# Started on pump!



## Mand (Jul 7, 2009)

Tuesday 7th July 2009

Hello everyone!

Today was the big day! My sons nurse arrived at 9.15am and was here until 12.15pm. We did not have to go to clinic or hospital as she came to our house which was excellent. But i slightly on information overload now!! 

My husband, myself and my son had the opportunity to ask loads of questions as she was explaining everything to us. It was quite an emotional moment when he injected the cannula as he struggled a little due to nerves and i had to hold back the tears and also to stop myself from taking over but it was fine in the end and he was pleased once connected. Phew!!!!!

He ate his lunch at home and gave a bolus for it. No injection! Fantastic! He was so chuffed! I took him to school at 1pm and will pick him up at 3.30pm. He was very happy to go off to school and just took it all in his stride. 

His pump trial had been with a medtronic 772 (or is that 722?) but the real one he got today is a veo! So he has the very lastest model! (same as you Lou!). 

He has been put on a starting basal of 0.65 units per hour and we have to work 1:15 for carb/insulin ratio with each meal to begin with.  We have been told to use a correction ratio of 1:3 to start with. We not to bring him down below 10 for a correction yet either. Also we have to test for ketones on any blood glucose of 14 or above. So this is our starting point and we will adjust as we go along.

We have to test his blood at midnight, 3am and 6am (oh blimey!!!!!!!) as well as throughout the day. But we were prepared for all this. 

I could write reams more but do not want to send you all to sleep! also I have to go a fetch him in a few minutes.

Please feel free to ask anything if i have forgotten to mention anything.

I will update you all again this evening and also read all your posts and threads to catch up with your news.

So, here begins a new phase of his and our lives......................


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## sasha1 (Jul 7, 2009)

Hi Mand...


Here's to the new chapter in your families life.

Glad everything went ok for you all this morning

Take care

Heidi


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## Sugarbum (Jul 7, 2009)

Hi Mand,

Fantastic news! I wondered if you may find the time this afternoon or not (I can completely appreciate the information overload!) to post and its so great to see your thread pop up!

Your little fella sounds like a brave young man. You must be very pleased with his attitude to take it all in his stride and go of to school as normal. Such resilience, Im sure he has done you both proud.

The Veo- I am so chuffed to hear this news as I think this gizmo has much more advantages to the parent and child situation than mine without the sensor at present. Apparently, according to my DSN the manual is much better than the previous paradigm manual so that alone is one benefit. Just out of interest, what colour did he choose?! 

I am also on a target of 10mmols. I have a reguime of 2 hourly testing for 48 hours (except at night, but with a 3am test) and a background at the moment that is consistantly 0.55u/hr. I am very impressed that your DSN has done this as a home visit, I assume this is so to make it all less stressful and what a great idea. 

I am not suprised you had a moment when you saw the "Quick-serter" technique....my insides did when I saw my DSN do it before us. To my complete shock I can honestly say I didnt really feel anything and I have also increased from a 5mm needle on a pen to 9mm on the quick set, so I was expecting much more OUCH factor (and lets be honest, a torrent of swearing) but it was fine. Sounds like he has done well. I found this link useful last week as I couldnt remember anything when I got home, it is a short video (2.42) made by Medtronic taking you through a set change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfG4-YMu0Vo using quickserter.

Must dash- Im on an even hour eating deadline, if only I could recall the rational for this?! Im wondering now if there is any reason other than perhaps my DSN hates me?!

Hope your evening goes well and the young man has had a good afternoon at school. Fingers crossed for good numbers.

Well done to you too Mand, its a lot to take in. 

Lots of love,

Louisatronic (naahhh?!)


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## Adrienne (Jul 7, 2009)

Hi Mand

Fab start.  Great DSN, it warms the cockles of my heart when I hear about great DSN's they are few and far between.

The basals will soon all change and that's why you need to do lots of testing, Sugarplum is right and testing 2 hourly which we still do during the day anyway, its the only way to tell if the levels are ok or not.

The ratios will change as well and I imagine he will need a lot more insulin at breakfast than 1 : 15.

What a star your son is and to go to school afterwards.   I bet he wants to show it off !  He has his own mini computer attached to him after all.  What colour did he go for?


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## Patricia (Jul 7, 2009)

So pleased Mand, well done to you and son. So good too for him to knuckle down and do it - but, sniff!, I know what you mean. So proud of them...

Anyway, hope his day was a good one and that his numbers were not too dramatically weird the first day. No injection! Yay! It's so amazing.

Good on him. Keep us posted. Can't wait.

xxoo


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## Steff (Jul 7, 2009)

hi mand so pleased everything went ok this morning 

i wish you and your son every sucsess in this new chapter xx


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## Mand (Jul 7, 2009)

Thank you all for your posts and kind words. 

Well we are already in love with his pump! (which is black. We did not get a colour choice, it was just what we were given. But he pleased as black is a cool colour!).

He was fine at school and he staying steady so far on readings of 9 and 10. It is just so great to not have to inject! It feels like a workload has been lifted from us and his anxiety levels have dropped as he had developed a bit of a needle phobia. 

Tonight will be interesting (and tiring!) with the several nighttime checks. Will let you know how it goes. 

Yes, Adrienne, i can imagine that it will all be changing. Before the pump he was on 1:6 for breakfast, 1:8 for lunch and 1:11 for tea so doing 1:15 now seems very odd! 

Anyway, nothing else to report at the moment but will update my thread each day. 

Bye for now! x


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## Adrienne (Jul 7, 2009)

The not injecting bit takes time to get used to doesn't it.  It is so weird.  I never really felt the meal was finished properly unless there was an injection.  It took some time.  It was like having pudding although not a nice one but it rounded off the meal.


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## Sugarbum (Jul 7, 2009)

Adrienne said:


> The not injecting bit takes time to get used to doesn't it.  It is so weird.  I never really felt the meal was finished properly unless there was an injection.  It took some time.  It was like having pudding although not a nice one but it rounded off the meal.



Adrienne! Today is the first day in I dont know how long that I have had no injection or set change etc and man it is weird! 

Mand, pleased to hear things are so far so good! Hope your night goes ok- for you all, I assume you will be burning the candle at both ends too?! By the way I think the black pump in the Veo (it has a bit of red on one button right?) is really really nice. Nice and discreet for your boy, doesnt look too different from an ipod or mp3 player or something.

Good luck tonight!
Louisa x


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## Steff (Jul 8, 2009)

hi  mand how did it go on the first night ??


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## Patricia (Jul 8, 2009)

Yes, no injections feels that way exactly Mand -- a weight lifted! And somehow, an anxiety lifted too. The head space suddenly afforded is kind of weird...Not to speak of the needles etc...

How was your first night, to echo Steff?


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## bev (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi Mand and son!

Well done to your son for going to school so soon! I suspect Alex would do the same to show it off!
Your DSN sounds great - i am not sure whether we will spend our training day at hospital or at home yet.
Alex is also keen on the black one as he says it looks discreet and no-one would question what it was.
Keep the posts coming as i want to know everything.

Will you be using sensors?

Bev x


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## Sugarbum (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi mand, how are you and family this morning?

Hoping you have had a smooth night. I thought of you this morning when I got up to do my 3am BG check! I wondered if you were doing boys at that time? We joke in our group it is the 3am club- reminds me of old DAFNE days!

Hope you day goes well Mand, thinking of you all.

Lou xx


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## Mand (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi everyone!! Thank you for your words of support and well wishes. 

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a great first night!!!!!!!!!

His readings:

Midnight = 7.9
3am      = 6.0
6am       = 7.1

Fantastic!!!!!!

During the past few months his readings have regularly been between 10 and 20. I have had no peace of mind and it has been horrible. so to get these readings is great! He had no problems sleeping with it and barely disturbed when we checked his blood.

He ate breakfast this morning and bolused. Wow!!! no injection again! Then he went off to school as normal without any anxiety or worries. He seems to be completely taking it in his stride! 

I asked him to text me his readings but not heard anything yet but may do in the next half hour as it will be lunchbreak and i guess he cant use mobile till then as they have to be switched off, of course, at school. 

I am totally shattered as after doing his 3am check i could not get back to sleep so have been awake since. I am a housewife but also work 10 hours per week in an office (2 days of 9am to 2pm) and had been needed to go in this morning to do some overtime as my workload had staked up while we were on holiday. I felt like a zombie! But, let me assure you here, I am a very happy zombie!!!!!! Yes Lou, i was thinking of you too at 3am and wondering how you doing and thinking that perhaps Patricia was up too! Yes Lou, it has got a border of red around one of the buttons. 

I have to say that the pump looks like many of the modern gadgets that the kids carry round these days anyway. Like a mobile, mp3 or ipod thingy. My son is so proficient on it already because like all kids he is used to technology and gadgets. 

So, all i can say is, so far so good!! I might be tired but i can't stop grinning! If the pump works for him then it will give him better quality of life and a better chance of not developing complications later in life. It will also give me some peace of mind that i desperately need!

I will update you later on how his day/eve has been. I will now take a look at your threads Patricia and Lou! I will be thinking of you both at 3am again!

Love Mand x

Ps yes his dsn is very nice. She only works 3 days a week but said that she would be happy to be contacted at weekends during his first few weeks on the pump to support us. On the two week days that she does not work then if i phone the local childrens unit they will put me in touch with a dsn from another county. So we fairly well supported. Then of course, i have all of you! Gosh I do feel very lucky.


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## Northerner (Jul 8, 2009)

Mand said:


> Hi everyone!! Thank you for your words of support and well wishes.
> 
> Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a great first night!!!!!!!!!
> 
> ...



Terrific! Goodness, what a difference!



> ...I have to say that the pump looks like many of the modern gadgets that the kids carry round these days anyway. Like a mobile, mp3 or ipod thingy. My son is so proficient on it already because like all kids he is used to technology and gadgets. ...



I just had a not very pleasant thought that maybe some unpleasant types might mistake it for something like an ipod and think they could sell it, hopefully a close inspection would show that it's not?


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## Mand (Jul 8, 2009)

You are exactly right, northener! This is a big concern of mine as he has to remove it for certain pe lessons and i not overly happy with the safety of it at school as he already has had his mobile stolen. His dsn has spoken to the school of the value and importance of it but i still not satisfied with its safety during pe lessons yet, so will pursue.

It is not overly obvious what it is on first glance so could be walked off with, fiddled with then discarded but this not good news for my son. 

Of course, most of the time it will be attached to him and impossible for anyone to take it. It is just for pe lessons that we need to ensure its safety. There is no swimming at his school.


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## Mand (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi all

Well after a great first night, we have not had good readings today but all of them can be explained, so in theory, tomorrow will be better!

At 11am he was 19.9 but we think this is because he has been started on a ratio of 1:15 for all meals and he had been on 1:6 for breakfast so clearly needs more for breakfast. 

Then he took pump off for pe. We have been told to do a bolus of 0.3 u when re-attaching if off for a hour but he accidently did 3.0! 

Just before lunch he had a hypo - presumably due to above event.

Two hours after lunch he was 19.1. Again we think it because 1:15 not enough to cover his lunch as he was on 1:8 before. He then did a correction bolus but did one unit too many and had a mild hypo before tea.

So as you can see, not a good first day for readings but all can be explained so hopefully will improve tomorrow. We have been advised by his dsn to try 1:12 and if that not enough then move on to 1:10. 

The good news is that he was not bothered at all about wearing the pump and found it comfortable and without problems so this is a big thumbs up. Just need to get the carb ratio correct and pay extra attention to what he is bolusing when correcting.

I hope he was a second good night and that tomorrow i will be able to report better readings! But i still totally in love with the pump! So is he!

Feeling pretty tired now after last night as i did not return to sleep after 3am check this morning. Anyway bracing myself for another disturbed night but i not complaining. I love my son and would do anything for him and i know how lucky we are that he has got a pump. I appreciate it with all my heart.


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## Northerner (Jul 8, 2009)

Mand, great to hear that you can find a cause for all the day's events, even if the numbers were a bit wonky! Doesn't the pump  give a warning if the correction is set hugely high? There may/ought to be a way of this happening (put it on the wish list for medtronic if not!).

But those things will be ironed out with experience - the biggest plus point has to be that he is so comfortable with it! Hurrah!


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## Patricia (Jul 9, 2009)

Mand, hang in there like I know you are. We were told that initial numbers are usually fabulous because there is extra background insulin left over from MDI underpinning things. So not surprised that things have gone a little weird at first....

It *will* get better and quickly... If you can trace the highs through to two hours after eating, you are one step ahead of course identifying it as bolus rather than basal. But I'm guessing it's important to measure fasting (pre meal) regularly as well, to see about basal? Like MDI, my impression is to get basal sorted first...

Also, sorry to say I've never heard of a .3u bolus after disconnection! E just puts it on and off. Our team said that in the hour of PE, so little basal is lost that it's not worth it -- and of course PE itself tends to lower bgl, so in theory it sort of balances out... We *have* been given a 'sliding scale' of what to do if the pump is disconnected for longer periods, which we haven't used yet. But even for E swimming in France -- two hours -- he tested twice, and still hypo-ed -- all disconnected!

Anyway. Hang in...And keep us up to date! I want to hear it all...

xxoo


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## bev (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi Mand,
At the medtronic demo the other day - i asked this very question about correcting after the pump has been disconnected, and they told us that there is NEVER a reason to use a correction after having had the pump off for an hour etc..(well unless of course your high!).
The reason is that over 1 hour there is such tiny amounts that have been missed that it would be very complicated and time consuming to work it all out! They said its just too negligable to bother about. I am not saying your team has given you the wrong information - but perhaps if you check it with them because you dont want to start a pattern of correcting if there is no real need to!
Keep the posts coming - i am learning so much and from Patricia's too!Bev


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## Adrienne (Jul 9, 2009)

Mand said:


> Hi all
> 
> Well after a great first night, we have not had good readings today but all of them can be explained, so in theory, tomorrow will be better!
> 
> ...



Hi Mand

Actually I think they are great readings for a first day purely because you know the reasons for the highs and I presume the DSN is contacting you daily at the moment and you are tweaking away.    It is the unexplained ones that will be a nuisance.    Its a brilliant start.     I think your son will be feeling all sort of stuff with the up and down but give it a week or so and he will be feeling 'normal'.   

Great stuff.


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## Mand (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi all

Firstly, re the correcting bolus. We were told to correct by 0.3u if pump off for an hour. So he did this after pe but not when he had a shower last night. I will double check with his dsn tomorrow that that was what she said. So do you ever correct when pump off Adriene and Patricia? If so how much and when? 

His dsn does not work Thurs so have not had phone call today. I will speak to her tomorrow. Problem is that i am a little confused at to what to do now. Where do i start with the tweaking? 

These are this readings:

Last night 10pm = 8.2
Midnight           = 13.2
3am                 = 12.4
6am                 = 10.5

unable to check mid morning due to playing guitar in a music show at school.

12.30pm - before lunch = 19.1 (so bolused for lunch and added correction)
3pm                          =  9.2

Any advice? Do i take it that because his pre lunch check was too high that it is the basal rather than bolus to start adjusting? Any advice very welcome! 

Can i take this opportunity to say that Monday he received his school report which was excellent.
Today he played bass guitar (he in a band with three friends) at a school music show where any kids from the school that had formed bands could perform a few songs to the rest of the school. He came home on a high as he said he loves perfoming on stage. 
Anyway just wanted to do my proud mom bit there because it so warms my heart to know that he does not let his diabetes stop him achieving or doing the things he loves! 
Gosh! Here on this forum, we are all blessed with very special kids! Lucky us!


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## Patricia (Jul 9, 2009)

Mand, I really hesitate to give any advice this early into your pumping, and I don't know your circumstances, etc...but I'm a bit cross your DSN has left you with these numbers when different ones are so in reach! Grrr...

But yes, I'd say your basal, esp in the morning, needs looking at (as I'm sure you know, this is very common, a rise in the morning). Start slow, and targeting the highest numbers first. How many basal rates are you on?

With correcting, you know you'll still be in pretty good shape until you speak to your DSN tomorrow. I know it's not perfect, but may be a better idea than trying to do it yourself now? I personally can really only see what I'm doing when I have all the figures -- rates and ratios -- lined up with the numbers, in columns, so that the readings correspond to the times of day and changes in rates and ratios....

More than that though: well done son! I mean, it's SO great, isn't it?! They are just fantastic, and I send lots of congratulations and heartfelt pride to you all. Between yours and Alex -- wow!


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## Adrienne (Jul 9, 2009)

Mand said:


> Hi all
> 
> Firstly, re the correcting bolus. We were told to correct by 0.3u if pump off for an hour. So he did this after pe but not when he had a shower last night. I will double check with his dsn tomorrow that that was what she said. So do you ever correct when pump off Adriene and Patricia? If so how much and when?
> 
> ...



Hi Mand

Yes I'm a bit annoyed your DSN is not contacting you.  She should be ringing you at about 6pm every day for a week tweaking.    

All I can do is tell you what I would do.  You cannot take this advice as from a medical professional because I'm not.

I've answered above in your message that I've quoted as to where I would tweak.   I would only make two changes to begin with.

If you can get the morning waking level ok then it will be easier to get the day ok, in theory.

He is too high at midnight and if you want to change something you tweak the basal about 2 hours before you want the change.  That is a general starting point.   So if the basal is say 0.5 at 10 pm I would change it to 0.6 or 0.55 depending on how sensitive he is to insulin.

If you change this one then the lunchtime might be better as the morning might be better if you see what I mean.

I would imagine looking at the wakeup level he will need basal starting about 6 am or 5 am much higher than it is.   You then have the potential for a hypo at lunch time so would need a drop in basal about 10am.    First I would look at the night time.

These are J's basal bearing in mind she is a 9 year old girl.

0000    0.30
0200    0.25
0400    0.35
0500    0.85
0930    0.05
1300    0.40
2000    0.45
2200    0.25

You will see that at 0500 she shoots up to 0.85 and I still need to increase this but this is for the mid morning spike.   But she then would go hypo by noon so she has to have a huge drop of 0.05 at 0930 which sorts out the noon hypo.

I hope I have explained myself ok.   I do get carried away.

As for the bolusing 0.3 if detached that is ok but it is very individual.  I never have to do that.   But I have friends who have to replace the missed basal so if the basal rate is 0.5 and they have been off for an hour then they have to have 0.5 .    With the medtronic pumps the basal rate doesn't trickle in over the period of an hour.    If the basal is 0.5 then it will deliver that 0.5 at the same time wait an hour and deliver the next amount for the next hour.

Hope I have helped a bit.


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## bev (Jul 9, 2009)

Adrienne, I thought the basal slowly released over the hour - rather than a surge? 
Also, Laila King seemed to think that doing a correction after being off the pump for an hour was unnecessary as you lose so little increments of insulin - and she said it would make such a miniscule difference that it just wasnt worth it.
Interestingly she said to leave the pump running whilst it was off - the reason being that most people would forget to turn it back on and then maybe miss a couple of hours of insulin.
I'm still thinking about the dapper young chap at the demo........mmm........ooops sorry!Bev


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## Mand (Jul 9, 2009)

Thank you all for your advice. Very much appreciated. I am going to digest it and then decide what bit of tweaking to do then speak to his dsn tomorrow.

Bev, we too told to leave pump running when he takes it off. 

Adrienne, you have explained yourself brilliantly! Thank you. Will have a good read and digest all you have said and i am sure it will help me to decide what tweaking to do.

Patricia, he only on one background basal of 0.65 u per hr.

Do not worry everyone, i will only make minor tweaks until i have spoken to his dsn so that we do not run into any problems.

Thank you all again. I will post tomorrow with an update.

After tomorrow, I won't get a phone call sat, sun or mon as my dsn won't be in work again until Tue but if i contact the local childrens unit before 5pm on her days off (Mons and Thurs) then a dsn from a neighbouring county will advise me. If i need advice at the weekend i can phone the local childrens unit who will contact my own dsn and she will phone me. She is happy to do this weekend contact during the first few weeks we on pump. So i am not alone but, at the same time, i have to seek the help on some days rather than it coming to me on. My dsn lovely, just does not work full time.


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## sasha1 (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi Mand

I have to say how brilliant I think you are doing with the pump for your son.
I don't have any advice to give as Nathan is on MDI....but must admit the threads about the pump using have me questioning whether Nathan is on the right method for him...
I'm sure as other pumpers have said once the initial tweaking of the dose's have settled the results will be amazing for you both.
As others have also said it amazes me the DSN is'nt in more contact with you at this time...
Again you are a brill mum..and also mant thanks for your words in my thread...they were much appreciated and meant a lot to me
Look forward to following you on this journey and reading all your posts

Heidi


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## Adrienne (Jul 9, 2009)

Mand said:


> Thank you all for your advice. Very much appreciated. I am going to digest it and then decide what bit of tweaking to do then speak to his dsn tomorrow.
> 
> Bev, we too told to leave pump running when he takes it off.
> 
> ...



Our DSN starts people on about 4 basals, they have a rough idea of what is needed from past experience.  They got the midnight one right from day one for J.    You will soon have a few more.

I'm away at the weekend but I am more than happy for you to have my mobile and ring me.  You could use me as a sounding board so if you know you want to tweak something you could ask tell me and I could let you know if I think a good idea or not !  Just a thought.  I am very aware that I can't advise you as I am not a professional but I'm more than happy to help in any way I can.  Let me know and I'll pm you my mobile.   You don't even have to use the number but it might be reassurance that you have someone there if you need it.   Up to you entirely and I won't be offended if you don't want it.  I don't get offended easily.




bev said:


> Adrienne, I thought the basal slowly released over the hour - rather than a surge?
> Also, Laila King seemed to think that doing a correction after being off the pump for an hour was unnecessary as you lose so little increments of insulin - and she said it would make such a miniscule difference that it just wasnt worth it.
> Interestingly she said to leave the pump running whilst it was off - the reason being that most people would forget to turn it back on and then maybe miss a couple of hours of insulin.
> I'm still thinking about the dapper young chap at the demo........mmm........ooops sorry!Bev



Different pumps do it different ways.  The paradigm is all in one go, we only found this out a few months ago, Jacqui on the other group found out.

I agree no need to turn the pump off.   It doesn't waste any insulin, for some reason it knows it is unplugged from you and doesn't release anymore until you plug it back in, that is totally correct advice from the lovely Laila, (can't wait to meet her).


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## Adrienne (Jul 9, 2009)

sasha1 said:


> Hi Mand
> 
> I have to say how brilliant I think you are doing with the pump for your son.
> I don't have any advice to give as Nathan is on MDI....but must admit the threads about the pump using have me questioning whether Nathan is on the right method for him...
> ...



Hi Heidi

If Nathan is having the amount of hypos you say he is then he qualifies under the NICE guidelines for a pump.  You need to find a hospital that will give him one, persuade him first of all of course  which could be hard and then get referred.


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## sasha1 (Jul 9, 2009)

Adrienne said:


> Hi Heidi
> 
> If Nathan is having the amount of hypos you say he is then he qualifies under the NICE guidelines for a pump.  You need to find a hospital that will give him one, persuade him first of all of course  which could be hard and then get referred.




Hi Adrienne...

Ive just been having a chat on the phone to bev...and she said that to...Its certainly giving me something to think about and consider...as you say the hardest thing is going to persude Nathan........He had recently 18 hypos in 10 days roughly...Not good by any means also the consequences of the damage he is doing

Heidi


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## Mand (Jul 10, 2009)

Good morning everyone!

Well, another night over. Once again thinking of many of you at 3am!

Readings since my last post:

Last night 9pm = 12.3  We decided to bolus a small correction.

midnight = 7

3am = 11.1

6am = 10

My conclusion was that presumably the 7 at midnight was due to the correction at 9pm but that basically the basal is keeping him steady but is set too low?

Thank you all so much for your advice of yesterday but in the end, after much discussion, we decided that it was just a bit too early to start tweaking as we had only had two nights of readings and they were very different so we decided to play it safe, leave things as they were. The result being as above. 

We did 1:10 for breakfast today as he running at around 19 in day. I have told him that if his bloods are good or too high then to do 1:10 for lunch. I then told him that if he hypos after breakfast then he must work 1:12 for lunch. I have put two stickers on his lunch box. One with units needed for 1:10 and one with units needed for 1:12 to make it easy for him. 

I will be spekaing with his dsn at 6pm this evening and giving her all his readings.

Adrienne, it is most generous of you to offer to pm me your mobile. I would be very happy for you to do this if you are sure. As you say, it would be re-assuring to have someone to bounce an idea off and you would certainly have a better idea than me! Gosh, I have so much to learn! But, please be assured, that i would not dream of disturbing you unecessarily and please do not feel obliged to give me your mobile if, after giving it more thought, you decided not to. I would not be offended at all. I will be able to contact his dsn if i stuck this weekend so i not alone at the moment but this offer of contacting her at a weekend is, understandably, over for the first few weeks of pumping.  x

Thank you Heidi. I am delighted you decided to stay. Your supportive and encouraging words mean a lot to me. Perhaps you will be joining us pumping moms soon?! Of course, i will be an absolute expert by then so will be able to help you! Hahaha! In my dreams!!!! Oh well, at least we can muddle through together! x

We changed his set yesterday evening for the first time. The good news is that the proceedure went smoothly but the bad news is that it hurt him so he was a little upset (blimey, were my heart strings tugged or what!) but he ok a short time later.

You know, i have never thought of myself as a strong person and by nature i am a worrier. But having to deal with all the workload and emotions of my sons diabetes has made me realise that i am a stronger person than i thought. or maybe it has made me stronger. I guess us moms have to be strong for our kids and it spurs us on. 

As always, thanks to you all for listening, advising and for being there for us. 

Mand x


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## Steff (Jul 10, 2009)

hi hope you dont mind me butting in on the thread peeps x

Just wanted to say mand sounds like things are going really well for you and your son , it is amazing how strong we become when we least expect it , just shows through adversity we come out the other end 

i wish you every further success


----------



## Adrienne (Jul 10, 2009)

Hi  

Great night and lovely readings and you are totally correct need a bit of tweaking to get the level right at 9 pm and then again at midnight and then watch what happens.  

Will be interesting to see what the DSN has to say and what she will do.

I'll pm you my mobile.   I am happy to talk to anyone, ask Bev, she knows me quite well by now from the other list and from Hoburne and the phone of course.   It is my mission to help all children with diabetes.    So ring when you want.   If it makes you feel better then text me first, makes no odds to me either way.

Set changes - some hints and tricks.   Its hurts people more than others.  Some just numb the area with an ice pop (in the packet obviously), do the set change and then your son can eat the ice pop (making sure it is a no added sugar one of course).   You will get so quick at doing it, he won't bat an eyelid.    I can put the needle in (using the inserter) and take it out in 2 seconds.   We timed it last night as J was moaning so I said ok count and see how long it takes.   She counted 'one elephant, two elephant' and it was out.

If he gets a be itchy with the sticky thing then we use Cavilon and spray it on the area first.    It creates an invisible barrier and it has the added bonus of making it stick better as well.  You can get this on prescription.

To remove the cannula and sensor we use Lift Plus spray (no wipes).  Again on prescription but you can get a free sample from http://opus-healthcare.co.uk/liftplus.php

Hope that helps a bit.


----------



## Patricia (Jul 10, 2009)

Hi Mand

Great to hear from you! Numbers are looking good! The stability is amazing, isn't it...

We'll wait with interest to see what your DSN does.

We came back from clinic with Cavilon -- E is getting slightly red patches etc -- so will let you know if it helps him too. I've never heard of the other one Adrienne, that's useful to know! It does hurt to unpeel it...

Keep it up Mand.

And I echo Steff too: we don't know what we can do until we have to do it. Wish we didn't have to do it, but there you are... Right back at you, Steff.

xxoo


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## Sugarbum (Jul 10, 2009)

Adrienne said:


> Set changes - some hints and tricks.   Its hurts people more than others.  Some just numb the area with an ice pop (in the packet obviously), do the set change and then your son can eat the ice pop (making sure it is a no added sugar one of course).   You will get so quick at doing it, he won't bat an eyelid.    I can put the needle in (using the inserter) and take it out in 2 seconds.   We timed it last night as J was moaning so I said ok count and see how long it takes.   She counted 'one elephant, two elephant' and it was out.
> 
> If he gets a be itchy with the sticky thing then we use Cavilon and spray it on the area first.    It creates an invisible barrier and it has the added bonus of making it stick better as well.  You can get this on prescription.
> 
> ...



OMG Adrienne, this is great stuff. You really should write a book on your experiences or something properly that people can access. You can read all the manuals (as I am discovering) but this kind of advice is priceless. 

Mand I am so pleased to hear how you are doing. You have bypassed the first hurdle too, the set change. I can imagine it was not going to be easy but well done. 

I must confess I was AWOL from the 3am club this morning, too knackered!

Well done, we have all made to the end of a very difficult week and now its Friday and the weekend! Small pat on the back all round me thinks


----------



## Patricia (Jul 10, 2009)

Hey, Louisa -- how the heck are you?!

Sorry Mand, just chasing. Want to know how things are with *everyone* (if poss!).


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## Sugarbum (Jul 10, 2009)

*Louisa the thread thief!*



Patricia said:


> Hey, Louisa -- how the heck are you?!
> 
> Sorry Mand, just chasing. Want to know how things are with *everyone* (if poss!).



Hiya Patricia!

I am doing well thanks, hope you and yours are ok too!

Ive flown the nest for a couple of day so I havent been online so much as when Im at my place. I was advised to take the week off starting on insulin on Sunday, and guess what? Im bored! So I am round my mums!

Have had some high numbers, some swings and in the last 24 hours pretty good numbers for me. Looking forward to seeing my DSN on Monday and changing my basal, that will be great and I think will really help my numbers.

I had a good experience with Medtronic, got my delivery in less than 24 hours and all present and correct. My pharmacist is mucking me about, wants me to draw out of a penfill catridge to inject into the pup reservoir!!! I dont think so love....! Gimmie the goddam VIAL! That should all come together on Monday afternoon. Pump clinic Monday and back to work Tuesday. Also much relief I with the new job at the prison, I went on a visit and didnt set off the metal detectors! Fantastic!

Im thread-hogging! Sorry Mand! I keep thinking of more things to write so I will go and find mine wherever it has gone!!!

A great pumping week all round possibily for all of us? Patricia I hope things are good with you, I am going to go and track your line down too!

Lots of love xx


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## Adrienne (Jul 10, 2009)

Sugarbum said:


> OMG Adrienne, this is great stuff. You really should write a book on your experiences or something properly that people can access. You can read all the manuals (as I am discovering) but this kind of advice is priceless.
> 
> Mand I am so pleased to hear how you are doing. You have bypassed the first hurdle too, the set change. I can imagine it was not going to be easy but well done.
> 
> ...



I'm sitting in a YH in Oxford and they have wi fi so I decided to log on.

Sugarbum, I have never read one of those books at all.  I have the pumping book from medtronic, I have the Ragner Hanas and have never opened either.  Nothing counts for hands on experience.

Have a good weekend not sure when I will be able to log on.


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## Mand (Jul 10, 2009)

Hi everyone

Spoken to my sons dsn this eve. She advised we increase basal and she happy that i have increased food/insulin ratio to 1:10. so going to see how things go over weekend. Readings a bit up and down today but i know we have to be patient for a few weeks while we tweak things. iWill keep you updated on progress.

Hi Steff. Thank you for your support and you are very welcome on this thread. Join in any time! Just hope i do not bore you too much! 
Mind you, that's the beauty of this forum - you are able to start your own thread and then people can choose to follow it or not. Ideal!

Adrienne, thanks for the tips re set change. Have made a note and will investigate getting hold of the stuff on prescription. Enjoy Oxford! x

Patricia, thank you as always for your advice and support on my thread and for your informative own thread. Have a good weekend and keep us posted! 

Sugarbum! Great to hear from you! Will take a look at your thread. Please keep us posted on your progress!  x 

Glad to report that we are still delighted re pump, having no regrets, just need to keep tweaking those numbers till we get it right!


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## bev (Jul 11, 2009)

Mand,
I just wanted to say i think your doing great! I hope our pump start is the same as yours has been! I must admit i am starting to feel a little apprehensive about 'starting again'!

Also, well done to your son about his band etc.. Its great to feel proud (as you will know by my threads on the subject!) - our boys have so much to contend with and it makes such a difference when they show they still have confidence etc...SO BE PROUD I SAY! (A goes to drumming lessons - perhaps they could all join up!).

On the subject of ringing Adrienne - i have had reason to on a few ocassions now - and i have to say she is the most knowledgeable person i know on diabetes and she gives extremely sensible advice - and if she doesnt know the answer she will go out of her way to find out for you! She is a mind of information - and she would NEVER tell you do something that she feels is out of her depth (not being a medical professional). I cant praise her enough! So if your ever worrying over the pump - give her a ring - she will sort you out!Bev


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## Patricia (Jul 12, 2009)

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....


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## Sugarbum (Jul 12, 2009)

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....




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


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## Mand (Jul 12, 2009)

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!


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## Sugarbum (Jul 12, 2009)

haaa we were obviously writing at the same time, see my reply to you above! x


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## Mand (Jul 12, 2009)

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


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## Mand (Jul 12, 2009)

We did it again! x


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## Patricia (Jul 13, 2009)

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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## Adrienne (Jul 13, 2009)

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.


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## Mand (Jul 13, 2009)

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!


----------



## Adrienne (Jul 13, 2009)

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.
> 
> ...



Hi

What fantastic readings.   You are doing just great.  Its hard to adjust to something different and to rethink how to treat hypos etc.


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## Patricia (Jul 13, 2009)

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


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## Sugarbum (Jul 13, 2009)

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!!

Lots of love Lou xx


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## Mand (Jul 14, 2009)

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!


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## Mand (Jul 14, 2009)

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.


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## sasha1 (Jul 14, 2009)

Hi Mand.....

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

Hope little one enjoys his trip.....

Take care

Heidi


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## Mand (Jul 16, 2009)

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.


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## Patricia (Jul 16, 2009)

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


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## bev (Jul 16, 2009)

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.

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


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## Mand (Jul 17, 2009)

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


----------



## bev (Jul 17, 2009)

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!!!!!!!!Bev


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## sasha1 (Jul 17, 2009)

Hi Mand...

Thats brilliant..I'm really glad your son felt relaxed and had a great time..just as it should be 

Also really pleased for you both that the pump is going great

Heidi
xx


----------



## Patricia (Jul 21, 2009)

Brilliant Mand -- so glad to hear all went well for you! The levels are okay for a day, aren't they...

How is he now? And you?

xxoo


----------



## Mand (Jul 21, 2009)

Hi everyone

After his successful trip to France, we had a day at home then have been away for the weekend. I returned home Sunday eve but the kids stayed on till Monday with their dad. They are all back home now with me.

His readings have continued to be great! Mostly between 5.8 and 8.1. He had the odd 3.9 or 4.6 but only two higher readings of 11.1 and 14.0. Really pleased with this as we had to guestimate some of the food and he snacked between meals and had a late supper snack, things we would not do at home.

He thought it was just great having the pump as he could just press a couple of buttons each time he ate rather than having to set up a jab, have the jab then put all away. The couple of higher readings he had were just a push of a button to correct and the lows just a couple of jelly babies. No need to carry around carb snacks. SSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO much easier!

I do not wish to sound too gushy about the pump because of course there are draw backs but these seems so small compared to the advantages. The biggest problem so far is that is can at times be a nuisance if he just pottering around the house in flimsy boxers as it pulls them down but he just has to learn to wear pj bottoms insead. Also toileting or getting changed sometimes is a little difficult but if too much of a problem he just detaches the pump for a minute. There is always a way around the problems. 

We now need to keep him in a routine for a week or two without any trips etc so we can see how things are and make any necessary adjustments.

We changing his cannula every two days but would like to try leaving three. His nurse says we can but i understand some people have problems with blood sugars rising if leave it three days and i do not want anything interferring with the readings as we could then be making unnecessary adjustments. 

Not sure how helpful/interesting or boring my posts are to you. I know some people respond to my posts regularly but just wondered if anyone else is reading them but not responding (which is fine, i do not expect a reponse, i am just curious as i am just wondering if i am posting the kind of things you want to hear? Any feedback would be appreciated as i do not wish to bore or annoy anyone.


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## Patricia (Jul 21, 2009)

My goodness Mand that is just SO fantastic -- absolutely brilliant readings! You must be completely delighted. And he must feel so good too. The difference physically is pretty impressive I think -- my son certainly is much more even.

You seem to be going through the same thing I was a couple of weeks ago: is anyone interested?! I'm certainly very interested, and am delighted always to hear how things are. The practices between hospitals are different, and also the patterning of things is so different person to person -- so I'm ALWAYS up for hearing from you.

I'm wondering if you have been using the wizard yet? You must have nerves of steel if not!

Re changing sets: we do every 3.5 days actually, having cleared it with our team. The main reason for this is that we didn't think we'd be able to remember when we last did it on every three days -- we are stupidly busy really all the time, racing around, and if something doesn't occur on regular days of the week, we are *very* likely to forget it. So we do Wednesday night and Sunday morning at the moment, though we have adjusted that occasionally for one reason or another...We haven't found any problems with bg rising, though for us there *is* a thought that E may be rising slightly at a set change, so we *may* end up doing an extra little bolus on his set change times -- which is very common I hear.

So: keep the posts coming. Shall be interested to read if others are reading....Is there anybody out there?!

xxoo


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## randomange (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm one of those that is reading but not commenting! I'm not really sure if I can contribute to these threads as I'm not on a pump, but I am reading with much interest!

I think it's really useful reading about starting pumping from you and others who are writing it as they're doing it. It really gives you a good idea of how the whole process works, and what it's like both on a diabetic control level, and on an mental/emotional level. Like Patricia says, it's also interesting reading how different hospitals approach it differently!

So yes, please keep posting! I find it really interesting and helpful, and I'm really pleased things are going so well for you and your son!


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## tracey w (Jul 21, 2009)

Mand said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> After his successful trip to France, we had a day at home then have been away for the weekend. I returned home Sunday eve but the kids stayed on till Monday with their dad. They are all back home now with me.
> 
> ...



I read all the pumping posts and find them really interesting, keep posting. I do not always reply as i have nothing to add, but yes i do enjoy them and appreciate them


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## bev (Jul 21, 2009)

Mand and Patricia,

I log on every day to read your posts! I just dont always comment as i have no real advice or anything! I am just lapping it all up and so is A - i have been giving him some tips and he is getting excited about it!!

He did ask me what the '2 boys off the forum'  found the best thing about having the pump? I said i would ask you....

Mand - brilliant results! How has your son taken to the pump in terms of it physically being attached? What sets do you use?Bev x


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## Mand (Jul 23, 2009)

Sorry not updated my thread. It is on my priority list for tomorrow.

Until tomorrow....................


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## Patricia (Jul 23, 2009)

Look forward to it, darlin'!

xxoo


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## Mand (Jul 25, 2009)

Hi all

Sorry i have been a bit slow in updating my post but i not been feeling on top of the world last few days. I have had a bad back but on the mend now. Also the 3am testing gets to you after a while. It is quite tiring! But not really complaining as i know he was lucky to get a pump and we still think it is the bees knees!

Can i start by saying a big thank you to you all for responding with such encouraging words about my thread. A special thank you to Randomange and Tracey w who do not usually post on this thread. Can i say to you both (and everyone else) that i am more than happy for you to read my thread without you responding/posting on it so please do not now feel obliged to do so (unless you want to, of course!). I am the same with other peoples threads sometimes (apart from the pumping ones) because often you enjoy reading them but have nothing to add, especially if others have aleady said what you would say anyway! 

But it is just nice to know that you are all out there and that you are interested in what i am saying. I am now encouranged enough to continue. So thank you all. x  x

Anyway, my son still getting on well with the pump. Numbers not quite so steady last few days though nothing too bad. As you know, he went on the school french trip the wed/thurs of the week before last, then on the Friday of that week we went away for the weekend until the Monday. I spoke to his dsn on the Tuesday and we have agreed to leave all the settings as they are at the moment but to keep him in a regular routine for a few days, until Tuesday of next week when she is coming to see us at our house. 

We feel he needs a few days of normal routine to see how things really are. The problem with the trip and long weekend away was that he was eating all over the place, snacking every couple of hours, eating food that was hard to carb count, not going to bed till extremely late etc etc. 

On Tuesday she will look at his readings, look for patterns and advice us re any changes. Obviously we will make changes ourselves if anyting too dramatic happening but so far it is not. If fact most of his readings are good but there are still some too high or low but, as i say, now he in a normal routine, we can work out why these are happening.

I am still avoiding the foods that everyone has problems with eg chips and pizza etc as we still not been taught bolus wizard yet. Perhpas that will come on Tuesday? 

Bev - You asked how he was getting on with physically wearing it. He is fine with this. Never complains and just gets on with it (phew!). It does inconvenience him at times (he has caught the tubing on door handles a couple of times and sometimes has to detach pump for a moment whilst dressing or going to the loo but manages with it on if he can). But i think he sees these as very small inconvienences compared with having to jab so often. Without a doubt, he is soooooooooooo much happier on the pump! 
You also asked about his sets. He uses medtronic quick set 23in (60cm). 
The best things about the pump is not having to keep injecting, the convenience when out and about for bolusing and the better blood sugar levels. How is A now? Is he better? How are you? Any pump news yet?

Sugarbum - i have a (unopened!) box from Carelink. Says it contains a cd and usb stick. Is this what you mean? Should i be using this? I have not got around to it yet but it sounds like i should have! Oops! Still uisng daily journal which is great for being able to record everything but does not easily show patterns. 

Well, I will update again on Tuesday when we have seen his dsn and let you know where we are at. 

Hope you are all well. Speak soon. xxx  xxx


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## Sugarbum (Jul 26, 2009)

Hi Mand,

How are you? Hope you are feeling better and the back is good etc. Im glad you have kept posting, I do read, sometimes I dont comment as I am someone who dwells here very late in the evening as I get home from work very late, about 10-ish and Im often too tired to reply to threads! But like Patricias thread, I like to tune in and read a few pages together, and I do catch up eventually so please dont loose faith in my interest!

Yes, the small CD and memory stick is the Carelink! Do you run Vista? If you do you may encounter problems but the technical team at medtronic can talk you through (it just means temporarilly changing a couple of security settings). Also when you sit down and upload information from the pump through the program you mustnt have a dual wave on progress (which I typically go to upload in the evening after a meal....durr!).

I still complete the log book manually as well. I find it useful, even though I hate doing it. My DSN likes me to. 

You have some great numbers and I felt a pang of envy when I read that! My adjustment hasnt been so smooth but I am working on it. I am extremely happy though for you all how well you are doing. And you are not hammering "bolus wizzard" unlike me, I addicted! I am baffled at times by correcting and active insulin but getting there. Does your son decide himself how  much he is adminstering or do you decide? Whichever the case, you are clearly doing very well.

I myself didnt anticipate how much I now know about pumping in such a short period of time. You are going to be a fully-fledged expert by the time Bev is up and running and no douubt like everyone a great support. I hope you in your self feel the achievement...

Anyway, take care Mand and keep posting!

All my love, Lou xx


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## Patricia (Jul 27, 2009)

Hello Mand

Let us know how you get on Tuesday -- curious to know if you will at last be let into the secrets of wizard bolus-ing...! We think it's kind of amazing...

Anyway. Sorry your back giving you gip (jip?) -- I know the feeling. When you're this tired, it's all terribly wearing. BUT it does, really does, get easier.

Do you think you will continue to test? Or will you leave it when you can? It's such a personal thing....

Keep us up to date! Look forward to it.

xxoo


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## Mand (Jul 28, 2009)

Hi everyone

dsn came to visit today and she very pleased with my sons numbers now he on the pump. Just need to do a little bit of tweaking. He hypoing at midnight but stable and good numbers at 3am and 7am. So have now added a fourth slightly lower basal rate from 10pm to midnight. Will see how that goes. Also he running too high when he checks his blood before lunch so tomorrow he has to have breakfast and bolus at 7.30am (gasp! He not been getting up till 10 now it is the hols!) then he has to check his blood two hours later then every hour until 1pm (which is when he usually too high). This is to see if he gradually rising due to basal or whether he just needs more insulin to carb ratio for breakfast. 

Once we sort out the midnight low then we will not have to check him every night (phew!!!!!!) but to do spot checks and see if all ok.

We will review situation next week and see if anymore tweaking needs to be done. Once it looks like all ok then we are going to be taught bolus wizard.

I realise that this must seem like a long wait for the wizard compared to some of your others but i am happy to wait as his numbers so good. But i am avoiding pizza and some of the other foods you have all mentioned as being particularly difficult without using the wizard. So once he using it then we can re introduce these foods. 

Lou, still not got round to looking at carelink but this is because my back still giving me gip (Patricia, i do not know if it gip or jip either! ) so i can only sit for a limited time. Hopefully next week i can take a look at it.

Nothing else to add apart from the fact my son still very, very happy on the pump compared to multiple injections but of course this is a very personal choice and there are no rights or wrongs. 

Will update again soon.

Hope everyone reading this is well. Hi to you all. 

Bev, can't wait till you have a pump thread too. It is so good to be amongst people in the same situation.

Bye for now. Love Mand xx


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## Adrienne (Jul 28, 2009)

Mand said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> dsn came to visit today and she very pleased with my sons numbers now he on the pump. Just need to do a little bit of tweaking. He hypoing at midnight but stable and good numbers at 3am and 7am. So have now added a fourth slightly lower basal rate from 10pm to midnight. Will see how that goes. Also he running too high when he checks his blood before lunch so tomorrow he has to have breakfast and bolus at 7.30am (gasp! He not been getting up till 10 now it is the hols!) then he has to check his blood two hours later then every hour until 1pm (which is when he usually too high). This is to see if he gradually rising due to basal or whether he just needs more insulin to carb ratio for breakfast.
> 
> ...



Hiya Mand

You will hopefully be able to have different patterns as well.    For the holidays we are on pattern A so the morning basals all start a couple of hours later as we get up later.   It is working really well. 

You sound like you are doing brilliantly, I'm so pleased for you.   We have a 10 pm to midnight basal as well, same as you bit lower than the one before.


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## Patricia (Jul 29, 2009)

So do we -- well sort of: we have a lower one now from 8-12, and an even lower one from 4-8pm...

All sounding great Mand -- so admire your good numbers even without wizard. Wow! I guess the great advantage of this system is that you really understand exactly what the pump is doing technically before becoming utterly dependent on it just doing it without you thinking everything through....

Sorry your back still a hassle. Ugh. Do you have physio for it? Confess I have been to physio umpteen times for various complaints, back included -- all injuries and weirdnesses from years of ballet...! A good one is invaluable though.

xxoo


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## bev (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi Mand!

I am astounded that you havent been doing the wizard - but still have some great numbers! It seems that even when pumping, different teams deal with things very differently. I wonder what our team will do? I have a confession to make, I am feeling a little anxious about A going on the pump now - i dont know why - i think i am just a bit anxious about starting all over again after putting so much effort into MDI - then everything changing.

But at least i will have these threads to look back on and we can all help each other!Bev


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## Mand (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi everyone

Well, after lowering his basal rate from 10pm to midnight to stop the midnight hypo, he was 14 at midnight then 11 at 3am!  We had only changed from 0.6 to 0.55 for that two hour period. Anyway, going to leave it as it is and see if same happens again tonight!

Got him up at 7am this morning to eat breakfast (was like waking the dead!) then checked his blood two hours after eating and are now checking every hour, as instructed by his dsn, to see if he gradually rises by 1pm (as he usually too high at this time). He is stable so far and around the 6 and 7 mark so looks like the problem is that he needs more insulin/carb ratio for breakfast rather than his basal is wrong. But we have not completed test yet as still have the 1pm check to do but not likely to have risen that much since 12 noon which was 6.1.

Adrienne, his dsn did say that we will end up on 2 patterns. One for school and one for weekends and holidays. x x 

Patricia, I have not been to physio for years re my back as it usually recovers within a few days whether i have physio or not so i do not bother anymore, especially as it ?36 pounds a visit! But i went yesterday as my back not recovering like usual. He throughly checked me and just thinks i have a couple of aggravated discs and possibly an inflammed facet joint. Gave me some exercises to do and have another app on Fri which i can cancel of Thurs afternoon if feeling much better. x x 

Bev, I understand that you will be feeling nervous about the change. All i can say is that it has dramatically improved the quality of my sons life (no frequent injections, can eat so freely, if too high then just press a button instead of yet another jab etc etc) and because his readings are massively improved it also giving him a better chance of not developing health problems further down the line. I am completely here for you (and i know the others will be thinking the same).
You are not alone and I here for you anytime. Really looking forward to hearing how you get on with it. x x 

Will update again soon.
Love to you all. x x


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## Patricia (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi Mand

Crikey that's a big difference for .05 of a unit! I'm wondering when he ate and what he had? It's not surprising that the 3am was still high -- because if he's high going into the night it will remain so on a stable basal...but it's why he leapt so high in the first place. Hmm. Let us know what happens tonight.

Did the physio put any nice heat or electric current on you? That should help symptoms anyway?! Hope it feels better soon...

Bev: quite understand. I won't pretend it's not a great deal of work. But there's something about it which isn't as stressful, I'm not sure why. Much more feels predictable.  It *will* be okay. And I really, really think that the payoff of Alex feeling better and being freer will just be worth every moment.

Does he have his date? Did I miss something?!


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## Sugarbum (Jul 31, 2009)

Hi mand!

Great to read your DSN updates. I am flabberghasted that there has been such a change to such a small increment of insulin?! Thats mad!

Glad things are going ok. The eating breakfast so early and waking the dead thing doesnt sound as good though. My lazy side of life has been made much better over the last couple of weeks being on patterns. I cant tell you how frustrating it was reading all this stuff about lying in being easier on pump and couldnt work out how. Hopefully this will help things, keep us posted.

How is your young man doing on school holidays? Must be a welcome break for him and good timing. You have done so well to factor all this into your lives and keep schooling.

Keep well and keep us updated!

Lots of love xxx


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## Mand (Aug 4, 2009)

Hi Everyone

Hope you are all well. 

Well, as you know, he was going too low at midnight so we made a small basal change from 0.6 to 0.55 from 10pm to midnight. In my last post i said that, after making this change, he was then 14 at midnight! Well, i am happy to report that that was a one off. The following few nights at midnight he has been 8, 10.2, 9.2, 4.1 and 6.2. So a bit up and down. But at least not extreme either way. He generally fine at 3am and 7am. We have had to change his breakfast carb/insulin ratio to 1:9 instead of 1:10 as he was going too high before lunch but after our experiment last week, we know his basal is correct and that he just needed more insulin with his breakfast.

Generally, throughout the day, his levels are very good. I am still being very strict at the moment. He has to come home for lunch or take a packed, pre carb counted lunch out with him. Also not been allowing him to go to the many sleepovers that he gets invited to during the hols and have not allowed him to eat at other peoples houses so much either. I have been strict simply because if his levels are not right, how can i tell if the pump settings are wrong or whether he just not getting the carb/insulin requirement right? Especially when they graze so much on food throught the night on these sleepover! (Also, they seem to forget the 'sleep' part of the sleepover!).

But last night he was a bit upset about being so restricted during the hols so i am going to cut him some slack! I am now confident that he safe on the pump. He does not swing dramatically high or low anyway. So, okay, his readings won't be as perfect some days but i have to balance it up against the quality of his present life too.

This is the hard part of being a parent. I am not the one with diabetes but i live and breath it. I think i need to work harder at finding a better balance between controlling his diabetes and controlling his life! I need to remember to see things from his perspective too. I love him so much and am devoted to his care but maybe i need to back off a little. 

Anyway, will be speaking to his dsn today or tomorrow and will see what she makes of his current readings and see what tweaks she recommends. Of course, we will just get this sussed then he will return to school and it will all go to pot! 

He has had three mild hypos in the last couple of day but this has been due to excessive activity without us doing a temp basal. The problem is that he does not play a sport, he just goes out to play. He rides his bike, maybe go to somewhere where there are some ramps to ride over, maybe kick a ball about at the local leisure centre field etc. There is no way to quantify his activity. Each day is different, depending on who is out playing, what they play, whether is suddenly starts to rain and they are indoors on the computer. Even when he goes to band practise at his friends house, they practise for a while then all go and jump about on the trampoline for a while - or maybe not! Any tips, anyone????????????

Anyway, to sum up, we still very happy with the pump. Life is so much easier for him and his diabetes is so much more controlable. And the best bit - his levels are sssssssooooooooo much better!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Just need to teach him to carb count better. Any ideas??? 

How you doing, Lou? Will keep an eye out for an update on your pumping thread.

Hope Patricia having a good hol!

Bev, any news yet re a date for pump for A?

How are things Adrienne? Any advice re any of the above?

Well, i think i have probably bored you all enough for today! Will update again soon.

Love Mand xx


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## Sugarbum (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey hun, hows it going?

Glad the basal is going ok. It must be annoying to know that when he goes back to school everythign goes to pot.....I feel exactly the same way about going to work! Are you happy with your patterns?

Its always good to evaluate things and reflect on our relationships, but I hope you arent giving yourself too much of a hard time by what you are saying. I dont have children but I am sure what you are feeling is natural in parenting and good parenting at that. Striking the right balance between being all over the diabetes thing and allowing freedom at the same time is an equation that many people would love the formula to. You do the best you can Mand, and it cant be easy. Plus (and I am bigging you up here!) you are managing a disease that you do not even have, or know how the physical symptoms feel like- such as 'warning signs' etc.....it can only make your job ten times harder! That means you deserve ten times more credit in my book! 

Happy pumping! Catch you towards the end of the week! Lou xx


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## Mand (Aug 8, 2009)

Thanks Lou. I really appreciate your words of support. It does make me feel better to read those words, so thank you. I feel like you really understand and that means a lot to me. 

Things are going well still. His dsn has made some tweaks, here and there, to his settings and i also had a talk to her about my need to find a good balance between being a responsible parent/carer but allowing him more freedom. She was so understanding, gave me some good advice and now i feel i am getting the balance better. 

It is so difficult for him when he is eating away from home to get the balance of carb/insulin correct but he definately needs to learn better carb counting and this would help so much. Must work on that one!

Anyway, most of the time when he eating at home, most of his readings are on target or near enough to. 

When he goes to a sleepover and out for the day without me then his readings not so good for a while but i am learning to just let this go as it is important that his life is not too restricted, otherwise he will resent his diabetes. When his carb coutning improves then his readings will improve when he not eating at home, so we will get there in the end. 

The good thing about the pump is the ease to correct if he has carb counted wrongly. 

I have downloaded, from Mcdonalds and Pizza Huts websites, the carb values of their food and printed them out for my son to carry with him. I am going to see if any other eating places offer such excellent info. I wrote to Franky and Bennys (as they do not have the carb value of their menu available) and they have replied that they are currently working on it. Lets hope so!

This sort of info would help my son, and all other diabetics, so much. 

Just wondering if Bev or adrienne have read my last post? Not heard from you guys in a while and just wondering how you are? Perhaps you are on holidays? Look forward to catching up with you soon.

Lou, hope you are doing ok yourself? Will keep an eye out for an update on your thread. Take care. Mand x


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## Sugarbum (Aug 8, 2009)

I think that is a great idea, downloading stuff. Have you got the Collins gems carb counter? It has some fast food stuff in there Maccy D's etc and some other eating out places. Its not right up my street so I semi-compilled my own and from their websites I have downloaded starbucks, cafe neros and pizza express. I live near a wetherspoon and eat there once in a while, they are the only place I actually can think of that freely display their nutritional info in a leaflet for you to take-AND NOT DOWNLOAD! My favourite restaurant is a small turkish place near me, and I cant for the life of me work out their carbs! I cant believe someone hasnt produced a proper combo guide on all the current places it would really useful. I have to say, I though it was kind of mandatory that these big places provide such stuff??

Glad its all going ok. I am still finding it hard work but I am still making lots of big adjustments. I have my one month pump clinic on monday so it will great to see the others and how they are doing. Like it, but still in the "hard work" phase. Im still reading the pumping insulin book slowly, which is mighty tough but they reference my actual doctor a couple of pages in! He was a big instigator in getting the pump going in england and in its inital invention before it went to america. Well wadaya know.....!

Hope you and the family enjoying this beautiful weather this weekend,
Lots of love Lou xx

PS I think Bev and Pat on their jollies! xx


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## Mand (Aug 21, 2009)

*A scary experience but lessons very much learned!*

Hi everyone. Hope you are all well. Have not updated for a while partly due to tiredness (still night testing) and partly because things are jogging along ok so not much to report. Until now!!!!!!!!!! 

My son changed his cannula last night at 9pm (mistake number 1 - never change cannula just before bed!). He had a small supper at 9.30pm. Checked his blood at midnight and was 12.1. I bolused a correction thinking the supper was probably still in his system causing he high.

At 3am he was 16.1 with 0.4 ketones! I bolused a correction and woke him to drink some water. (mistake number 2 - no reason for him to be so high so should have changed cannula)

At 8am he was 20.6 with ketones of 2.2!!!!!  We decided to change the cannula as realised something not right. Well, the little tube that should have gone into his tummy was in an 'L' shape and had not gone in to his tummy so no insulin had been getting into him since 9pm last night!! We put in a new cannula, bolused a correction, made him drink a pint of water and phoned the hospital. My son was thirsty, needing the loo, had a headache and mild chest pains. Scary! (mistake number 3 - set an alarm clock for two hours after 3am check if all not ok). 

They said there were other people having problems with the tubing bending and advised us to put cannula in fridge before inserting in future as when cold the plastic less likey to kink/bend. They said we were doing everything right to correct but to now check his blood and ketones every hour until in the clear. All sypmtoms should go as he returns to normal.

I am happy to report that at 2pm today his blood sugar was back to normal and he was clear of ketones! All syptoms gone. Phew!

I have been feeling so guilty. Why, why, why did i not respond to the 16.1 at 3am by changing the cannula instead of just bolusing a correction! Well, a lesson learned! 

Well i am now thinking of this as a positive experience as he has made a full recovery and we are more knowledgable now and have learned several lessons!

How are you all? Good holidays? 

How you doing, Lou? (thanks for your support recarelink and diaries. I all sorted now). x

Patricia and Adrienne, how are you?

Bev, do not want you to be worried by my experience. I know A soon to start on pump. But i wanted to share my scary experience so that it helps others to be aware of potential problems and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!

Anyway, have forgiven myself the mistakes as all so new to me still (only been 6 weeks) but it hard not to feel guilty when it is my son that suffers if i do not get things right.


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 21, 2009)

Hi Mand , Im pleased to hear your son is now ok , that must have been very scary for you !!


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## Northerner (Aug 21, 2009)

Hi Mand, to err is human! You have, as you say, learned some valuable lessons and this will help you and others reading this in the future, so thank you for posting! From what I have read often here, getting a high reading in the middle of the night isn't that unusual, so it's not surprising that you were caught out by diabetes muddying the waters! Well done for getting things sorted. I would imagine it was also salutory for your son to be fully aware of the consequences of not getting his insulin - perhaps it will help prevent future 'teenage rebellions' that we occasionally read about!


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## bev (Aug 21, 2009)

Hi Mand,

Really sorry to hear of this scary experience - for you and your son!
Please dont feel guilty about it - we are all new to this pumping business and at least you have learnt a good lesson and so has your son. Also, i would like to thank you for telling us all about it as it really is valuable for us to know. 
I had read on the other forum that one parent wont change a set after 6pm for this very reason. Perhaps you could alter the times he changes it?

Perhaps he could do it at 4pm and this should give enough time to notice if things have gone astray? Also would fit in with school times etc.

I understand where your coming from regarding not wanting your son to hate his diabetes - but after reading accounts on the other forum - after a FFL conference - it seems the 'right' way to deal with teenagers is to 'let' them hate their diabetes! It is healthy apparently to be able to show your feelings towards diabetes and what it means to you. Also its ok to let your child know that you too hate diabetes!
The current school of thought also is that you should 'discipline' your child if he/she miss-manages their diabetes deliberately (i.e. refuse to bolus etc) - because as this chap said - if a child doesnt do its homework it gets disciplined - if a child doesnt bolus - they should learn there are consequences and they are far more serious than not doing your homework!
I have to say i agree with this line of thought - and i have had words with A on a couple of occasions for things like not sitting still when having a hypo and for not filling in his log book. If we can start their mindset to include diabetes and its management from this early age - then hopefully they wont feel so much need to rebel as its only them they are hurting!

I had heard about putting the sets in the fridge - but i thought it was to stop bubbles in the tubing? Anyway, thanks for all the updates - please keep them coming as i need all the help i can get. For some reason i feel very nervous about next tuesday - did you when it was your sons pump start?Bev


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## Mand (Aug 21, 2009)

AM - Thank you. Yes, it was scary but all is well now! Phew! xx

Northener - Thank you for your words of support. I hope my experience will be of help to others. And you are right, my son took it very seriously and it has been a bit of an eye opener for him (and us). Things have gone so smoothly since his diagnosis two years ago that i think it is easy for him (and us) to become complacent. It was a bit of a reality check this morning. Although a scary and worrying experience, I am almost glad it happened because it showed him (and us) that bad things can happen and confirms the importance of taking care of what you are doing. xx

Bev - Thank you also for your words of support. Yes, it is all a big learning curve! Yes, i did feel  apprehensive before my son started on pump. But this is natural so do not worry if you feel anxious. I can only speak from personal experience, but overall things for us are so much better with the pump, despite the drawbacks or odd scary experience. I hope you have a good level of success as we have done. xx


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## Sugarbum (Aug 21, 2009)

Hey mand!

Firstly, of course- very glad to hear your son is well post this experience!

There are quite a few things you have done RIGHT as well as all these multiple "mistakes"! You tested for keytones, you got him drinking water, you rechecked and kept checking, you called the hospital....

Really interested to hear of the putting your set in the fridge- never heard that one! Like all things, I wont knock it till I try it!!

Youve done a great job by the sounds of it, although I completely get it was very scary and unpleasant. I expect you have been prepped like me. All the things that i have been told can go wrong, I am just waiting for them to happen.

I agree with what Bev says about the set change before bed. My DSN swears against it. I have abidied by this like the teachers pet that I am, but saying that I do need to change the set tonight before bed as Im low on the good stuff! Yes, the "alarm", dont even get me started on it...

Really nice to read your pumping updates again. Hope all is going well now on it. Still getting the good numbers?

Take care xx


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## Mand (Aug 22, 2009)

Good to hear from you Lou. Thanks for making me feel better. Your supportive words, and everyone else's, really do make me feel better and stronger. 

Part the reason i felt so guilty was that we had been told by his dsn *not* to change the cannula before bed. As Bev said 4pm is a good time. But it was just circumstances that led to it being that way but it will be a priority in future!

How are you getting on Lou? If you have time, please update your thread as i often think of you and wonder how it all is going. xx ps i know what you mean re the dreaded 'alarm clock'!

Bev - has just re-read your post about the latest thoughts on diabetes and discipline. It is interesting reading as i am always unsure how to handle the emotional side of things as well as the discipline. It always seems a shame for my son to be in trouble for not doing something correct re his diabetes when he didnt choose to have it in the frst place but, on the other hand, he does have it and he needs to learn good discilpine re it for the sake of his future health. 

I have been trying to remember to praise him when he does well. I think it is so easy with kids to only tell them off when they do bad and to forget to praise them when they do well. Not just re diabetes but with anything they do.

I have set up a system where my son gets ?2 a week extra to his pocket money (he currently gets ?4 a week pocket money but he has to tidy and dust his bedroom each week to get this) if he has been responsible with this diabetes. eg remembered to do blood tests when not at home, tried hard to carb count well when not at home, remembered to correct if too high etc etc. It seems to be working. I do not know whether this is a good idea or not but i wanted him to have some incentive to take care of himself when he not with me. 

Anyway, good luck for Tuesday Bev. I will be thinking of you and A. xx


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## bev (Aug 22, 2009)

Thanks Mand! I dont think we need another pump thread - so i will just comment on the odd thing that happens - which i am sure there will be lots!

Regarding incentives for good management of diabetes, i am absolutely positive that your doing the right thing by giving your son extra pocket money for following the 'rules'. I believe that if we can get the early years 'right' - then that is half the battle when they go into the teenage years. I also think it must be easier on a pump as they wont have the added excuse of not wanting to inject! I must admit i am fairly strict with all mine - i dont suffer fools gladly! But i do it for their own good - if a child doesnt have discipline in its life - they have no incentive to do well in any aspect of their lives - so by getting them to take responsibility for their diabetes (within reason of course) i think we are giving them brilliant grounding for their future.
Children need boundaries and if we can get them to understand the consequences of crossing those boundaries of diabetes then we have done a good job!

I have a niece who got everything she wanted (by way of material goods) -but nothing she needed.(discipline.,consequences and boundaries). She wasnt disciplined and came from a fairlly affluent family setting with all the material gain she ever wanted (only child). She is just 19 now and is on her second pregnancy! And she is a very intelligent girl - but lurches from one drama to another and still doesnt have any boundaries, and never faces consequences for her behaviour. Her children will be brought up the same and the circle will go on forever. It is really very sad, but if she had been mine she would have been at uni now and childless. The saddest thing about it is that my three children think its such a waste of her intelligence - but my niece thinks she is being a grown -up by having these children and she has nothing to offer them in terms of good parenting.(although to be fair she does show her daughter a lot of love). 
Her mother asks me why my three are all so good - and i havent the heart to tell her that its because her daughter wasnt 'parented'. My niece would stand in front of my 3 children and eat the 5th chocolate bar - whilst mine were crying and hated me - but i knew i was doing the right thing by saying 'no'! It is the easiest thing in the world to say 'yes' to your child - but you are doing them no favours - because in the long run you will end up with a troublesome spoilt brat. Saying 'no' is very hard -but its the best thing you can do for you child in my opinion.

Sorry i got a bit carried away there! I just get so cross with lazy parents!

p.s. I am a nice mum really!Bev


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## Patricia (Aug 22, 2009)

Hi Mand et al

Quickly, as so much to catch up on!: we always change our set before a meal, eg Wednesday before normally-timed dinner, and Sunday morning before lunch. This way we are more likely to catch it quickly, because we will know at the post-bolus bgl if things have gone wildly astray.

Saying that, we once had an issue with a late night high which *wasn't*  a set change problem. We only knew this by doing a correction followed by a check an hour later. At that check things were coming down, so we knew the insulin was going in. We then checked two hours later, etc, and things were continuing to come down....

So from then our system has been to correct an unexpected high and then check about an hour later before thinking we need to change the set. Fingers crossed we've never had to change a set -- but no doubt will some day.

Saying all THIS -- I'm sure we would have responded the same way you did with the timings...We would probably not have got up at 4am to see if he were coming down -- enough is enough. The only thing I can see is what you've already said: the cannula change was prob just too late in the evening to make sure all was on target! Live and learn...

I'm sorry to hear it happened, Mand, but it's all a learning experience, as everyone says! We encountered many 'learning' situations over the holiday...so much of it is about planning, and about ingraining certain types of routine (eg don't go to x without y; don't do a set change later in evening, blah blah) -- though the list does sometimes feel a little endless, and like we'll *never* get on top of it!

On another note: bev, just to keep me from chasing through the threads -- are you all set for Tuesday?! When did you find out? Let me know! (sorry for hijacking...)

Finally: Mand, we are now letting E estimate all over the shop when out and about, and it's not doing much harm....We pick up whatever highs later (and they've not been bad). As for exercise and lows, we use temp basals like nobody's business: he now turns them on and off himself when out with friends and feeling low...So last week out in town and walking around, he felt low (4.5) and turned on a temp basal for two hours. Then went to friend's house via bus, had lunch, all fine, but then they went to park to meet other friends and again he felt low (4.1) so turned on another temp basal for another couple of hours. This seems to do the job for him in most situations, 75% of normal basal covers most circumstances...Try experimenting? Then your son can really get hold of a little more freedom without the lows...?

For now! 

xxoo


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## Patricia (Aug 22, 2009)

Missed more posts while doing mine! Argh.

Just to say re discipline: completely with bev on this. My kids are 'good' ones too, for same reasons. And incentives work well for E -- esp financial ones. He gets pocket money for housework too, and earns extra money when he can for car and garden work etc. Re diabetes though thus far he is his own worst critic, so we tread carefully there. He berates himself for 'missing' things and will become cross with self easily if he doesn't catch things. So we try to be quite light with him. Slowly he takes more responsibility without being reminded, so okay so far. This will change we know...

For now again!


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## Mand (Aug 22, 2009)

Bev, I have no doubts that you are a lovely mom! Hehe! I totally agree with you re discipline. I do take a fair bit of grief from my two because they think i am too strict at times and that i nag at times but it is only in their best interests that i do it. I am glad that you agree with my money incentive idea as i was unsure about it. I only give ?2 so it is a treat rather than throwing money at him to be 'good'. It seems to be working so far and perhaps i can increase the amount a little over, in line with his age, time if it continues to work. 

Patricia - Good to hear from you. Thanks for your words of support re our scary experience! Lessons have been learned and that is the positive outcome of it. Yes, i do need to get my son to use the temp basal. I think this would deal with the lows he gets at times when out and about with friends. I also need him to carb count better. I like your attitude that you let your son do his best when out and about then correct any highs when he returns home. This i must learn to do. 

Feel free to hijack my thread anytime to ask other pumpers and pumper parents questions. It can be difficult to keep track with so many threads. Perhpas we should consider joining up and having just one pumping thread that we can all use? Just an idea? What do you think Patricia, Bev, Lou and others?


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## Sugarbum (Aug 22, 2009)

Thats an interesting idea Mand, I have stopped my thread a couple weeks back anyway.

I messaged Northener about this theme actually. I wandered if him or admin could consider a section on pumping (like books/pregnancy/sport etc) so that we dont feel like we are dominating the message board on pumping threads. I feel it is easier to ask a question on a thread about pumping than it is on the main message board for that reason. Also, I think this forum is growing and growing and a pumping section might attract other pumpers in the UK. Quite likely this change (if admin was happy to go ahead with it) will be a while off. I have started using another US forum with more pumpers on that I really enjoy in the mean time.

Anyhow, Mand that is a good idea about combining but I am still enjoying yours! Im still learning new things, as I expect we all are. My giving sets are in the fridge today because of what I read on your thread yesterday! 

I am happy to go with whatever people feel is right. Bev, I am very excited to hear all about alex going on the pump, not long now!

Love to all
Lou xx


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## Patricia (Aug 23, 2009)

I think a combined thread is an interesting thought too -- was beginning to think mine was all 'up at the top' and feeling a little embarrassed about it...Also, keep having to chase down other pumping threads...

I agree too about risk of dominating -- don't want this!

Do you think people who frequent the general messageboard would also go to a separate pumping section? Because I really value what people who *aren't* pumping say too! I personally rarely visit anywhere but the general board -- but that may be my quirk....

What do others think? Northerner, Sofaraway etc, any solutions occur?!

I agree though that it's hard to ask a question about pumping on the main board -- feels too specific sometimes?


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