I wore the pump for a whole day. I almost felt a little naked when I took it off. All in all, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Most of the time, I forgot that I even had it on at all.
Riley's sugars have been low, low, low all day. The endo. suggested that I increase his Lantus from 1 unit to 1 1/2 units. I didn't really think it was necessary, but I did as instructed. We increased it on Saturday. He did OK on it until today. In my experience with Lantus it usually takes about 2 days before the new dose takes effect. Does anyone have the same thing happen to them? And why is that? Anyway, he'll go low, then we'll get him up to an acceptable range and then a few hour later, we're feeding him again. Riley gets Danimals drinkable yogurt for his lows. (15g per serving) This always works well for him. They come in a four pack and some times I have to throw some of them away because they expire before we use them all. Well, he got to drink 3 of them today already. For the first time in a long time, he didn't take any insulin at supper. We'll see how it goes. I cannot wait for the pump.
And speaking of the pump. I spoke with Dr. M. Friday. She told my what basal rates she was going to order. She also said that "office girl" was supposed to fax the orders on Thursday to the place that will be doing our pump start. So, I called there Friday and left a message. No return call. I called back today and the person who will actually be doing the pump start answered the phone. She checked and "OG" had not faxed the paperwork, but she said she would call and get the orders. She also scheduled his pump start. We will be pumping saline starting on Thursday and we'll start with the actual insulin on March 3rd (the following Friday) I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Right now I'm just excited, but I'm sure as it gets closer, I'll get more and more nervous. I am going to go watch the DVD now that came with the pump and play around with the buttons. Woo hoo!!!!!!!
(One more thing. The endo. suggested Emla to numb the site before inserting his set. When I asked the CDE about it today she said you can get an over the counter cream called L-amax. Has anyone out there used it and is it as good as Emla for which you need a prescription?)
7 comments:
L-emax works fine. The only thing you have to watch out for is the tape not sticking to the skin as well as it would if you didn't use it, especially after a bath or shower. Use a small amount and don't spread it around in a large area.
We don't use any numbing cream, just an ice pack.
BTW, the office girl needs a swift kick in the butt. Does she ever DO anything? It certainly doesn't sound like it.
Penny,
When Riley is using the pump with saline, do not get discouraged!
You see, he (and you) will not experience the benefits of pumping until he goes live with insulin.
In other words, he's going to receive an extra poke (with insertion), but still need all of his shots... I'm sure you realize this, but I do recall many parents on the Insulin-pumpers group commenting about how discouraging this time was-- because the pump seemed like so much work, and so frustrating to the kids.
Until, that is, the day they didn't have to do a single shot.
March 3rd is going to be a VERY good day.
Ok, about the Lantus - I totally agree with you. I've always said it takes a couple of days on a new dose before you see what it's going to do. I'd go back to one unit if he's going low. Right now Dani is on 1 1/2 units herself (sounds like they are almost doing the same things as far as the D goes).
Good luck with the pump. I look forward to reading how it all goes for him. And, kudos to you for wearing it!
Shannon, I couldn't find the L-emax, so we will be using the generic brand of Emla.
Julia, I couldn't agree more about office girl. A swift kick in the heiny is deffinatly in order for her. If she catches me on the right day, I might actually be the one to give it to her.
Sandra, I am dreading the week of saline. Really, really dreading it.
Jamie, Most other parents I talked to are amazed that Riley is on such a small dose of Lantus. Most kids his age are on more. But, what can I say? He doesn't need that much yet.
Hi Penny,
I can relate to the test strips being everywhere...The ones that almost make it in the trashcan,the ones under the couch,the one's under his pillow!! We've done the same thing with Josh before he goes to bed I give him a glass of Ovaltine, every night without fail...I've come to figure that he only needs about 10g of carbs before bed to keep him steady, so around 11pm is his last BS check I go by his Sensitivity factor,give him his bolus and he's great in the morning...The pump does make counting things much easier...As for the numbing cream he's gotten used to not using it, A couple insertions a week vs. 6-8 shots a day, he's adjusted quite well...So the long awaited date is March 3...Not much longer, Hang in there!!
Hope you two have a great day!
Christine
We use the generic emla for hannah b/c it is cheaper and seems to work the same. We leave it on about 30-40 minutes and now we just use a medium size rectanglular bandaid to cover it while we are waiting - they are a lot cheaper than the other dressings and seem to numb it just fine.
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