Back from New Endo appt couple questions

[chocoholicsc]

Well already things are really starting to look up for us...:) We met with the new endo this morning. Christopher's A1C at diagnosis 2.5 months ago was 10 (which I guess isn't terrible for a new D) and now it's 8.5. I'm actually pleased with that number because with all the funky bg numbers we've had I worried it had gone up.
Today he put us on Levemir and Novalog and gave us a tighter sliding scale to follow.
He thinks that the only way we're going to get the kind of control we're hoping for is with a pump. Especially the way Christopher loves to eat high carb foods and very little meat/cheese. So the plan is to try the Levemir for two weeks and then get a pump ordered...! I really hope I can do that. It's pretty scary to me right now.

So for my questions;
We were told to mix the levemir with novolog...has anyone had any experience with that? Our doctor told us that it's not recommended to mix them, but that they do that all the time. I would feel better hearing from some other parents that do that or have in the past.

The pump we prefer right now is the Omni-pod. One concern I have is over night. I guess there's another 2 yr old in this practice that went off the pod recently because the parents had to keep getting up in the night to turn it on and off every couple of hours. I don't really understand why that would be. I'm hoping somebody here can make sense of that. I certainly don't want to have to do that indefinitely. Right now I don't think Chrstopher requires any insulin overnight, but it's hard to say for sure since he's on NPH and I don't know how much residual is left in his system from his dinner shot. So if that's true, we could just turn it off at our bedtime (11ish) and back on again early in the am (6ish). Does that sound right?

Also, I'd love if you guys can direct me to any sites/books/links on pumping to get me started in my research on this new phase.

:)Candy:)

[Kirsten]

I guess there's another 2 yr old in this practice that went off the pod recently because the parents had to keep getting up in the night to turn it on and off every couple of hours. I don't really understand why that would be. I'm hoping somebody here can make sense of that.

The omnipod cannot be set with a programmed basal of zero. If your child needs less than 0.05 IU/hour overnight (or any time of the day) you would have to manually put in a temporary basal of zero and alternate it with a temporary basal of 0.05. The pump won't do that automatically. Most pumps will and if your TDD is very low, you're probably best off with the animas. Griffin's TDD was around 6 units when we started on the pod and we never had any problem with his basal needs.

HTH!

Kirsten

[vettechmomof2]

HI, good news on the lower A1C.
As for the Omnipod and the parents getting up in the night.( I am assumming here):o that he needed no basal insulin overnight. You cannot set a 0 basal although you could set up a temp basal everynight for long enough to cover bedtime that would allow you to do that so am not totally sure here if this is the reason. The smallest basal setting you can set is 0.5. Animas can set 0.25 but the Omnipod goes with 0.5. Once he starts on the Levemir you will start to get an idea of how much basal insulin he needs and then you will start the pump and everything will probaly change anyway.;) BUT, it does help give you an idea. Levemir is the long acting basal that should cover him for the 24 hour period. On the pump you stop the long lasting basal and revert to just the short acting for your boluses and basal. Unless you do the untethered but others have to explain that one as we pump with just Humalog.
We love the ease of the Omnipod and have found so much success with it. Not seeing the needles has been wonderful and no tubing for us has been really worth it. Any other questions just ask.

P.s. my brain is really fried today as this is my 2nd day with no sleep:eek: so if this did not make sense please let me know,
Allene

[Lee]

I am so happy that you have switched insulin regimen's! I was jsut looking for your other post becuase Ellen posted an article in this thread http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/showthread.php?t=15883 that really describes some of the differences between NPH and Lantus/Levemir.

As for pumps, there are many kids on Omni Pod who will chime in!

[miss_behave]

If your son is on very low insulin doses, you're probably better off getting the Animas pump. It is the only pump that delivers a 0.025 basal rate. You see most small children getting it for this reason. I would be especially concerned with the OmniPod if you cannot set a 0 basal. On other pumps, you can apparently alternate between the lowest- 0.05 and 0 per hour to mimic the Animas 0.025 rate.

[chocoholicsc]

I guess there's another 2 yr old in this practice that went off the pod recently because the parents had to keep getting up in the night to turn it on and off every couple of hours. I don't really understand why that would be. I'm hoping somebody here can make sense of that.

The omnipod cannot be set with a programmed basal of zero. If your child needs less than 0.05 IU/hour overnight (or any time of the day) you would have to manually put in a temporary basal of zero and alternate it with a temporary basal of 0.05. The pump won't do that automatically. Most pumps will and if your TDD is very low, you're probably best off with the animas. Griffin's TDD was around 6 units when we started on the pod and we never had any problem with his basal needs.

HTH!

Kirsten


Would this mean that we can't turn it off for the over-night hours? Christopher's TDD is right around 5 units right now. I wonder how that would work. Maybe we have to wait longer until he requires a little more insulin?

[sarahconnormom]

We did mix Lantus and Novolog for 4 months before going on the pump. It was never a problem for us. We were told to make sure we injected within 5 monutes of drawing it up or we had to start over. We would draw it up and inject immediately. It would probably be the same with the Levemir.

[Caydens_Mommy]

I'm glad that you like the new endo thus far.. It sounds like an up from the last one from you.. I hope that you get the results you want. Good Luck if you decided to go with the pump.. I hope that it works well for you aswell.

[Kirsten]

Would this mean that we can't turn it off for the over-night hours? Christopher's TDD is right around 5 units right now. I wonder how that would work. Maybe we have to wait longer until he requires a little more insulin?


You can set a temporary basal of zero at bedtime (I'm not sure how long you can go I've never done a temp basal for more than four hours) and at the end of the tempoarary basal it will return to the programmed basal automatically. So, if you wanted him to get a total of .4 units in 8 hours overnight, that would be .05 units/hour (no problem), but if you wanted him to get a total of .2 overnight you could start a temp basal of zero for 4 hours and then it will automatically return to .05/hr for the rest of the night. BUT if you wanted to alternate between 1 hour off/ 1 hour on all night long, you'd be up every 2 hours.

The min basal works out to be 1.2 units/day, so if you have a basal of 1.5/day right now (30% of TDD), you would probably be OK.

GL!

Kirsten

[twodoor2]

Well already things are really starting to look up for us...:) We met with the new endo this morning. Christopher's A1C at diagnosis 2.5 months ago was 10 (which I guess isn't terrible for a new D) and now it's 8.5. :)Candy:)

The ADA recommended A1C for a child of your son's age is 7.5 to 8.5 I believe. Therefore, you should be proud of your accomplishment!! It sounds like you're off to a great brand new start with this new endo!:D

[selketine]

I think with the Animas pump (maybe others too?) you can program a basal of zero for whatever time you want right? I have not tried it but it seems possible.

William went on his current Animas pump when he was 2 yrs old. If you need really tiny basal amounts then Animas is your pump. No other pump will give you that much fine tuning of the basal.

Minimed pumps are worth considering because of their CGMS - which is a separate cost that your insurance may not pay for. It would also mean your child wears an extra "set" if they got the CGMS (like have 2 needles stuck into you at all times rather than one). But the benefits of the CGMS are great - but you have to consider all those factors - or maybe you already know it isn't an option for you.

[chocoholicsc]

You can set a temporary basal of zero at bedtime (I'm not sure how long you can go I've never done a temp basal for more than four hours) and at the end of the tempoarary basal it will return to the programmed basal automatically. So, if you wanted him to get a total of .4 units in 8 hours overnight, that would be .05 units/hour (no problem), but if you wanted him to get a total of .2 overnight you could start a temp basal of zero for 4 hours and then it will automatically return to .05/hr for the rest of the night. BUT if you wanted to alternate between 1 hour off/ 1 hour on all night long, you'd be up every 2 hours.

The min basal works out to be 1.2 units/day, so if you have a basal of 1.5/day right now (30% of TDD), you would probably be OK.

GL!

Kirsten



Ok, I think I get it now!:p So we just need to figure out how much he can tolerate over night, if he could handle .4 or even .2 with it off for 4 hours. There are many nights now that we end up needing to give him .5 or 1 unit of Humalog because he's so high at 10pm. So maybe that would be ok.

When you have it turned off for 4 hours, have you run into problems with kinked canula's or other issues? Also, how do you like Insulet's Customer service?
Do you have any problems with finding a site for your son since he's so little still? Where does he usually wear his?

I hope you don't mind the interrogation here, :p

Thanks, Kirsten:)

[chocoholicsc]

I think with the Animas pump (maybe others too?) you can program a basal of zero for whatever time you want right? I have not tried it but it seems possible.

William went on his current Animas pump when he was 2 yrs old. If you need really tiny basal amounts then Animas is your pump. No other pump will give you that much fine tuning of the basal.

Minimed pumps are worth considering because of their CGMS - which is a separate cost that your insurance may not pay for. It would also mean your child wears an extra "set" if they got the CGMS (like have 2 needles stuck into you at all times rather than one). But the benefits of the CGMS are great - but you have to consider all those factors - or maybe you already know it isn't an option for you.

My biggest reason for wanting the omni-pod is because I am needle-phobic (even though my baby is not) and I like the auto-insertion part of the pod. I also really like the fact that there's no tubing attached to him. Third is that I think it would be discreet depending on where his site is. Someone please jump in here and correct me if I'm mistaken :)
I do like the idea of the cgms that goes with Minimed. I think our insurance pays at least a portion of it, but I still really would like to make the omni-pod work if it's at all possible.

[chocoholicsc]

The ADA recommended A1C for a child of your son's age is 7.5 to 8.5 I believe. Therefore, you should be proud of your accomplishment!! It sounds like you're off to a great brand new start with this new endo!:D


Really? Wow, that's great! Thanks! :)

[twodoor2]

My biggest reason for wanting the omni-pod is because I am needle-phobic (even though my baby is not) and I like the auto-insertion part of the pod. I also really like the fact that there's no tubing attached to him. Third is that I think it would be discreet depending on where his site is. Someone please jump in here and correct me if I'm mistaken :)
I do like the idea of the cgms that goes with Minimed. I think our insurance pays at least a portion of it, but I still really would like to make the omni-pod work if it's at all possible.



Tubing is not a big deal at all, and as far as being needle phobic, it's one site change every few days, so you're already giving injections, it cannot be worse than that. She wears a fanny pack and we insert the tubing in the fanny pack (or pump pouch). We use the sure-t's (infusion set brand) with the Medtronic Minimed, and it's very similar to pushing in a small thumbtack as for insertion. My daughter does not complain at all, and the needle is not much bigger than a regular insulin needle. You can also use EMLA cream to numb the area, which some people do with the Omnipod as well.

[Kirsten]

Ok, I think I get it now!:p So we just need to figure out how much he can tolerate over night, if he could handle .4 or even .2 with it off for 4 hours. There are many nights now that we end up needing to give him .5 or 1 unit of Humalog because he's so high at 10pm. So maybe that would be ok.

When you have it turned off for 4 hours, have you run into problems with kinked canula's or other issues? Also, how do you like Insulet's Customer service?
Do you have any problems with finding a site for your son since he's so little still? Where does he usually wear his?

I hope you don't mind the interrogation here, :p

Thanks, Kirsten:)

We have no problems finding sites now, but it was more problematic when he was smaller. We started at age 2.5 and I really felt we were near the lower limit size-wise. We haven't had problems with occlusions after temporary suspensions of insulin. Insulet's customer service is great!

GL!

Kirsten

ETA: When we started we used the tummy and upper butt. Those were the only areas that were sufficiently flat enough to avoid adhesion problems.

[Lee]

Ok, I think I get it now!:p So we just need to figure out how much he can tolerate over night, if he could handle .4 or even .2 with it off for 4 hours. There are many nights now that we end up needing to give him .5 or 1 unit of Humalog because he's so high at 10pm. So maybe that would be ok.

When you have it turned off for 4 hours, have you run into problems with kinked canula's or other issues? Also, how do you like Insulet's Customer service?
Do you have any problems with finding a site for your son since he's so little still? Where does he usually wear his?

I hope you don't mind the interrogation here, :p

Thanks, Kirsten:)

You will probably find that you do not need to turn it off at all - if the Omni Pod can do a .05 unit of basal, that equals .6 of a unit for the entire day - not even a full unit of insulin. You will see in a few days how much Levemir he takes, as well as how mu Novolog. If his Levemir is significantly higher than .6 of a unit, you should be fine.

[Seans Mom]

I am so happy for you. Sounds like you've found a good endo this time. :D You've already gotten responses on why the omnipod would need to be turned on and off during the night. It can't be set to do it on it's own. You wouldn't want to let him go all night w/o some insulin, even if it seems like a tiny amount. I know the switch to a pump can be scary, but it really is worth it once you get it set up right. Sean is having the best numbers ever since diagnosis now, and I no longer have to keep him at or above 200 at night to get through w/o a low. What a relief ! The tubing is really not a problem like it seems it would be. Sean has not pulled out a site from the tubing, not gotten it caught on doors (they are too short for that right now anyway) the dog doesn't play w/ it or even care that it's there. And being able to unhook him for tub time so he can "swim" free is great. Anyway, whatever you decide, I'm just really glad you have gotten a progressive endo now. Here's a site for pump comparison:
http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_technology/insulin_pump_models.php

[twodoor2]

If you're really worried about tiny doses of insulin, the Animas allows for the tiniest basal amounts on the pump market right now. You can program doses as small as .025u/h. :)

[Hollyb]

I know there are people here having great success with it the Ominpod, so it's a good option. However, I don't know about "more discrete." When I see pictures of it on a really small child, to me it looks pretty darn big. And once it's on, it's got to stay on, whereas you can unclip a pump for the pool or tub or even a wild and wooly wrestling match. Also in bed, you can move the pump so your child isn't sleeping on a bump.

The other thing I wanted to share is that when we got Aaron's pump he was still honeymooning, and even though he was 13 years old and using around 20 units a day, we actually did use that smallest increment in the Animas a lot. It allowed us to achieve beautiful steady nights (a tad less around 2 am, a tad more again at 5.) Also there were times when, say, a 1:10 carb ratio was too much and 1:11 too little. Just a weeny boost to his basal could even that up.

sigh. I miss those days!

[chocoholicsc]

Thanks everybody for your input and advice. It's such a hard decision...how in the world does anybody choose? :p

I guess no one sees any reason that we shouldn't mix the novolog and levemir, right?

:)Candy

[vettechmomof2]

The smallest basal setting you can set is 0.5. Animas can set 0.25 but the Omnipod goes with 0.5.

P.s. my brain is really fried today as this is my 2nd day with no sleep:eek: so if this did not make sense please let me know,
Allene

stick to my p.s. I realized I wrote 0.5 but it is acutally in incremants of 0.05. Oh well. Anothe rnight with no sleep is upon me but I am still writing words at least.;)
Allene

[chocoholicsc]

stick to my p.s. I realized I wrote 0.5 but it is acutally in incremants of 0.05. Oh well. Anothe rnight with no sleep is upon me but I am still writing words at least.;)
Allene

I'd say you're doing pretty well on no sleep for two days! It's ok, we all know what lack of sleep does to a brain...:p I'm curious what has you up so much though?

[jwk's mom]

We also can mix Novalog and Lantus at bedtime. If J needs a corrective dose. Have really not had a problem other than the fact that it scares me to give a corrective at bedtime as I worry me will then drop. If he is close to range I don't do the corrective. So far he has always been ok with it and it does help his numbers in the morning.

[twodoor2]

if the Omni Pod can do a .05 unit of basal, that equals .6 of a unit for the entire day - not even a full unit of insulin.

Actually, .05u/h for a 24 hour period is 1.2 units, and the Animas can do .025u/h, and that's .6 units in a 24 hour period.:)

[Kaylee's Mommy]

So for my questions;
We were told to mix the levemir with novolog...has anyone had any experience with that? Our doctor told us that it's not recommended to mix them, but that they do that all the time. I would feel better hearing from some other parents that do that or have in the past
:)Candy:)


I have never heard of anyone adding levemir to their novolog.. are they talking just once a day, or every time he's to take novolog? Kaylee was never on levemir but I thought it was similar to lantus, a 24 hour insulin..

Glad you had a good appointment, great job on the A1c, sounds like this dr. really listened, which is always a good thing:)

We don't use the omnipod but I'm guess they had to do zero basals at some point at night.. of course, I think you can set the basal to zero, so not sure what they mean by turning it off.. there are plenty of young ones on the board on the pod to help out with that..

I'm glad they are going to move you quickly to the pump (if thats what you want:) )

[wilf]

... I guess no one sees any reason that we shouldn't mix the novolog and levemir, right?

:)Candy

We use Levemir with three (!) other insulins. We give it with any of the others (Novolog, Regular, or NPH) in any combination. They work just fine together.

The only possible effect we see is the Novolog taking a little longer to act when given with the Levemir - so you'd need to pre-bolus the mixed injections a little more if you see spikes in BG after those meals.

[chocoholicsc]

We use Levemir with three (!) other insulins. We give it with any of the others (Novolog, Regular, or NPH) in any combination. They work just fine together.

The only possible effect we see is the Novolog taking a little longer to act when given with the Levemir - so you'd need to pre-bolus the mixed injections a little more if you see spikes in BG after those meals.


Thank you, Wilf. I feel so much better about mixing them now. We are only supposed to mix the breakfast and dinner doses and then Christopher will get only novolog at meals. We always give his shots before he eats so hopefully that will work out fine.

Candy:)

[Mary Lou]

Congrats on the A1C!!! Good work :)

I remember seeing a display for the Omnipod at our last JDRF walk. They had actual pod shells that they were giving away to show the size and while my boys were attracted to the idea of the pod, once they saw it they were clear that there was no way that they wanted something so big stuck to their bodies. Hubby and I were actually surprised at the bulk of it.

Now, many people love the pod and each to their own. I'm only mentioning it because I wonder if you could contact the company that makes them and have you send one of those shells to you, or ask your endo.

Everything is a trade off and once you figure out what's most important to you and your child you will make the best choice for you. I have a friend who wears the pod and she just loves it and it totally works for her.

[miss_behave]

I know there are people here having great success with it the Ominpod, so it's a good option. However, I don't know about "more discrete." When I see pictures of it on a really small child, to me it looks pretty darn big. And once it's on, it's got to stay on, whereas you can unclip a pump for the pool or tub or even a wild and wooly wrestling match. Also in bed, you can move the pump so your child isn't sleeping on a bump.


I've seen several already pumping adults who have done an OmniPod trial and had a huge problem with the size. I can't imagine it on a small child. Theres seems to be 2 types of people- those that find the size a huge problem and those who don't at all. Its interesting to hear the different perspectives on the same device! Some would have you believe its gigantic, and others that its really tiny and discreet. I just think people should do a trial first.

[Mermaid]

The Cosmo allows a basal of 0. I'm not sure what the lowest increment after that is. Don't get mad Omni Pod users but: Tubing for us is not a big deal. Once you get used to the pump, it just becomes another body part. You can disconnect entirely. Depending on the infusion set you can monitor more closely how the cannula is doing. It is "all in one". I'm not sure I could always keep track of the PDA.

Also the Inset infusion set is nice. The needle is not visible during insertion, it has an automatic insertion device built into each one and we've never had one hurt. It does look intimidating, but we've grown to love it.

[twodoor2]

The Cosmo allows a basal of 0. I'm not sure what the lowest increment after that is. Don't get mad Omni Pod users but: Tubing for us is not a big deal. Once you get used to the pump, it just becomes another body part. You can disconnect entirely. Depending on the infusion set you can monitor more closely how the cannula is doing. It is "all in one". I'm not sure I could always keep track of the PDA.

Also the Inset infusion set is nice. The needle is not visible during insertion, it has an automatic insertion device built into each one and we've never had one hurt. It does look intimidating, but we've grown to love it.

MM also allows for a zero basal as well (and I think Animas does too), but we use .05u/h. This is because I was told by the pump trainer, and several people on CWD, that if you do not have a continuous flow of insulin going through the tube at all times, it could cause the insulin to crystalize and form blockage or bubbles. In fact, when I take the pump off her at night, I have to set a temp basal on the pump of .1u/h and that helps to eliminate blockages when the pump is off. For some reason, we don't get blockages if the pump is on her and going at .05u/h, but if I take it off all night and leave it a.05u/h, we will get blockages.:confused:

The tubing is not a big deal for us either. In fact, I prefer untethered because I can take the pump off and leave the flat site hub.

[momtojess]

MM also allows for a zero basal as well (and I think Animas does too), but we use .05u/h. This is because I was told by the pump trainer, and several people on CWD, that if you do not have a continuous flow of insulin going through the tube at all times, it could cause the insulin to crystalize and form blockage or bubbles. In fact, when I take the pump off her at night, I have to set a temp basal on the pump of .1u/h and that helps to eliminate blockages when the pump is off. For some reason, we don't get blockages if the pump is on her and going at .05u/h, but if I take it off all night and leave it a.05u/h, we will get blockages.:confused:

The tubing is not a big deal for us either. In fact, I prefer untethered because I can take the pump off and leave the flat site hub.

When we went untethered we were told that that the blockage from not having a basal running through would occur in the site, not the tubing. We've had a few out of the blue high #s pop up in the last few months since we started with lantus. So if you do go with a pump and go with a 0 basal, that is something to look at too.

[Mermaid]

MM also allows for a zero basal as well (and I think Animas does too), but we use .05u/h. This is because I was told by the pump trainer, and several people on CWD, that if you do not have a continuous flow of insulin going through the tube at all times, it could cause the insulin to crystalize and form blockage or bubbles. In fact, when I take the pump off her at night, I have to set a temp basal on the pump of .1u/h and that helps to eliminate blockages when the pump is off. For some reason, we don't get blockages if the pump is on her and going at .05u/h, but if I take it off all night and leave it a.05u/h, we will get blockages.:confused:

The tubing is not a big deal for us either. In fact, I prefer untethered because I can take the pump off and leave the flat site hub.


We have not had a problem with blockages. Perhaps we are just lucky?!

[twodoor2]

We have not had a problem with blockages. Perhaps we are just lucky?!

Ivan'sMum, who has an "untethered son" (where are you Fran??!), had many difficulties with tube blockages. This is how she solved that particular problem since she pm'd me about it. She leaves the end of the tube when it is disconnected from the hub, in a glass of water. I believe her son uses 0 basal though.

[saxmaniac]

I've seen several already pumping adults who have done an OmniPod trial and had a huge problem with the size. I can't imagine it on a small child. Theres seems to be 2 types of people- those that find the size a huge problem and those who don't at all. Its interesting to hear the different perspectives on the same device! Some would have you believe its gigantic, and others that its really tiny and discreet. I just think people should do a trial first.

I always wonder about this. While the site size is bigger, remember you don't need a pump. The pod itself is much smaller than any pump I've seen. The grand total of stuff attached to you is less. The bulk is either on your skin or a little bit further a way on your belt/pouch/etc, but it's gotta be somewhere.

I do think traditional pumps have more options to hide - you can put the site where you want and maybe hide the pump somewhere else. Most of the objections seems to be from folks who don't want a lump visible from under tight clothes. Alex doesn't wear tight clothes, so nobody notices. It's really hard to tell.

Is that what they are talking about?

[miss_behave]

I always wonder about this. While the site size is bigger, remember you don't need a pump. The pod itself is much smaller than any pump I've seen. The grand total of stuff attached to you is less. The bulk is either on your skin or a little bit further a way on your belt/pouch/etc, but it's gotta be somewhere.

I do think traditional pumps have more options to hide - you can put the site where you want and maybe hide the pump somewhere else. Most of the objections seems to be from folks who don't want a lump visible from under tight clothes. Alex doesn't wear tight clothes, so nobody notices. It's really hard to tell.

Is that what they are talking about?

Yes the fact that theres a visible lump seems to put off a lot of woman. I've also heard people who find it uncomfortable and heavy, as a hard lump on their skin, especially when sleeping.

I've been looking at the diabetes 365 set on flickr. Theres been a few adults there that have tried it. Heres a few and their opinions and people's comments to give you an idea on what I was commenting on in my previous post.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingthoughts/2463160740/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stinky_harriet/2453959968/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrr919/2322658560/

[Mary Lou]

We have not had a problem with blockages. Perhaps we are just lucky?!

We must've been lucky, too!! :D:D

When Andrew was first hooked up, the day after Dx'd, half of his basals were 0, the other half .05. We alternated between the two (sometimes hourly, sometimes longer) and never had a problem in the site or tubing.

I think the size issue just comes down to personal preference. My boys love being able to disconnect their pumps for sports, baths, swimming, wrestling or whatever. While I suspect that the entire Pod unit is smaller than a pump, only the pump's infusion site is on the body, which is generally the size of a quarter.

I also think we are very lucky to have so many sophisticated choices available to us to choose from.

[chocoholicsc]

Saxmaniac- I noticed you had a particularly difficult pump start on the pod. Have things gotten better for you guys? Are you glad you stuck it out, or planning on making a change? I'd love to know you're thoughts on this pump for my son.

Thanks!
Candy

[Mermaid]

We must've been lucky, too!! :D:D

When Andrew was first hooked up, the day after Dx'd, half of his basals were 0, the other half .05. We alternated between the two (sometimes hourly, sometimes longer) and never had a problem in the site or tubing.

I think the size issue just comes down to personal preference. My boys love being able to disconnect their pumps for sports, baths, swimming, wrestling or whatever. While I suspect that the entire Pod unit is smaller than a pump, only the pump's infusion site is on the body, which is generally the size of a quarter.

I also think we are very lucky to have so many sophisticated choices available to us to choose from.

What infusion sets do you use? I wonder if blockages are prone in certain infusion sets. Interesting.

[saxmaniac]

I noticed you had a particularly difficult pump start on the pod. Have things gotten better for you guys? Are you glad you stuck it out, or planning on making a change? I'd love to know you're thoughts on this pump for my son.[/FONT]

I'm glad I've stuck it out so far. Even with all the troubles we're having, his last A1C was down by 0.2 so I have renewed energy to work this out.

Right now it seems we are not having as many true-blue bad sites as we thought. Instead, they are just stubborn highs that happen after a site change that take quite a bit of insulin to bring down. As I've gotten more and more aggressive in correcting them, it's been more clear that the sites work, they just work differently.

We are slowly figuring out how to deal with it, and I credit the folks here on helping me through this tough time. I would have never known that a site change can just make you go high for hours and hours.

When it works, it works incredibly well, the best numbers ever. His average on a really good day might be 120 with no spikes or dips. And we've only really started out the extended bolus and temp basals and that stuff.

To this day, I love the wireless. Nobody knows he has a pump until I'm ready to explain to someone. We are starting his first organized sport, he plays T-ball with it on, and has tiny amounts candy with all the other kids afterward. I can make a quick guess at the carbs bolus him quietly in the background while he IS A KID. Some of the other parents have been absolutely wonderful in providing us carb counts and keeping an eye on him. He has some social problems relating to kids at his age level, so this is very important to us right now.

For the rest of the story, I'll refer you to the pump start thread (http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/showthread.php?t=13413)...