Should be here today

[buggle]

According to the UPS tracker, the Navigator is here in town and out for delivery. Finally.

We're going to try to insert it and start using it tonight. If we can't get it working right, we'll sign up for training at our diabetes center. Are there any hints that you found really helpful that won't be in the documentation? We're going to wait until the dinner bolus is gone and he's stable and then insert and calibrate overnight.

The pump pack isn't here yet, so I don't know how he'll carry the receiver without messing it up tomorrow. I hope it shows up today.

We have EMLA waiting at Target and I'm having hubby pick up big bandaids for it, special scissors to keep clean just for Opsite and a PDA protector of some sort. We're just going to wipe his skin with alcohol and hope the adhesive sticks well enough. I'll go back over threads today to see what everyone is doing.

Wish us luck! :)

[moco89]

Use a tissue, q-tip, or toilet paper to dab the blood from the sensor.

I heard that standing up while inserting gives more accurate numbers, but who knows if that is true. I would not do that during a first insertion though, especially if your son is nervous.

Also, if you are using opsite, cut four-one inch strips, and put one strip on each side of the sensor after insertion. Use another strip to put over the transmitter, because it can fall off.

[Mama Belle]

Good luck!!! :D

[Mama Belle]

So ... how'd it go?

[buggle]

We love it -- really, really, really love it.

We had no problems with inserting it. Brendan was a little scared, so I'm glad we had EMLA. He didn't feel a thing. We're day 4 today and he's not having any problems with the sensor or the tape. Rob put the full-sized IV3000 over the transmitter that they send with the kit. So, we'll see if we can get it off tomorrow when we change sensors. I really hope that Brendan's skin isn't too irritated under there, because it covers a large area.

We haven't had trouble figuring out how to do anything so far. We've already learned so much. He was getting a huge breakfast spike that we weren't seeing before, because he'd be at school and usually back in range by lunch. If he ran high, we thought it was his snack, so we decided to send cheese sticks. But the first day we did, he had his CGM and we realized it was the breakfast spike that was the problem. It's funny, because his first full day at school after CGM, his teacher wanted us to do a presentation to explain it the kids, so it wouldn't be a distraction. And as soon as I showed it to the kids, it alarmed for a high. So, now we are going to make big changes in his morning insulin.

I made some changes in bolus ratio and the ratio of Novolog to Regular last night and he never exceeded 140 and stayed around or less than 100 all night. I feel safe sending him to bed now right around 100. The first night, we got a low alarm and treated and he did fine. We got a second alarm from him lying on it. It's hard to get them to not lie on it.

The very first day he wore it, we let him play after school and we kept the receiver with us. He was pretty far away from us and and it kept him in range and it alarmed a projected low. We've caught other projected lows and now we just run him lower. We've measured how many of these little natural M&M thingies we need to keep him range, so we're just giving him a few of those if he goes a bit low and he's staying right in range.

Another great thing -- we're in a small, 2-story apartment. We can get a reading from anywhere. If he's upstairs in his room or in the shower, we can read from down here. I feel so much more calm. I used to worry if he were upstairs reading or showering that he could go low. And sleeping -- that was always so stressful. I'd keep going up and checking on him to see if he were responding normally.

We've been really careful with calibration, so it's pretty close. When his BG is stable, it matches really closely. If he's changing, it lags behind just what you'd expect -- 20 minutes or so. So, we're getting the hang of it and we've felt comfortable enough with it to skip nearly all the finger pokes. I know we're not supposed to do that, but we're having lots of luck trying to bring our mind around to thinking in terms of IG, as my hubby now calls it, instead of BG.

I hope it doesn't break. It has such crappy quality. The receiver looks and feels like typical, cheap, flimsy, Chinese junk. I'm so glad you guys warned us about getting a screen protector for it. We put it on within a few hours of opening it and it already had scratches -- and we even knew to be careful.

Brendan's pump pack never showed. I think the post office must've lost it. If it doesn't come today, I'm going to see if the post office will pay for Pumpwear to overnight one.

We are so pleased with the Navigator. I wish we'd had it all along, especially during the rough honeymoon exit. Woot! I'm already dreading the next 10-hr start-up and being without it.

[Ellen]

This is great to hear. I also know people use the Navigator for more than 5 days. They restart the same sensor - still have to go through the warm-up period...but then it keeps working.

[buggle]

We're going to change it out tomorrow, but we'll be visiting family on Friday when it needs to be changed again. If his skin looks ok under the sensor and tape after we remove it tomorrow, we may try to go 10 days next week so we don't have to do a sensor change on the road. It'll all depend on how the removal goes and how his other arm feels by the time we leave on Thursday.

[buggle]

Also forgot to say that on Thursday, Brendan was 140 before gym, so I told them to send him without eating anything. He got a projected low alarm during gym, took out a glucose tab, went back to playing and did just fine. It seems to make life so much easier for Brendan.

[ecs1516]

Glad is it is going so well for you! I agree, it looks to much like cheap plastic(receiver). They need to improve that. My $500 Garmin is made out of sturdier plastic than this thing. We are still inserting with my kids laying down with a pillow under their arm and have been getting very good results.