but six is enough to get a fairly good picture in normal day, esp as the times of our basal rates were there from the beginning (though we have adjusted a few).

Okay -- time to check out Lou's thread and do my own!

xxoo
 
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Hi

I can't believe you haven't been shown the wizard. We have only ever used the wizard and nothing else at all, ever ! I override it occasionally but only if she is super high (add on another 0.5 if over 22.0 and minus a bit if more than normal exercise)

We test at :

Waking
10.15 am
12.15 pm
2.45 pm
4.30 pm
6 pm ish (before tea)
8 pm (bedtime)
10 pm
midnight

Then from midnight I generally look at the sensor rather than finger testing so I still get up and my brain seems timed now to get up so it is automatic but we have the sensor.

We have 9 basal rates.
 
It is amazing how we have all been started so differently! Interesting though. 🙂

Well, i am happy to report that we have had an excellent day. Last night was ok though just a little too high but will see how tonight goes.

His readings today:

7am = 9.7
10am = 7.8
1pm = 6.2
3pm = 5.7
6pm 9.3

Considering he has often been between 10 and 24 during the last few months, you can just imagine how happy we are at these readings! I know we are being more vigilant and so that accounts for a little of the improvement but mostly i think it comes from the steadiness of the pump and ease of it's use. No longer is he injecting into lumps and it is so easy to bring him down if necessary.

Today he has not had a hypo and we have not had to do a correction. I am sure it is just beginners luck and things will not remain as good as this but it certainly is a relief to see some healthier numbers for a change. I can feel the weight literally being lifted from my shoulders!

Without a doubt he is enjoying an improved quality of life without the injections. Do not get me wrong, i am not being negative about injections, it is just that my son had developed a needle phobia so the pump is a vast improvement for him.

Will be speaking to his dsn tomorrow and will be interested to hear what she has to say. Am looking forward to learning about the bolus wizard.

We are definately taking things slowly but this is working for us. I do not make any adjustments on just one night's or one day's readings. I am trying to be patient, wait two nights or days and see if the same happens again which then gives me more reassurance that some tweaking needs to be done.

Who knows what is around the corner but so far so good, and for that i am truly grateful.

Off to bed shortly with my new friends - the two alarm clocks! Hehehe! :D
 
Mand said:
It is amazing how we have all been started so differently! Interesting though. 🙂

Well, i am happy to report that we have had an excellent day. Last night was ok though just a little too high but will see how tonight goes.

His readings today:

7am = 9.7
10am = 7.8
1pm = 6.2
3pm = 5.7
6pm 9.3

Considering he has often been between 10 and 24 during the last few months, you can just imagine how happy we are at these readings! I know we are being more vigilant and so that accounts for a little of the improvement but mostly i think it comes from the steadiness of the pump and ease of it's use. No longer is he injecting into lumps and it is so easy to bring him down if necessary.

Today he has not had a hypo and we have not had to do a correction. I am sure it is just beginners luck and things will not remain as good as this but it certainly is a relief to see some healthier numbers for a change. I can feel the weight literally being lifted from my shoulders!

Without a doubt he is enjoying an improved quality of life without the injections. Do not get me wrong, i am not being negative about injections, it is just that my son had developed a needle phobia so the pump is a vast improvement for him.

Will be speaking to his dsn tomorrow and will be interested to hear what she has to say. Am looking forward to learning about the bolus wizard.

We are definately taking things slowly but this is working for us. I do not make any adjustments on just one night's or one day's readings. I am trying to be patient, wait two nights or days and see if the same happens again which then gives me more reassurance that some tweaking needs to be done.

Who knows what is around the corner but so far so good, and for that i am truly grateful.

Off to bed shortly with my new friends - the two alarm clocks! Hehehe! :D
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Hi

What fantastic readings. You are doing just great. Its hard to adjust to something different and to rethink how to treat hypos etc.
 
They are great Mand! Wow. Big congratulations to you all. Just brill. It's such an amazing feeling to see those numbers somehow become more dealable...just incredible. Yay!

Just wait til the bolus wizard hits. It'll be like Christmas!

Well done.

xxoo
 
Mand, how are you?

WOW! WOW! WOW! Those are some impressive readings! You must be pleased. How does your son feel on those kind of numbers throughout the day? Does he feel fine after running a bit higher on MDI normally? I am just interested but can you see a change in his behaviour? (not that he was badly behaved, you know what I mean!). I certainly would be more level headed and conducive to work and study in those ranges. Fantastic.

So pleased for you all. Its great to see reward in the numbers and I hope they stay stable. Perhaps I could download your sons numbers into my Careline when I have got it working!!😉:D

Lots of love Lou xx
 
Hi all. Hope you dong ok.

After a chat with my son's dsn, it has been decided to leave everything as it is for now and wait a few more days to get further readings and look for patterns. I am happy with this because, on the whole, his levels are very good.

We have an odd situation where one night he runs slightly high, the following night he runs slightly low, the following night he runs slightly high and so it goes on! But the pump keeps him steady, either steadly high or steadily low.

It is a bit of a mystery and so have been advised to give it two or three more nights and see if this pattern continues.

His day time readings are near perfect. So that is excellent.

Still no mention yet of bolus wizard but as his levels so good, i am happy to wait longer. Mind you, i have to confess that i have avoided pizza, pasta and rice since he started on pump as i know they not so easy to bolus for. soon i will introduce these foods and see if they send things wonky. If so then i will need to learn about the dual/square wave etc.

Now for the scary part! My son is going on a school trip to France. He will leave from his school at midnight tomorrow (wed) and return to school for midnight on Thursday. A 24 hr trip.

I have just spoken to the teacher in charge of the trip then backed up all we said on an email to him. Hope my son receives better support than poor E did, although of course, E went for a much longer trip.

So i have a 24hr fretting time to look forward to!! 😱

Hope you are all doing well! Will check out the other pump threads later. Any news yet Bev? Fingers crossed! 🙂🙂
 
Hi Lou

Actually he has not said anything about feeling any better now his levels are so much better and i cannot say that i have noticed any difference. But will ask him and see what he says.

Hope you still doing ok. 🙂🙂
 
Hi Mand.....

Wow...its all brilliant news...well done:D.

Hope little one enjoys his trip.....:D

Take care

Heidi
🙂
 
Well, he has gone! Left at midnight last night and will return at midnight tonight!

I spent yesterday evening fretting and fussing and re-checking his bag 100 times while my son was as cool as a cucumber! He said "it's only 24 hours, mom!"

I said "of course, silly me. You will be fine and have a great time!".

But i was thinking "24 hours! 24 Hours! Surely that is a lifetime? 24 hours away from us and you are going out of the country????AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH"

After speaking to the teacher in charge of the trip and sending him a back up email, i received an extremely supportive reply.

The teacher said he has distrubuted a photo of my son to the other teachers/helpers on the trip and filled them in on the info i gave him re my sons diabetes and his pump.

He has assured me that he and the other leaders will be keeping a close eye on my son. He also said that the teacher/helper in charge of my sons group has a brother who is diabetic and on a pump and is knowledgable about it all. What a stroke of luck!!!!!!! Now that lowers my anxiety levels very much!

My son just sent me a text (7am) to say he is fine and having a good time. No toilets on coach so will wash his hands at the service station. Does anyone have any tips on this problem for future trips? We find big differences between readings with clean or dirty hands. If only we could use babywipes but of course we cannot.

Anyway, back to the pump. He is still having very good readings. Just a bit of a blip on Tue eve. I just cannot believe it! I am sure it is just beginners luck but it so wonderful to keep seeing fab numbers after the numbers we were having before pumping.

Tue:
7am = 7.9
11am = 9.1
1pm = 8.2
4pm = 7.8

Then 6pm = 2.8 9pm = 3.9 11pm = 2.9
(we do not know why this happened but have lowered the basal rate anyway)

Wed:
12am = 9.6
3am = 8.1
9am = 8.3
12noon = 7.8
4pm = 7.3
6pm = 11.3

No more readings to report yet as he away and has his monitor with him but hoping he will text some to us today.

Hope you are all well. 🙂
 
Mand, well well done! And I'm sure the trip will go well. He's *so* stable at the moment. Good job one and all!

In a major rush myself, but just wanted to lend you my support and good wishes. Thank goodness for the knowledgeable teacher!

Keep in touch.

xxoo
 
Hi Mand!

Those levels are great arent they? I am sure he will be fine today and its a great way to give him some independance! Also good about the teacher being aware of pumps etc.:D

Reading all these great levels just makes me want to get A on a pump asap!

Let us know how the rest of his day goes.🙂Bev
 
Hi all

Well, my son returned safe and well at 11pm last night (an hour ahead of schedule). All had been well and no dramas to report. Phew!!

Most of the blood tests he did when he was away for the 24hr trip were between 13 and 19 with a 2.9 hypo at one point. We are going to disregard this 24hr slot as he was eating and snacking all over the place and had things to eat on the trip that were additional to the carb counted food i had sent him with etc etc. Our priority for him on this trip was to have fun like all the other kids. We were not after excellent blood sugar levels providing he controlled it enough to keep well and safe.

But i am sooooooooooo happy to report that he said that he had a fantastic time on the trip and that being on the pump made his diabetes so much less to have to deal with, so much better than having to inject as far as comfort and convenience were concerned. He also said how easy it was to give a correction dose when his readings were too high. Result!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am also happy to report that his teachers were as supportive as they had said they would be. They regularly asked him how he was and also asked him if he was remembering to do his blood test. The teacher who has a diabetic brother also had chats with my son. THANK YOU to his teachers!!!! Three cheers for them!!!!!! 🙂🙂

So today we have to take up from where we left off on Wednesday eve (as i said, we are not going to count the 24hr trip readings).

Will keep you posted on his pump progress. I just cannot tell you the difference it has made to his quality of life, as well as the excellent readings so far (disregarding the 24hr trip).

He is still fast asleep at the moment as he only had a little bit of sleep on the 24hr trip so has effectively missed a nights sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

🙂 xx 🙂
 
Its great that your son felt relaxed - and like you say - its good to have a 'day off' now and again! He has to be like any other child his age - and forget about diabetes!🙂
Roll on the pump i say!!!!!!!!:DBev
 
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