So my medtronic minimed paradigm 522 and cgms got delivered today (woo-hoo). I feel so overwhelmed I don’t even know where to begin. The booklets are at least 100 pages, there is a CD-rom and website to visit. I don’t know whether to study for my sociology test this monday, or study for my pump session with my diabetic educator (Monday also) haha. Any tips, ideas,or opinions how I can go about doing this? What did you all do when you received your pumps? Did you read all of the information? Did you put the batteries in your pump, turn it on and play around with it?
I waited for the trainer to arrive. I put one AAA Energizer battery in the MiniLink charger, and put the transmitter in the charger so it would be fully charged when the trainer arrived. If you’ve never “pumped” before, they might start you off with saline solution in the pump so you can learn how to use it before filling it with the dangerous stuff (insulin!) Be sure to have plenty of AAA ENERGIZER brand batteries on hand for the pump. That’s the brand MiniMed requires, and the brand that works the best!
Yes it’s overwhelming. One step at a time. Sit down with the DVD or book and just do one manageable thing at a time. You’ll be trained but it’s helpful to get some familiarity with it. So read/listen/watch for familiarity rather than mastery. You’ll master it really fast through the class. The class makes it easy. I was overwhelmed and I felt like I needed six hours to do everything so I put everything off until the night before the class. Then I crammed. I don’t recommend that. But I’m glad I had the preparation before I went to the training.
You’ll be loving the pump! I’m happy for you.
Maria
Just went through my pump start… Paradigm 722 + CGMS. Remember that you have the advantage of already being online and knowing that there are forums containing answers to ALL of the common questions.
It’s good to put the batteries in and push the buttons before starting on insulin because then you can make any and all mistakes and there are no consequences. Play with it while you can. Once it’s attached with insulin in it, you don’t get to play anymore. And carry it around with you to get a feel for what it’s going to be like. I got mine, wore it for a week with an infusion set inserted and attached, but no insulin, even slept with it. Then I took a week break from it and didn’t wear it until my training.
Ask to start on saline for a week if you’re at all unsure… then you can pretend bolus… you need to get the repetitive things to be second nature. Start with the CD, it may help to have the video instruction first.
The learning curve to mastery IS LONG… But you will find this work is worth it!!! Juwst look at he pump booklet and read the little easy short paragraphs and take the little tests, DO NOT, I repeat, do NOT try to do it all at one time. The trainer will show you every thing you need to know.I wore mine with saline for a week to get used to the habit of pressing buttons and bolussing. I was immediately impressed with how easy it was to use the bolus wizard. , as opposed to doing all the carb counting/correction/basal/bolus math in my head or scribbled down in my ever-present log, as I had done for many years…SO MUCH quicker to press a button, and the pump is so much more convenient and applicable to your real life…I really appreciated not having to haul around the syringes and extra insulin ( I did not use pens) and trying to keep them at the proper temperature…
I met with her a week later to start on insulin…but I was comfortable, because although I had dosed with the syringes, I used the saline filled pump for the calculations,
Using the pump will become habitual quicker than you can imagine. Take it slow…
God Bless,
Brunetta
I can’t wait to get mine! Very happy for you! Let us know how you do on it. I’ve heard most folks think pumps are the best thing since sliced bread. I would LOVE to play with one to try it out! It would be very convenient to have the CGM at work…no hiding in the bathroom to check my sugar.
Why hide in the bathroom? 
Well, folks often think that discrimination against a diabetic is illegal, as is discrimination against a person for race, religion, age, etc. That is true, but it is DARN hard to prove it when it happens! I am a traveling nurse. If prospective employers even SUSPECTED I had IDDM, then I would not get hired. They would say it was because of any number of other reasons, but we would both know it was really the diabetes!
I agree. I think not even once where I am or who Im with. When its time or I feel a tweak or whatever…out comes my little black case. Same with my injection. I mean I may go sit on a bench in a park or at the mall just to get out of the way and more comfortable physically, but naaa wont be seeking out a bathroom. Not the cleanest of places even when they are clean lol
What bathrooms are you guys are frequenting:) I test in bathrooms in restaurants & have used the bathroom at work, so I can wash & dry my hands, not to hide. Guess I could wash my hands & go back to my office or table (if it’s not a dimly lit restaurant) to test, but as long as I’m there I test.
I often wash my hands, test, and bolus in the bathroom at most restaurants (though I’d be perfectly comfortable doing it at the table) because it’s quiet and gives me time to consider the carbs/insulin/timing, etc. At the table, I’m sometimes more likely to be doing it while talking with friends or family and I don’t give my calculations the same attention I do when I have a moment of breathing room and freshly washed hands. If it’s just me and my husband, I test at the table b/c we sometimes talk about how much insulin I’m putting on board and how I’m going to dual wave my bolus. But when I’m with others, I think I often rush through it absentmindedly while in the midst of conversation.
Hi. I just got mine last weekend. I watched the DVD…(most of it anyway) and then had a 3hr training. During that I was put on the pump. I didn’t do a saline or anything. It’s not that hard. I did bend my cannula the first time I changed it but overall it hasn’t been that bad. I wish I would have gotten the 522 but the sent me the 722. I am only using around 30u daily so the 522 would have been more than sufficient. Good luck!
I think the online training is the most useful and reading the book Pumping Insulin by John Walsh. You can read the manual cover to cover if you want, but I suggest that you pace yourself since you obviously have enough to read!!
I used saline in the pump for the first week, pretending it was insulin, using the Bolus wizard. Looking at how much insulin it was suggesting I had, I realised the carb ratio was way out, so I could ‘play’ with carb ratios for a few days until the amount looked more like the real thing.
It also got me used to pressing all the buttons so I became more confident with it. The online tutor is brilliant and well worth going through. Just start easy, doing the bolus before meals so you get the hang of it. It’s actually easy once you start trying but I was terrified I’d do something stupid, and I did! But it didn’t matter as it was only saline and I soon learned.
Good luck, once you are pumping you will feel so much more healthy and your A1c will soon plummet!
I was seeing a nurse that had me on the lantis and a pen for meals. She gave me info on the pump and said to let her know if I would like to go on it. I thought about it and I contacted my doc and he signed the paper and faxed it to medtronic. I received the pump and suppies then I called the nurse to hook me up… she was on vacation. So I read the book and watched the video and thought about hooking it up. So after thinking about it, I hooked the pump up. I had already taken my lantis so I just used the pump for boluses that day. The next day I figured out what the basil rate would be compared to what I was taking of lantis.
So after a few weeks or so the nurse called me and asked if I thought anymore about going on the pump… I said I have been on it for a month. She was shocked and wanted to see me and make sure everything was ok. To make a long story short everything was fine… she was shook up a little. But in your case play it safe and get your doctors or nurses help. Let me know how you make out.Good Luck.
Get them to send you samples of both tubing lengths so you can try them out. I’ve always preferred the longer, personally, but everyone else I know likes the shorter. You’ll never know unless you try 'em.
I had been on shots for thirty years, for most of those thirty years they didn’t have the fast acting insulin . I would give a shot in the morning and one at night and hope for the best and most of the time I felt like crap… sorry for the bad word. I have been on the pump for eight.and feel great. Atleast on the pump you have some kind of control, if you have a high you can give a bolus to bring it down. One thing I did with my pump,was to cut a hole in my pocket and run the tube in my pants to the pump and no one can see it. When I first got it I had it on my belt and kind of felt funny about it. But thats my story, I hope it helps.
I chose the 722 even though I use 30u daily. I prefer it because it means that I do not need to refill the reservoir as often AND the screen is bigger so that if I start to use the CGMS, I think that I will see more (not sure if that is true).
My mom is an R.N. When my sister and I were first diagnosed, she had just gotten hired at a hospital and when they found out that she had two diabetic daughters they let her go. That was before all the fancy ADA laws though. That has to suck for you!
I heard that being a traveling nurse was really cool though!
Minimed has a thing called “Pump School Online” on their website for the CGM and theat type of pump. I don’t know if it is any better or worse than the dvd you got but you might want to check it out. I did the CGM one the night before putting mine on, but there were still a lot of things that my CDE taught me that were not in the books or online.
Congratulations on your new pump and CGM!