Our insulin pump is the best!

We are approaching our six month mark since starting on the pump.  I have to tell you that getting used to the pump did take some time, but I honestly feel it was the best decision we could have made.  Alyssa has adjusted nicely and honestly knows how to work it better than I do.  Site changes have become much easier and we have had little problems.  I still get up and check her blood sugar between 2 and 3 am, depending on what time she went to bed.  She sleeps right through this check and this makes me sleep much better.  This has helped me catch a couple of lows as well as make corrections for any night time highs. 

In our case the pump has also helped with lows that are the result of exercise.  We disconnect during cheer practice and performances and have had only 2 or 3 lows.  This is because with the pump, Alyssa no longer needs her long lasting insulin that's peak can be unpredictable.  We check blood sugar levels before and after and correct accordingly.

Fall happenings and pump update

Well, Alyssa has been using the pump for a little over a month now.  We've had some ups and down, highs and lows; and tears and laughs....I would be lieing if I didn't tell you there have been times I thought I had made a mistake by pushing for Alyssa to get on the pump....I'd be lieing if I said I had not thought about disconnecting it and going back to shots.  But I keep reminding myself why this will be best for her in the long run. 

The hardest part....the first several site changes were a nightmare.  Alyssa's anxiety about them got her so upset leading up to it that it took at least an hour to calm her down to put in the new site. Fortunately that has gotten better.  The problem now is that she'll only let me put the sites on her bottom....we are alternating cheeks.  We have done the stomach once but she hated it.  Alyssa is so petite, her bottom is the only place she has any extra meat. 

We have also had a few scary high and low bgs that seem to have come out of no where.  There were also a few night time lows, but I think we've worked out those kinks with basal rate changes.  In the beginning I was checking her bgs every 3 hours while she slept, now I'm only checking once in the middle of the night.

I do finally feel we are getting the hang of things.  There definitely are many pros of using the pump.  Alyssa has much more freedom with when and what she eats....if she wants something to eat at any time, we just bolus for the carbs.   Its so nice to enter her carbs and the pump figures the amout of insulin...all of this without another injection.  This made Halloween and Thanksgiving a lot less stressful!  One site change every 3-4 days versus 12-16 injections over 3-4 days.

 Also, besides a few spikes and lows, her average blood sugars have been really good.  During cheer and tumble, we disconnect and honestly have had fewer lows during exercise because she's no longer on the long lasting insulin, Lantus. Since she's given little amounts of fast acting insulin every hour through the pump she no longer needs the long lasting.

Overall, even though I've had some moments of doubt, I believe the pump will afford Alyssa more freedom and as she gets older, more independence.  As with any change, adjustments should be expected.

P-day

I don't know who was more excited this morning... Me or Alyssa? We've both been anxious for this day, especially since we received her pump over a week ago. The huge Animas Ping Box and the slew of pump supplies are hard to miss when they are taking up 1/2 my kitchen table.

Since we've received the pump, Alyssa and I have played with it. I read 'the book' and watched the video, and when we sat down with the pump trainer things ran smoothly. Alyssa demonstrated most of the functions. After we set up the pump, filled it with insulin and checked blood sugar, it was time to insert the infusion set. The infusion set is a spring loaded device that punctures the skin with a needled and as it withdraws leaves a cannula. The tubing from the cannula connects to the pump and this is how insulin is infused.

Because Alyssa was scared, I asked her if she wanted to put the infusion set on me first. Of course she did... I'm still wearing it :)

She was a little scared but was very brave. As a reward we went out for a chocolate sundae :). So great to bolus for 50g of carbs by remote!!

The next few days are going to require close observation and I'm expecting some changes. In the beginning we'll be checking bg's before meals, 2 hours after meals, before bed, at midnight and at 3 am. The goal here is to eventually improve Alyssa's life and I feel the pump will after we all get used to it.

Another cool thing, we never noticed our endo wore a pump or even that she had T1D... Alyssa saw hers today and its the same pump we use :)

Diabetes stinks....

This morning while I was straightening Alyssa’s hair (today is picture day at school), I asked her, “If someone asked you what it was like to have diabetes, what would you say?” She replied simply with, “Diabetes stinks.” Now, for those of you who know Alyssa, you know that she can be quite dramatic. For instance, if she’s has a headache, her head is “killing her to deathhhh” or when she’s told to clean her room, she‘s been known to lay out in the floor explaining she‘s way too exhausted to take on such a task. So, as you can imagine, I was expecting a much more elaborate answer….like “diabetes is horrible!”, or “diabetes is the worst thing ever invented!”

Now most would think that this reply was a good thing. That Alyssa has adjusted to having diabetes, and that although it’s not great, it really isn’t that bad. Instead, her answer saddened me at first. What child should have to endure this? What child should not be able to eat a piece of candy without thinking about it or be able to eat a piece of their friends birthday cake without looking to their mother to be sure it’s ok. (Side note: at a recent birthday party she told me that she wanted to give up eating pizza so that she could have a slice of cake.) What child should have to prick her finger so that it bleeds before each meal, before physical activity, after physical activity, before she goes to bed, in the middle of the night, and every time she doesn’t feel just right. That’s any where from at minimum 4 and up to 8 times a day. What child should have to have 2 SHOTS in her bottom after breakfast, a SHOT in one of her arms after lunch and a SHOT in her other arm after dinner and sometimes a SHOT before bed if her glucose levels are too high.  What child should have to face the risks of heart and kidney disease, blindness, amputations, and early death?  More simply, what child should not be able to go to a sleep over or anywhere without their mom?

I know there are many diseases out there, and each one of them sadden me….especially any disease that robs a kid of the childhood they are entitled to. Diabetes is a disease that can do just that….if its allowed to….. My husband and I refuse to let this happen. The day Alyssa was diagnosed, I prayed that God would let me take this from her. I think in a small way He has because she has no fear or anxiety about the future of her disease.  I think she sees how diligent we are in advocating for her and researching for new treatments as well as preparing her to be able to manage this on her own one day.  She notices all the people who love, support, and push for finding ways to improve her life.  She knows that without research insulin would never have been discovered and meters wouldn’t be improving each time a new one comes out. Without research insulin pumps would not have been invented (We are so excited that Alyssa’s first pump is on the way and how its going to make life a little bit easier. And instead of 4 SHOTS a day, it will be a new infusion site every 3 days!!) Through all of this she believes living with diabetes will get a little bit easier over time. Most importantly, she trusts my words when I say there will be a cure one day.

I’ve said this many times….Diabetes is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep, and I will gladly take that on for her.  In Alyssa’s eyes diabetes is just a small part of her life and I‘m happy in that.


*This year our team, Alyssa's Army, will be walking in JDRF's event, Walk to a Cure at Elon University in Burlington, NC.  If you would like to make a donation to our team, you can do so through the link below.

Alyssa's Army Walk Page 

 

 

It's walk season.... Fundraising ideas

We have so many fundraising events that will benefit this year's walk. Of course we have the online donating through JDRF's walk page. We had a fundraising yard sale a couple weeks ago that was successful. Currently, we have 2 catalog/online shows going with Pampered Chef and 31. Next weekend some friends of ours are hosting a pig pick in' fundraiser. We asked one of our company's suppliers and they agreed to sell JDRF sneakers and another hairstylist friend is donating a portion from each client for the month of September. Our church also has been extremely generous with love offerings and donations for our yard sale.

With a little less then two weeks to go, I do not see how we can not reach our team goal of $3500!!

First day of school

With the first day of school came a new diabetes schedule. Left behind were the late nights and sleep in mornings. We started the new schedule a few days before school started, but I still knew the lazy days of summer that fit her current diabetes protocol was sure to change with the active life of a new 4th grader. I knew she would be more active so the morning of the first day I reduced her fast acting insulin. Mid morning she had her provided snack, but at lunch time a bg of 70. 2nd day of school, reduced insulin even more, usual snack and a lunch bg of 63. On the plus side, bg's have been normal at dinner which means her dose is good at lunch as well as the carbs in her afternoon snack. Tomorrow I'll make another reduction to see if that helps with the low blood sugar at lunch.

Going back to school

School starts 1 week from today, so I broke out Alyssa's most recent diabetes plan and starting filling out the paperwork for my meeting with the school nurse on Thursday. I will also give a brief training to her teacher on what to look for with Alyssa. The teacher will be attending a diabetes class provided by the school that usually happens sometime during the first week of school as well. So, this little training session is just so she knows what to expect the first few days of school.

I purchased enough snacks to last a month for the teacher to keep in her room as well as several juice box packs to treat lows. I've started getting her diabetes bag ready that stays in the office that will contain her meter, strips, syringes, glucose tablets, alcohol swabs and insulin. Ideally I would have liked for Alyssa to be on the pump before school started, but at least we have the ball rolling.... hopefully final approval in the next couple of weeks!!