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 :)

Dawn Phenomenon and Pump News

Alyssa has experienced high blood sugars in the morning for the last two weeks or so.  High for her morning level is anything over 150.  As I have mentioned before, Alyssa's blood sugar usually drops about 100 over night.  So my goal is to have her sugar somewhere around 200 at bedtime.  If her glucose level is below 200, she'll have a bedtime snack and if it is close to 200 she will not.  What was odd, I was seeing high blood sugars in the mornings and even after the nights she didn't have a bedtime snack.  Could this be the 'dawn phenomenon' I've been hearing about?

Dawn phenomenon is the term used to describe early morning (usually between 2a-8a) high blood sugars in diabetics.  It is thought that the body releases hormones over night, like the growth hormone and cortisol, that cause insulin resistance.  Alyssa takes Lantus in addition to Novolog, which is a slow release insulin that normally works for 24 hours.  I've heard though it can often be unpredictable with schedule changes.  Of course other reasons can be incorrect dosing of insulin or eating too many grams of carbs before bed.  In my opinion, I think it is tied to activity level as well. 

What this means?  I will again be waking at 2 in the morning checking blood sugars to see if there is a rise in the middle of the night for a few days and see if adjustments need to be made to her diabetes plan.

Pump news: We looked at 4 insulin pumps the other night.  It was really cool because Alyssa got to touch them and see how they worked.  After the pump class, I read all the information and narrowed down to either the Omnipod or the Ping.  We have chosen to go with the One Touch Ping.  I really thought Lu was going to push for the Omnipod because it is tubeless and stays on, but she liked the Ping best.  The cool thing is that it is 100% waterproof and Alyssa also liked their infusion sets the best, which are easily inserted and come in different colors :).  So yesterday, I faxed all my insurance info over the the rep and we have started the process.  Next step will be to see how much they will cover!

http://www.animas.com/