One way to handle the picky eating aspect is to bolus for half the food you think he will eat and wait until after he has finished eating to deliver the rest of his mealtime insulin. This unfortunately means another stick on manual injections but becomes very easy on a pump. If you were to give him his entire injection before eating and he then refuses to eat would he be willing to replace the meal with a liquid glucose or juice?
Basaglar/Lantus is pretty well known in the diabetic community for not lasting the full 24 hours so splitting up his dose into 2 shots (1 in the morning, 1 in the evening) should solve those evening highs. When are you getting his pump and the training for it? If it’s going to be a few more weeks then you might as well start implementing a few changes but if it’s going to be soon then I would just hold on until you get the pump set up.
At this point I would not worry about highs unless I could not get them to come down and started to feel sick. Just get used to this disease and all of its quirks first. Diabetes is a marathon not a sprint, don’t wear yourself out trying to fix everything at once. Focus on one thing at a time even if it’s just the smallest thing on your list. BTW, Dexcom insertion to me doesn’t hurt at all but for someone on the autism spectrum it’s anyone’s guess.
Hello, thanks for the input and I totally agree, 70 makes me so nervous, and I voiced this to his Endo and he told me to aim for around 150 as a normal target for now until we get him adjusted anyways! In all the training I have gotten, it tells me not to take fast action until he is 70 or under. I have taken action at 110 bc he acts weirdly when he gets that low! Thanks for the input I really appreciate it!
@T1DMom Always plan ahead as much as possible for any unexpected situation. He’s in grade school, have a conversation with his teacher and principal and inform them of the situation. Aaron is young, having emergency candy or juice box in his backpack is not a good idea while at school. Give the teacher those items so they won’t disappear and not be replaced. Always have these things in your automobiles as well. Sweet tarts work very well to combat a low bg reaction and they don’t melt. We keep a large freezer bag of them in the center console of both of our cars. The same goes for you personally, always keep an emergency stash in your purse. My wife does this and I’m thankful she does. I’m not trying to be overbearing, these suggestions are coming from someone who’s learned the hard way to always be prepared.
Hey! Thanks for the reply! I have tried for the first two weeks giving his bolus pre meal and he would most time not eat what he said he wanted and I would try to replace the carbs with juice or somethIng else but if he is full he will gag and act like he just can’t fit anything else in. So, that is when the doc told me to bolus after. Now, he is a fast eater so I usually have his meds in him pretty fast! He eats in like under 15 mins unless we are at a restaurant and waiting. And I give his meds right after. I have read where splitting the Basal up in two doses would help but we are so close to his pump day I may as well wait now!
We have his training and pump insertion set for this Thursday! I have already received all the supplies minus the extra adhesive patches I have learned about on here today. I am waiting to pick up his new insulin in the vail. The nurse said we could use his pens up but I would rather have some in hand just in case, we are not sure if he will like this or not! We are hopeful though!
No, I am willing to take any suggestions at this point that I can get, especially from those who have been there! I have a bag of all supplies and emergency stuff that goes everywhere with us now! It took a bit to get used to the extra luggage but it’s getting easier now! Sweet tarts are a good idea I will stock up! I have the glucose tabs and the liquid along with some of his other fav gummies and snacks! I have a meeting set for his school for the week before it starts so I can sit down with all the staff and make out a plan for him! I have been told to go ahead and get his 504 plan done bc sometimes it’s better than not having one and risking the unknown! He already has an IEP for his ADHD and Autism so maybe we can add to that I am not sure! Thanks for the tips!
Cool. You’re all set to go! To answer your earlier questions regarding the Dex and OmniPod. No, they should not hurt. The insertion needles on both devices are self contained and not visible. You will not have to worry about hiding the big scary needle from him. I’ve never used an OmniPod, that would be my first choice if we had a child with diabetes. The Dex is 1 injection every 10 days while the OmniPod is 1 every 3 days. You’ve already cut down his injections considerably.
Yep definitely wait until you get the pump set up then. When you do get the pump try giving him a little bit of his meal dose beforehand, not enough to put him in dangerous territory if he doesn’t eat but just something to head off the after meal spike if he does in fact eat normally. With the pump this should be a cinch.
I use both the OmniPod (regular not Dash) and Dex 5. Now and again the OmniPod will feel like I got bit by a bumble bee, but often it is more like a mosquito. The Dex 5 is a lot less than the mosquito, more like a slight pinch, and from what I’ve read, the Dex 6, which is what your son will probably be using, is less than that even. Do be prepared for the bite from OmniPod. It lasts only a moment so if you’re able to distract him at the time it will auto-inject, that might help. With the OmniPod when you get to the screen that says “Start” and press that button, it will begin a series of clicks, when the clicks start, distract him. It’s a few clicks in, before it will inject. I use the regular OmniPod, not the Dash version.
Thanks for the input and advice, I have been reading some stuff about bleeding with pump insertion? I have gotten scared, does this happen with the Omnipod? The Dash is just a newer version of the PDM- the actual pods/pump is the same exact thing from what I was told! Thanks for the advice!
Just to clarify, on the Dex app, I have to do the app on his IPod bc it has to be physically with him when he is away from me? Can he use the little device that comes with it and I install the app on my phone? Can the app be installed on different devices? So confusing! I’m stalling, I should have gotten it over with already I am just worried! Also, has anyone had any issues when using the Omni/Dex with skin irritations, sores, not healing, bruising? Thanks
I don’t know if you can install that app on an iPod. For the share app to work correctly, it needs an internet connection. Either WiFi or cellular will work fine. Does his school have public WiFi he can be connected to? What is the coverage area, playground, cafeteria?
There’s always a small chance of puncturing a capillary with the Dex/cannula insertion needle. It happens to some more than others. I did it the other day with my infusion set. My blood sugar was rising for no apparent reason and my corrections were having no effect. I looked at my infusion site and it was very bloody. I had to change it out to a different spot. This happens to me maybe once a year, it is a situation everyone will experience. Don’t let these type of things scare you off. Come Thursday when your done is using the OmniPod/Dex you’re going to be amazed how awesome these systems are.
I have a feeling he has to have a smartphone to communicate with his transmitter on the G6. So that your phone can communicate with his. His phone or reader has to be within 20 feet of him. The reader and the phone do not communicate with each other. But you can call Dexcom to make sure, they are usually very helpful about this stuff. Because I don’t use share I am not positive about what it entails.
The Omnipod does give a thwack lol upon insertion but usually almost always doesn’t hurt. I think where there is less fat is when it can hurt. Just make sure to pinch a good piece of skin/fat when it starts clicking upon insertion and it should be fine. You could try to distract him the first few times or? To make sure he doesn’t have a bad first impression, just in case. You really can’t get around all of that as it has to insert a cannula under the skin. Blood wise my pod might have seeped a few times. It is more likely to bleed for me when I take it off and it’s been under my bra line where there is less fat. I think if you hit muscle it’s more of an issue.
The G6 with the new applicator, I don’t think I’ve ever felt it. You will hear the click. Bleeding is very rare for me at least.
You’re most welcome! I’ve only had a few bleeders where I had to remove the pod right away. Otherwise, sometimes I’ll notice there was bleeding when I take it off as it is all over the canula and the pod backing; it’s not too often now (it happened more frequently when I was having trouble with pod absorption - which is another story!). OmniPod is very good about pod replacement, so if you ever find yourself having to replace a pod, for whatever reason, just call them and they will replace it for you. I’ve heard they are now replacing or somehow reimbursing for lost insulin too.
I have very sensitive skin and every now and again I’ll notice when I replace my pod there is a definite raised welt where the pod had been; it can take a few days to improve. I know there are others who have similar trouble because of sensitive skin. As I’m writing this now I’m wondering if it is because I didn’t use skin prep first! Hmmm, you might have solved that mystery by asking about this. I use a product called Skin Tac. It helps with adhesion and acts as a skin barrier (protector). It comes in paper wipes or in a bottle with a brush. I use the bottle. It’s been over three years since I opened my current 4 ounce bottle and I probably have enough for another year! I brush it on my skin, before I begin filling the pod, to give it a chance to get tacky. Then I brush some on the back of the pod backing. Then I put the two together. Rarely do I go without using Skin Tac, but not doing so might be a connection to hive-y skin!
Hey, that is some good advice thanks, I have been reading all about the Skintac and am ordering some on Amazon. When he tried the demo for Omnipod and Dex we had a hard time removing the adhesive, he does have sensitive skin and almost always gets redness even with some bandaids! I didn’t notice any problems when I removed the demos besides having a super hard time removing them!
Thank you for the input, all we can do is try it out and see how it goes for him. We have learned fast where his fattier parts are for good injections, so we will stick to those areas for sure! This is all so nerve wracking!
It’s not really hard or anything, I bet it’s more because it is such a new thing and it’s an unknown. If it doesn’t work you don’t have to use it, but I bet you will love it!
