Thanks so much Hockeymom and Elizabeth; i requested the mio samples and the endo said to try the quickset...i am nervous about both because Collin is so thin and they are straight not angled ...i tried to manually insert the cannula myself, even though i am a Medical Assistant and know how to do blood draws I was really uncomfortable with it...it's really hard to hold Collin down and hold the inserter...i guess we'll see how it goes when the samples arrive... thanks for the advice :)
Are you using lidocaine/prilocaine cream to numb the site? I usually put a blob on the site covered with tape and let it set for an hour. The CDE said 30-45 min but that isn't enough, at least where Eric is concerned. Sometimes I'll let it sit as long as two hours, actually — it depends on whether the location I've chosen has a reasonable fat layer (aka his butt) or doesn't (aka his hip). I find that making sure the site is thoroughly numbed ahead of time makes the whole process easier.
We use a freezing spray to numb sites on our girls and it takes 5 seconds rather than the numbing cream (45 mins to 1 hour plus the mess). It's called ethyl chloride and it's made by Gebauer. You can get a prescription from your doctor. Also, if you freeze river rocks, they work great to numb the area and do not make it wet.
Sweet. I did not know that was available to the average person. How's the penetration? Part of the reason I leave the prilo/lido on so long is so it numbs deeper — just numbing the surface doesn't cut it.
Both girls say they don't feel the stick. I've been using the ethyl chloride for 10 years. I use it for both the CGM insertions and the infusion set insertions. We use Quick sets and Sure T's. Maybe it would be different for silhouettes?
Can't know unless I try it, I guess.
My daughter (7 yr old) has been on a pump for over a year and we've never seen anything like this. Her BG is constantly very high and it seems as though we can't give her enough insulin. We have doubled her basal in the past couple months. I guess we need to adjust her I:C as well, but even corrections are not working as they should - even with rage bolusing. She usually needs a lot LESS insulin in the summer.
Because we've had such trouble with high BG lately, I gave a very generous correction with her lunch pre-bolus and her Dex was showing double down arrows by the time she started to eat. She ate the slow carbs first and was in no hurry about it, so I thought she might be heading for a bad low. Instead, she went high by the end of the meal. I gave a correction, but it seemed to have no affect. In fact, she spiked super high while running around playing outside a couple hours later. No apparent reason.
We've been changing sets and using new vials of insulin, thinking one of those was to blame. It has made no difference and this has been going on for weeks.
I'm wondering if she has some other health condition (chronic infection or something) causing this. However, she mostly feels fine and has no fever. I will be contacting her doctor tomorrow, but thought I'd ask you all for your input.
Have any of you ever seen anything like this before?
My son goes very high before he gets sick and also when he is growing. Of course, we cant confirm the grwoth spurt until much later. Just doubling his basal won’t cut it, we also have to bump his IC ratio.
Fantastic advice; deadisletsx2 and Elizabeth. I have yet to try the numbing agents, perhaps that's the next step :) thanks so much.
Type3mom–do you vary her pump sites? We’ve been having a similar problem and I started to suspect that it’s her “favorite” sites building up a resistance/scar tissue. Not sure that this was the only issue operating but it’s worth a try anyway…good luck!
daneenm - I expected her to be getting sick, but it's been going on for too long for that. We typically have to change her basal rates every 3-5 weeks but they usually go up and then down again. We usually do a temp basal for several days and wait to see if we should do a permanent change. Same for bolus - we just give lots of corrections for awhile and see if we have a consistent change before we make a change. I honestly don't know why we've waited so long to change her I:C. I guess we just had rule out a bunch of things before we decided it has to change. (new sites, new insulin, not getting sick, get back home from vacation...)
Cobi - we do rotate faithfully. We have a chart that we follow and always move at least 1" between sites.
Frozen river stones?
That's brilliant! My youngest loves rocks too so it's perfect for him.
He doesn't complain about having new sites put in at this point but I'll check with him about this idea and see if he wants to try it out.
type3mom, I've had episodes like that. If changing sites & insulin doesn't solve it, it's probably something hormonal — growth spurt, stress (disrupted schedule is enough to do it for Eric) or illness. Since she hasn't gotten ill, I'd vote growth spurt. Check not only her I:C ratio, but her bolus:basal ratio — wouldn't surprise me to learn she has grown or is growing and needs more basal insulin.
Thanks, Elizabeth. The really weird thing is that yesterday morning everything was normal again. We were all set to send data to the doctor, but then it all changed suddenly again. It was like I had dreamed the hole thing. Actually, she was starting to head low so I delayed her lunch bolus until she started eating. In the afternoon, she went high again, but she hadn't eaten and it was a slow rise, so definitely basal there. Her last site looked inflamed, so that could have been it, but the ones before that looked fine. We are sticking to a very strict pre-bolus wait 20 minutes schedule all weekend to make sure we have the best results possible and then if things are still weird we'll send the data to the doc on Monday.
HUGE NEWS!!! California Supreme Court Ruling Protects the Safety and Health of California Students with Diabetes: http://www.diabetes.org/for-media/2013/california-supreme-court-ruling.html
That's great, Manny. I didn't realize that there were states where this was still an issue. We live in Colorado and we have amazing support here. It would be great if California could follow Colorado's example. Here is a link to a great site for info and support that we have: http://www.coloradokidswithdiabetes.org/
Hi everyone! This is my first time ever taking part in a forum. I thought it was time that I "talk" with people that know what I am going thru and can understand how being a parent of a T1D can be so mentally and physically draining. My son "J" is 14. He was diagnosed 20 months ago. I went thru a lot of guilt for a long time. I have been an RN for over 20 yrs and just didn't recognize those early signs and symptoms. No one on either side of our families has diabetes. It wasn't until I noticed he was drinking a lot of water and had dropped about 12 lbs in about a week, that I realized something was wrong. I thought he had mono or something. I took him to the Dr the next day and a few hours later, we got the terrifying call to get him to the ER immediately. His BG was 800. By the time lifeline arrived to take him to Riley Hosp in Indianapolis, he was unconscious. What if I would have waited one more day to take him to the Dr? What if he would have went to bed that night? What if...
He is doing much better these days. His A1c was 12 upon diagnosis. He is now at 6.9 I think he has taken all of this way better than any of the rest of us! He used to be so afraid of needles, and I find myself almost crying every night when it's time to change his insertion site, seeing him stick himself! When does this horrible feeling go away? When will I stop being so afraid to cross the threshold of his bedroom in the middle of the night to check his BG or when it's time to wake him up in the morning? I find myself staring at his chest, holding my breath, waiting for him to take a breath before I can walk all the way into his room. I don't want to sound dramatic but I almost feel like if Diabetes can happen to my baby, then other bad stuff can now, too. I never used to be so negative. I always found the silver lining. Of course, J only sees my smiles and hears the confidence in my voice. I could never let him know how much his disease terrifies me.....
My daughter has been t1 for 6 years now and it still is hard to deal with the fact that she is t1d but it does get easier
I totally understand, Cass1972. My daughter was diagnosed last year (just celebrated one year of her beating this disease on Tuesday) and her admitting BG was 881. Some days I am fine...but other times I find myself close to tears (or in tears). I will just catch a glimpse of her pump or her CGM, and I have to fight the emotions - like you said, she doesn't need to see that. It is just hard to believe and accept that this is her life. She handles it so much better than me. I do a lot of 'what ifs' too. Everything you mentioned - that sounds just like me. My husband doesn't quite get it, though. I have to remind myself that God is in control and He is watching over her, and that brings me peace. It is hard to believe this is her life now, but it is. I will be praying for you and your son and will continue to pray for a cure. If you do not have a CGM, I would strongly recommend you look into that. I have found that helpful. We have the Dexcom and have been very pleased with it - it is usually within about 10 points when she tests. Sleeping through the night is definitely a thing of the past right now, but at least I can roll over and look at her CGM now and relax a little. Oh, and don't blame yourself! I'm an RN, too, and I didn't catch it right away. My daughter was 12 at diagnosis and it slowly dawned on me how much she was drinking and using the restroom, hence the BG of 881. Praise God that she wasn't in DKA at admission - that was a miracle! Don't be so hard on yourself, and maybe then you will find some peace with it. We can't change it - we can fight for advances in treatment and especially a cure, but until then this is the way life is for them. We have to try to face it with the same courage that the kids do (I'm talking to myself here, too!). Again, praying for peace and comfort for you!