Today is my 12 year olds sons 4th day using a Ping pump. We love it! We are still getting it dialed in, but so far everything is going great.
We have a question. When he tests his bg on the meter remote and then wants to bolus w/in five minutes or so on his pump, the bg isn't coming up in the pump. He has to manually enter it. Is there a way that the remote meter can send the bg to the pump so that he can bolus from the pump w/out having to manually enter his bg?
When he tests his bg, it is usually 2-10 minutes later that we figure out how many carbs he will be eating. By that time, its easier for him to just bolus from the pump. The CDE thought that the pump should have shown the reading when he tried to bolus/make a correction w/in 5 minutes of his using the meter to test his bg but it doesn't.
Also, we will be going up to the mountains in a few days. Does that usually mean that he may need more or less basal? Just want to be prepared for what to expect.
I have been using my Animas Ping for 3 years (intermixed with Omnipod) and it sends the BG from the remote to the pump immediately and then holds it for 15 minutes before I have to check it again. I can only think of two suggestions.
1) Make sure it is close enough to the pump when you take it, I think a couple of feet, can't remember that for sure.
I am not sure exactly how long our daughter's remote meter stores her BG, but I am guessing at least 5 to 10 minutes. I usually check her and make her oatmeal and then bolus her and the current BG is still available. If it is not, and it has been over 10 minutes I generally re test her. The exception to this is when her pre meal BG test is high and she needs an adjustment. I go in to EZBG and make the correction. When I know what she will eat for her meal- I then calculate her meal bolus and use the NORMAL bolus feature to give her meal insulin. Hope this helps. Lucky you, going into the mountains. I wish I could advise you on the Basal needs for high altitude, but we live in Saskatchewan on the prairie. No mountains here :(
It should hold it for 15 minutes and after that you get the reading that "it has been longer than 15 minutes since testing" and you have to enter it manually or retest. I agree with Ron: Have you "paired" your remote and pump?
Yes, they are paired and the meter remote is w/in 2 feet.
So, just to clarify, you can test w/the remote and then w/in 15 minutes bolus from the pump w/out manually inputting your bg? Do you do this using the EZcarb bolus on the pump?
We were told that we should be able to do this, but the bg isn't showing up and we have to manually enter it. The less things we have to enter in the less chance of an error.
Wow, that is a surprise! I was about to type that "yes, if it's within 15 minutes it automatically displays the BG reading"...but then I re-read your post and saw you said "do you use this using the EZ carb bolus on the pump?" No, I always do my boluses from the meter remote!
So I tested it, doing a blood sugar test and then a couple minutes later going to the pump and pretending to do an EZcarb bolus....nope, it wanted me to input it manually. That really surprised me! Yet another reason to use the meter remote!
My suggestion? Figure out how many carbs he is going to eat first, then go to the meter/remote and test and bolus all in one movement. It's a lot easier! (but yeah, I was surprised that the pump didn't have the BG automatically!)
Good, so it's not just me and Debbie who have non-bg receiving pumps. It's strange, since when I download my pump, it shows the bg's, but not when bolusing.
Wow, I’ve had the ping for a year and didn’t even know the meter was supposed to transmit to the pump! It’s never done that for me - I either blous straight from the meter, or just have to dial in my BG if I blous from the pump. I’m gonna have to give them a call!
The bg doesn’t display on the ping pump itself that I’m aware of like the medtronic pump does. You only see it on the meter and then only for 15 minutes. The pump will store all bg values in it’s memory though so you only have to download the pump when you download to software.
What I’ve found easier with the pump is to split the bolus rather than try and remember the blood sugar to enter later if I’m not sure yet what I’ll be eating. So I always do an EZBG bolus at the time I check my sugar if a correction is called for and will bolus for carbs only a little bit later once I’ve got that figured out.
For some reason, my son hates to bolus from the meter. He says it takes too long because its too slow. He finds that bolusing from the pump is faster (if he can remember what his bg was).
My goal is to be better prepared w/how many carbs his meals will be (before he tests), then he can test and I can bolus for him from the remote.
Thanks again for everyones advice.
P.S. Today is his 10th day pumping. We are still getting his levels figured out and still testing 10 or more times a day. Poor kid is turning into a pin cushion. I wonder if being woken up three times a night changes his bgs. He hasn't had a good nights rest in ten days (and neither have I). Yikes.
Glad that the pump is working out for you. Here's a couple thoughts.
RE: waking up at night. My son happens to be a heavy sleeper. I check him at least once before going to be myself each night and sometimes more if I've had to give him a correction of either type. I just use a toe - tip of the big toe usually works. He almost always stays asleep and does not even stir. If that would work for you, he can sleep right through it. If we have to correct a nighttime low, we wake him up enough for him to drink or eat something, and he might or might not even remember it in the morning. Sometimes I remind him of the silly-sounding mutterings he makes in his sleepy stupor, and he gets a kick out of it.
Kids and their technology! When my son has a low, the first thing we do is to check how much IOB he has, so we can gauge what to give him for a correction (and not over do it!). The only way I can get his IOB without button presses on his pump (which he hates me to do) is to go to ezBG on the remote as if I'm going to correct, and select SHOW RESULT. The IOB shows up on the results tabulation, and then I cancel it out. He likes to beat me to it, using the STATUS menu on his pump, which is much quicker.
He’s right that it’s much faster to bolus from the pump. I have started using a Verio meter instead of the Ping meter because it’s quicker and only requires a tiny drop of blood. I use the Ping meter/remote when I’m out and about wearing my pump in a Spibelt and don’t want to remove it from the belt.
I’m a former Medtronic pumper and their meter/pump integration is much better than with the Animas Ping. I switched to Animas in order to get the upgrade to the Animas Vibe combo with the Dexcom G4 when it is released in the USA. I hated Medtronic’s CGM.
Thanks for the suggestions of using his toes. Do you find that the toe readings are pretty close to the finger readings?
I'll check the IOB too before giving a correction for a low. The CDE always said to give him 15 carbs of juice followed by 15 carbs of crackers and p.b., but we found that he goes too high if he doesn't have IOB. I never thought to use the meter to calculate how many carbs to give in this case. Thank you for the tip.
It would be nice to have a meter that requires less blood. At night, his fingers don't appear to have any blood at all. It can be really frustrating poking his fingers several times in the middle of the night for each bg check. I guess the circulation to his hands isn't as good at night. I massage his fingers before he does a middle of the night check, but many times, he uses the lance and has to repeatedly pierce his finger to get a blood sample. It's really upsetting for both of us.
We are looking forward to the release of the Animas Vibe too. I already checked it out on the Animas European websites. My son would like to get the Dexcom G4. I heard that Dexcom is trying to get FDA approval for pediatric use for the GCM. We would love to have the Vibe w/a GCM.
Toes do just fine, and the CDE (who also has diabetes) ok'd it. We use the One Touch Delica lancets, and I just put the lancing device on "2", which goes a little deeper than the "1" he uses for his fingers. I have found at times the lack of blood in his extremities, but I either switch sites or go to a "3" without problem. I've found that the doplet required is not that bad.
The 15-15 rule seemed to work after he first got diagnosed. There are so many different scenarios, that it requires a better set of problem solving strategies. Sometimes we correct a mild low with 5 grams and let it ride. Sometimes, if he's got a lot of insulin on board and is coming down hard, we'll give 15 or more grams and then a snack once he's up. It all depends.
For the first time, I used his new One Touch Delica lancet and I was able to get a blood sample in the middle of the night. What a relief. My good fortune however was dampered when I realized that I wasn't wearing my reading glasses and there was no way that I could align his finger with the test strip. I woke him up to do it, but, by that time, the meter had shut off and the sample he provided was wasted. One of these days I will get it more together! I guess I don't operate at full capacity at 3 a.m. I'm so happy though that the new lancets work well. Thanks.
He has advised me to stay away from his stinky toes. He said if he kicks me in the middle of the night (on accident) if I try to test him on his toes, its my fault. Sounds like a challenge. He He..
If you switch to another meter I HIGHLY recommend the Free Style versions. Those strips require very little blood. I have heard people complain that it doesn't work. The issue is that they are using the amount of blood other meters require and it is way too much for the Free Style strips.
They really only require a small amount. That is the main reason that I wished Animas would team up with them.
