Starting up on the pump...

Bklyn1775 · #1 01-11-2007, 10:30 AM

I would like to know what are some common things that might occur when initially starting the pump. What things can I do to make the transition better for my 8 year old son? What steps can be taken to ensure the school and daycare are familiar with such a device? Thank You for your advice....

Sophy
Mom to Tristan (8) Dx 2002, Matthew (5) and Joshua (4)

Kirsten · #2 01-11-2007, 12:20 PM

Hi Sophy,

We scheduled Griffin's pump start for a time when I could take off two weeks from work because you need to do around the clock monitoring for the first week with insulin.

I made handouts for his daycare and took a day off of work to train all the daycare staff.

GL!

Kirsten

Amy C. · #3 01-11-2007, 01:24 PM

Philip started the pump when he was in school. He had to miss a lot of school for classes and Dr. Appt. I wish I had waited until the summmer.

Twinklet · #4 01-22-2007, 01:48 PM

Emily started pumping on a 2 week school break. I'm glad it worked out that way! The first few weeks were totally exhausting and frustrating for all of us.

Bklyn1775 · #5 01-23-2007, 09:31 PM

Thank you for the insight on what its going to be like starting off on the pump. Tommorrow we go for pump training and the saline trial. I am a little nervous about the whole thing. I am looking over everything making sure I did not miss anything. This first week will be easy because it is familiarization with the pump and its features. Next week when he starts he Insulin...is what is making me nervous. Thanks to everyone on here... I feel a little more familiar with the pump and its features. Thanks to all....

Sophy
Mom to Tristan (age 8) dx'd 3/2003, Matthew (5), and Joshua (4)

Hollyb · #6 01-24-2007, 08:03 AM

I honestly think it is usually a little easier with an older child. We did start over March break, so had a few days at home while we watched Aaron's BGs etc., but it was pretty smooth. I checked him a couple of times in the night but not hourly or anything like that.

Looking back, what I would like to do with a preteen child is make sure the first set insertion doesn't hurt. We were advised that EMLA is really only necessary with toddlers, and I guess that's usually true, but Aaron has occasionally had an insertion in a "bad spot" that really hurt, and I would hate for that to be a kid's first experience. It could put them right off, KWIM? Plus if you know that the area is numb, you can concentrate on doing the insertion properly without also being nervous about whether it will hurt.

Your decision might depend on how keen Tristan is on the pump and how nonchalant he is about injections, but it's something to consider anyway. You could talk to your trainer about it?

In terms of other things... they generally lower your dose at first with the pump because the basal is absorbed more efficiently, but a lot of people find they err on the side of caution and their child runs high before the doses get fine-tuned. So don't panic about that. I found that at first, every time Aaron was high I kind of freaked and thought the set wasn't working. USUALLY, the set is working -- he's just high for the usual reasons. And we had trouble at first keeping the sets stuck on (which did lead to set failure once, when the Quick-set canula actually flipped out when the tape came loose). If you find that's the case, a layer of Skin Tac before insertion works wonders.

Good luck -- for all the niggly things to learn, the pump is still a great improvement!