Hi all,
I'm so excited, my doctor just submitted my prescription for an animas onetouch ping pump today! The process is started and I could have the machine in my hot little hands in as little as a week's time :D
Share your stories about what it was like to get a pump for the first time.
Best, Janie G.
Congratulations, Janie! My story: I was very excited but soon became a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by the learning curve. I was pretty comfortable with dosing after two years on MDI, had read Pumping Insulin, and both the Ping workbook (online) and manual (came with the pump). I spent the first 5 days on saline. Some people complain about that, but for me it was great, because it gave me time to learn all the functions of the pump before I actually had insulin in it.
The dosing took a couple weeks to get tweaked (I do it myself, without support - I just had 2 sessions with the Animas trainer). Before that I was running pretty high so be prepared for that. But what was hardest for me was the infusion sets. It was a couple months I think before I stopped going over the instructions line by line. But I have awful hand/eye coordination, so it may not be as hard for you.
Oh and the first night I got up at 2AM and posted on here asking for suggestions on how to sleep. I told my trainer I slept naked and she said no problem, just put it under the pillow. The first time I turned over me and my cat were tangled in tubing! I immediately got a response here that helped me (thank god for TuD!) and I started wearing sleep shorts to hook onto and now that I'm somewhere colder, thermals. I did order a spibelt and a tammy belt (that's not the right word, I'll look it up if you are interested) but found I preferred just wearing the shorts.
You'll do fine and it's all worth it! Post any questions on here and I'm sure you'll quickly get responses!
But within a couple weeks it got easier and by a couple months was my new normal and a great normal! I went from 6.5 A1C to 5.7 and just in general feel less "diabetic" than I did on 5 shots a day.
Congrats on the getting pump!!! I got my Ping last July and I have to say that it is a life style changer. I was using Novalog and Lantus pens, but was always embarrassed to pull the pen out when I was out to dinner.
It did take me a few weeks to get used to having the pump, but now it's a part of my routine. My trainer was great and the Diabetes educated at my Endocrinologist's office was great!!(Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) I was using saline for the first week and still using the pens, but when the "big switch" occurred, it was a smooth transition.
My only advice is to make sure that you order enough supplies ahead of time so you don't run out. I live in Philadelphia, which is really close to the Animas headquarters and so I can get my supplies within 2 business days. I would think that other parts of the country take a little bit longer.
Good luck!!
For my 14 year old daughter it was a change, but we learned and managed well. She got her's in June and she was excited and scared. But after having 6 to 8 shots a day for 9 years now she went with the flow and got used to it, now it's like showering she knows you need it everyday and can't live without it. So we just live our life around it and incorporated into all that we do including karate and swimming. But it's worth the wait.
There's a runner's pack that is sold at Sport's Authority, it comes in different colors and it adjusts to different sizes. It works great for putting your pump in it and you can't feel it or really see it unless you show it to other's. But my daughter loves it because she can't even feel it on her. good luck
Yay! I just got mine yesterday. They sent the wrong color, so I get to wait all over again :(
But it was super cool opening the box and seeing just how much 3 months worth of supplies looks like. Plus the manual came in a zip locked bag, so I totally opened that at least and am reading it.
What's really funny is when I was deciding which color to get, I reeeallly wanted purple, but that wasn't offered, so I was like "eeehhhh I'll get pink" --totally wishy washy regarding pink. But then I waited all week thinking "pink ping pink ping pink ping!!"
For a second I considered just saying "who cares, black is fine" but I could sense my disappointed little girl side going "no pink ping?" and I called up my rep, who immediately got on top of it. It's silly, but that's me, I guess.
I'm usually not a big pink fan either, but I love my pink ping! Every other piece of tech I have is black (except my phone, which has a white case so I can find it). It's a nice pink ;)
I started out in the diabetic journey as a Type 2 diabetic, and took lots and lots of different oral medications with limited success. Nothing really worked. Finally my endo thought there was more to this and did some tests, and antibidies were found, thus LADA was the logical diagnosis. I started on insulin and instantly felt better. There were still problems with my A1-c and kidney function.
Fast forward to about a year ago, Collectively, my endo and I decided that a pump would be in my best interest. My insurance carrier didn't agree so I still was taking seven shots a day. My kidneys continued to show poor function. Last summer, we tried for a pump again, and it was finally granted. I chose a black Animas Ping. On the day I was to get it, I took an afternoon off from work to be sure that it would be received from UPS. I received a call from the Animas trainer. He told me to read the instruction book a couple of times, begin using the meter immediately, and but the battery in the pump and begin to munipulate it as directed in the manual. He also set a training day...three weeks later.
Animas has been wonderful. They sent the pump kit, infusion sets and reservoirs. I was ready to go. I had to stare at this pump for three weeks, while taking seven shots each day. Finally my training day arrived, and the trainer and CDE set my basel levels, gave me instructions for bolus and I filled a reservoir with insulin, loaded the pump, placed my very first infusion set and I am pumping. The second that infusion set was placed, I knew the pump would be life-changing.
I would be hard pressed to go back to seven shots per day.
I'll share my omnipod story...
I was diagnosed a year and a half ago Oct 2010...8 months are Dx I heard about the "omnipod" from a new endo. Never really thought of a pump or knew much about it until he said I should try it...after ordering it and waiting for approval and everything (I dont think I can describe in words how excited I was...I would cry happy tears!) I finally got it. Sad thing...the trainer (my fault I should have called and set up an appt sooner!) didnt have any openings for 10 days! I had to stare at that beauty for 10 days while on shots. It was all that much sweeter when I started though...I got to love it even more as time went on.
ADVICE:
Dont automatically assume you dont like it at first. I didn't like it at first as much as I thought I would...it took time because I finally realized I was playing by the "books" and listening to do what others said. I had put it on my belly...no bueno! I HATE the pod on my belly. Ow. I found out I LOVE it on my arms and never remember I have it on at all. I learned the quirks and insides and outs of that thing. I'm switching to animas now only due to lifestyle (and I may be pissed because I've had 2 months of on and off pod failures). But I'm still loving my omnipod and will use it when I wear less clothing in the summer.
Maybe its also the person inside of me that LOVES change and needs to rearrange my room every couple months...maybe I just want something new :)
Zoe and another TDer Amy are real experts. One trick to make travel easier is to make pump packs. This is all of the items you will need for a site change except the vial of insulin. Put a couple in your pumper emergency kit. Also, in your pumper emergency kit, put a small bright LED flashlight and sterile, peel open 2x2 gauze. The flash light is obvious, especially if you drop the nose cone of your lancing device in a dark restaurant. The 2x2s make great covers if you need to disconnect your pump for any reason. I have been Pinging for 3.5 years. My warranty is up in September this year.
Welcome to Pinging!
HI Janie,
I am in the same boat. Let's see how it goes. :)Good luck!