My 5 year old son, Reed, just switched from shots to the pump on July 11th.
The first time we inserted the pump we had to hold Reed down and he screamed his head off and it was VERY painful. The doctor/nurse said that he would get used to it. I was skeptical so I spoke w/a friend whose daughter has been on a pump for about 2 years and asked if her daughter got used to it. She said that she STILL cries and dreads it and worries about it the days preceding another insertion. Since I did not want that for my son, we asked the Dr. about some numbing cream. She reluctantly gave us the RX for lidocaine/prilocaine cream (brand name EMLA)(I say, reluctantly, because she thinks that he should just deal w/the pain or get used to it). We call it “magic cream” because it does work like magic!! The first time we used it we were hoping it would work.
We put the “magic cream” on the spot we were going to insert and covered it with Tegaderm (you can get a box at the drugstore-the RX is too expensive) (do not get bandaids-they do not work) and left it for 45 minutes-an hour. After about an hour, we took it off and wiped the cream off with a paper towel and then wiped the area with a prep wipe and inserted the pump WITH NO PAIN!!! We were all sooooooooo excited! We use it every time we insert. Yes, you have to leave it on for awhile, so planning ahead is necessary, but for us, the reward of Reed not screaming in agony and not dreading the pump insertion every 3 days, is worth it!!! Obviously, there will be times when you have to insert w/o the cream, but 1X w/pain vs. every time w/pain is definitely a better way to go!
That’s great - why deal with the pain if you don’t have to. That’s my motto, “No pain, no pain!” Two things come to mind which you may also want to consider… 1) we actually change site at night while our 7 year old sleeps. 2) For some reason many new pumpers are told to use these evail 30 degree “Comfort” sites. For us and many others - the 90 degree site with automatic insertion is a blessing.
Wow, wonder why MD did not want to use the cream, whatever works is my motto.
I don’t use cream, but I use quicksets and it is pretty painless.
What sets does Reed use and I am so glad he is now a happy camper.
I was about to ask if you were sure he wasn’t just scared of the needle, or just acting up. But if the cream makes everything better then I guess it’s for real. Whatever works, then.
He uses the quicksets too!
He had been on shots for almost a year and 1/2 and got used to them after a couple of days. The cream is a GOD send! =)
We use the Quickset w/auto inserter. I am not sure what the “comfort” site is??
OK now I’m jealous of anyone who uses the cream or the Quick Sets. I’m still using the silottes and put them in by hand! I tried the Quick Sets for a month and was one of those stupid ppl who had really high bs from them and got changed back. I loved the idea of Quick Sets but wound up giving them to my daughter b/c they didn’t work for me.
I didn’t realize that Quick Sets can cause high BS?? There is an inserter that you can use with the Silserter. Check out this link.
http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/-strse-338/Medtronic-MiniMed-Silhouette-Sil-dsh-Serter/Detail.bok
You may want to experiment with different infusion sets if available for your pump. I have an animas and was using the so-called “comfort” sets and rarely had one go in without it hurting like crazy - but I have had no regular problems with Insets or the luer-lock version of Minimed Quicksets either…just the occasional “oops-I-hit-a-nerve” gotchas… If Quicksets don’t work for you maybe your endo can give you some samples of others.
Thanks for the site looks really intersting. I really can’t say that the Quick Set caused me to have high bs. According to my pump rep, my Dr, and the MM lady over the phone I just couldn’t use them. B/C that’s what happened to me. Like the ole saying what works for 1 may not work for another! I was just luckey enough to be the one. HA!
I am using the quicksets, and they hurt alot more when I used the injector then if I just put it in by hand. I would dread having to mess with the contraption. Only reason I was is because the educator said “use the inserter, if you don’t you will mess it up and it will not deliver insulin correctly”. One day I decided to ignore her and I am MUCH happier. My infusion set changes have gone from a 2hr mental battle where I would look at it and decide it wasn’t there, to me sucking it up and having the entire change done in under 5 min. I think alot of it was in my head, but at least I have found what works for me.
I am VERY glad that the cream is working for you guys. I can’t imagine having to put an infusion set into my son. I was tempted to hit the nurse when they were taking a TON of blood and he was crying. You have my respect for sure.
This is exactly what scares me about the pump! The inserters seem like your aiming a gun, and pulling the trigger so to speak. I just don’t know that I could do it.
I know what you mean. It was very scarey for us too. That is until we started using the cream…it has made a HUGE difference. No more screams or dread. It’s quite easy actually. We are done in about 3-5 minutes, start to finish.
Wow. I don’t think that I could insert it by hand. That would make me really nervous. The cream for us is a GOD send!
I Like Dan insert by hand. I also have to say I do a mental trip for about 30 to 45 minutes before I do it though! I finally figured out to leave my cannabil in til I got the other inserted. HA! Or I would get really high and feel really bad. Larry I have to say when I was on the quickset and had that little thingamagiggy It helped me b/c you poped it and it was in.
I can imagine how he feels. I occasionally feel pain when inserting an infusion set. It does create a bit of a paranoia about future ones. Typically, when I feel pain getting the infusion set in place, it’s a signal of a bad spot.
I honestly haven’t come up with a good solution to avoid these, but… just confirming that it’s not a perfect scenario. It’s just that the benefits, in my mind, outweigh the discomfort associated with inserting some of the infusion sets.
my daughter and I were both using quick sets with the serter, but we recently switched over to using the new cleo sites and love them- no pain when I insert it, which is great, because I am a big sissy when it comes to that stuff! 
I am using the quick set and have not had a hurt insert yet. I have done two insulin inserts and 2 or 3 saline inserts with no pain on entry. I always thought that it moved too fast to feel anything.
I am working on losing about 20 pounds … so maybe it is this extra cushion that makes it not hurt for me.
Meredith … bravo on using the cream. Doctors will not always do the best thing for your (or your kid’s) health. It is important that we think and act critically and analytically and do what turns out to be the best given all of the information.
Jack
I also started using the Cleo infusion sets a few months ago and it has made such a difference - it is so easy! It is a standard luer-lock infusion set so is compatible with a number of different pumps - you just have to order them through Smith Medical I believe.