Sunday, December 27, 2009

Hi Ho - Hi Ho... It's off to the Endo we go!

Yikes! This appointment has snuck up on me. I am dreading this one because I KNOW Justin's A1c will not be pretty.
WHY?
Because his lunch numbers at school are messing us all up.
PLUS!!!
I dread it because I am going to talk about adding another injection to help with the above mentioned problem. Poor Justin. I hate doing that to him.
On a side note... I was told to look start looking into the pump during our last appointment. Not really sure what exactly I'm suppose to look into. Where do you start? What questions do you ask? Who do you ask? I have poked around on the Internet and don't think I've learned a whole lot. Granted, I am not much of a reader.
I like hands on experience and real conversation.
EVERYTHING I know about the pump... I think I've learned from a blog(or was it Facebook?).
For example:
  • Always have extra batteries with you
  • Batteries like to go out in the middle of the night when you want sleep
  • When you cant find your pump... look under your pillow
  • Our pump needs a cool name
  • Pumps require a full rewind... ummm like a video???
  • If you detach your pump in front of your teacher... she may have a heart attack!
I do still have a few questions...
-I would like to know which pump also goes with the sensor thing that also checks your bg and eliminates the need to poke your finger??? That would be nice... Justin's fingers are all beat up and it makes me sad. I met a mom at a run we did and she was telling me about her daughters that did this. Why can't I remember the name?
-Are there any pumps I should avoid?
-I also hear that it's a whole lot more expensive... oh boy! Can it get worse?
-I do think(and I've said it before) our biggest challenge is going to be the injection site. At this point, Justin will ONLY use his arms. I haven't been able to convince him to try anywhere else. Anyone have this challenge?
I would love some feedback if you have any. AND a little prayer for an A1c that doesn't make me cry :)
Thanks for any advice~

10 comments:

Tracy said...

If you want one with an integrated CGMS, I would go with the Minimed pump. It is one of the top 3(or so) pumps out there and the only current one with CGMS.

We have the Animas PING and chose it for a couple of reasons, the small basal increments and the REMOTE! We LOVE the remote!

I think no matter which pump you choose, you will be fine. Everyone likes their pump for different reasons.

As far as site rotation, we use arms, tushie and sometimes legs. We tend to do arms the most anyway because we get the best numbers out of them. I think if he gives the arms a try, he might feel comfortable moving onto another area at sometime. Zane was ready to try more sites long before I was. I went with the flow. :)

He says site changes tickle now, so we must be doing something right!

Good luck pump shopping!

Wendy said...

There are 3 main pump companies:
1) Animas (Ping)
2) Medtronic (MiniMed)
3) Insulet (OmniPod)

There are 3 main Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM)
1) Medtronic
2) Dexcom
3) Navigator

As far as CGM goes, that's an entirely different learning curve. You won't want to jump on that bandwagon until you have the basics of pumping down.

After 2 years of pumping (Deltec Cozmo - they went out of business) we tried a CGM (Navigator). I had a hard time with it and chose to try again later. MUCH later. But that was just my experience...it's in the closet and I have no desire to play with it again anytime soon.

Anyway, now Addy wears the Animas Ping. We are VERY happy with it. There are plans to integrate the Ping with the Dexcom CGM soon.

The primary reasons we did not go with Medtronic MiniMed (it has the integrated CGM) is because 1) It uses proprietary tubing; and 2) It isn't waterproof. The fact that Addy's pump has gotten wet at the pool many times, not to mention it fell in the toilet makes the waterproof thing very important to us.

The primary reason we did not opt for Insulet OmniPod (it's the tubingless pump) is because of the Insulin On Board (IOB) feature. IOB is an entire essay in and of itself, but I feel OmniPod's lack of ability to keep track of active insulin for carb boluses is a safety issue. That's just MHO for what's it's worth.

Good luck tomorrow and let us know how it goes!

Hallie Addington said...

Good luck!

We have the PING, too. Love those small rates (you may not need them since he's older) and love the remote. The meter for the PING doubles as a remote. You can bolus with it! I hear thru the grapevine that Animas is supposed to come out with a cgm integrated into the site in2010. I hope so.

Tracy is right- you'll like whatever one you choose! We live doing site changes every 2-3 days. So much better than shots 5times a day!

We had a class at the hospital called pump options and we got to see and play with the pumps they work with- basically Minimed, animas, and omnipod. Does yours have anything like that?

They ARE expensive- but our insurance covered our pump 100%! You never know...

Good luck! We'll be thinking of you!

AjsMommy82 said...

I have no advice, we don't have our class on pumps until February just wanted to wish you GOOD LUCK!!!
ps. Alivia only does arms too!

phonelady said...

well I am going to say just make sure your insurance company will cover the cost of the pump and the monthly supplies before you jump in . I have heard alot of ppl say they did not get one cause their insurance would not cover it and the supplies . Yes they are very costly from what I have heard . me I cant have one because I am not able to afford health insurance and the sticky that holds stuff in place I am allergic too . Go figure it is always something . Good luck at the endo .

Jill said...

LOL @ what you know about the pump. Yes....detatching might give the teacher a heart attack...hahahaha!We're not going to be much help with choosing a pump because Kacey is using the Cozmo and thats the one that went out of business. She got Herbie just 2 weeks before they closed down but she was already to attached to him to send him back so we're sticking with him for another 3 years :) I've heard so many mized things about different pumps. My best advice would be to schedule a pump class with your endo and ask to see all the different pumps they reccommend (they probably only offer Animas, MiniMed and Omnipod like Wendy said) But push the buttons, play with them, see which one feels easiest for you! We did that with Kacey and we were set on MiniMed and once we got to pump class, she chose Cozmo. It was easier for her to hold and she liked how it looked like a cell phone. It seemed more "kid friendly" and easier to navigate for her. She kept going back to the vendor and asking to hold it. Because she was the one that had to wear it, we let her make the final decision. She would be pushing the buttons all the time and so easiest was best for her. So let him push the buttons and see what he likes best. Also, not that this would be a deciding factor...but look at the cool colors and skins too! Each person has to choose whats best for their situation and there are so many factors to look at.

Do you want tubeless? If you do, is your child responsible enough to keep up with a PDA? Once thats lost then it's like losing your pump and they cost like $500 to replace!

Do you want a pump that only uses one kind of tubing? Minimed pumps only allow you to use their sets. Animas changes up and you can find which set works best for your child.

How much does your insurance pay? Are the supplies covered under DME or do you have a copay?

Do you want the luxery of using a remote to dose your child instead of rolling him over and digging around for his pump?

Do you want something completely waterproof or just water resistant?

Do you want a CGMS thats intergrated with the pump? He's only 8yrs old, right? He will have this pump for 3-4yrs so that will make him 11yrs or so before choosing another pump. Are you going to want to put in another site to keep track of his blood sugars? Personally, we tried a CGMS and Kacey wanted it but we're just not ready for it. I found it wasnt very accurate and it would be another needle that she didnt need. As far sites go...we only do them in her tummy and her hips. Her endo told her that she couldnt have a pump til she was rotating the shots between her arms, tummy, legs and butt. Once she did that then he knew she could handle getting infusion sets put there. It only took her 6 months to prove herself cuz she wanted the pump so bad.

Hope this helps!! :) Remember...no matter what pump you choose...there is always one of us out here to help you and there is NO wrong pump choice. They all do the same thing...you just have to choose the features you want. Think of it like getting yourself into a cell phone contract. You choose the phone based on what you want...then you lock yourself into a contract that you can't get out of for a few years. It's the same thing :) Good luck and keep us posted!!

Jennifer said...

Choosing a pump is a hard decision. We had the option to meet with the pump reps who came to our house and were able to play with each pump while they were there. Since you like hands on, that may be an option for you. We went with the Animas Ping. I love the remote which was the deciding factor for me. And waterproof is good too. Although, it hasn't been dropped in the toilet (yet) Jada has forgotten to disconnect a few times at bath time and got into the tub with it on. Good luck with your search!

Meri said...

Wow! I'm even overwhelmed with all the info!

We've used Animas and Medronic...and I'm a Medronic lover. The quick sets are very comfortable and easy to insert. But also it is very kid friendly. Luke, who is now 6, gives himself his own boluses and puts in his own carb amounts. He couldn't do it with the animas...but the remote is a different story. We didn't have one of those. But then you would have to carry that one monitor everywhere...and I would go crazy doing that. We would lose it daily. (UH OH! I'm totally being biased!) And about the water proof thing. It is ok if Medronic gets wet. They just won't let you swim with it anymore because if it leaks they are liable. My kids wouldn't want it in the bath or to swim anyway. One half a twist...and the pump is off and he's ready to go. (My 6 year old does it himself.)

Which ever one you pick..it will be a godsend. Good luck! My endo had all the different insertion sets at the office to show us. Being hands on really helped. I hope your endo has help for you.

Good luck friend!

LaLa said...

I'm doing the research right now too -
All of these comments are super helpful!

I am also looking at http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/pumps/

We are taking the pump class on 2/9/10 so I hope to get a lot more information at that time.

Good luck today!

Anonymous said...

We have been on OmniPod since October after about 18 months of injections. I can't imagine going back to MDI now. We've been very happy w/ OmniPod so far. I didn't think a pump with tubing would be the right choice for my active 5-year-old.

I just launched a new blog called D-Mom Blog, which I hope is a resource to other parents of diabetic children. I hope to develop relationships with more parents.

(I've included you in my blogroll already.)

D-Mom Blog http://www.d-mom.com

Best,
Leighann

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