The battle continues for the pump

Today has been a hard day her glucose was 202 when she got home from school. I called the Endo and her insulin’s were increased again. Now it’s more insulin. She’s frustrated and is now herself asking for a pump because she’s tired of the shots. Our next appt is not till Feb.

Okay, don’t fire one endo before you have another one. It may take a three-month period just to get in to see a new endo. If there is a children’s hospital anywhere near you, call them, explain your situation and ask for referrals. The new endo should be willing to teach you how to adjust insulin, get ready for pump therapy etc. And call up Minimed and ask for endos with a pumping practice. I know you can find an endo who will work with you and your daughter. She has a legitimate gripe; I wouldn’t want to take four shots plus corrections every day either. Once you have interviewed an endo over the phone who agrees to start pump therapy ASAP, you can make an appointment with the new one and cancel your other endo.

We started paperwork for my high school son at 6 months and went on the pump at the beginning of summer at about 8 months after diagnosis. During the 8 months of MDI, he would either turn down social invitations or would go and just not eat. He felt very deprived and frustrated most of the time. He especially hated not being able to snack after school when he was starving without adding an additional shot.

Now that he is on the Omnipod pump, it is totally different. The pump controller does not make him feel so different. It is very easy to just prick his finger under the table and dial in his bolus. Many that don’t know him just think he is texting under the table which is allowed at his high school during lunch. He no longer has to go leave class early to the nurse’s office before lunch. He has all of his favorite fast food carb counts memorized or stored in the pump so he can do the correct insulin if out without us.

Getting setup on the pump was no picnic. We had many sleepless nights where he fasted and we took turns taking readings every 2 hours in order to determine his basal rates. We also had to try to work out his carb ratios so the pump can help with the bolus calculations. On our pump you can set 8 different time periods but we do not use all of them. We had meetings with the CDE at day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 to review logs and adjust rates. We just had it set and then had to adjust it all again when he went to school and was more active. Luckily, he is no longer growing at such a large pace since he is almost 6 foot now.

At one low point late in the process when he had an infection where the pump had been inserted and it seemed like we were having Pod Errors daily causing him to be high and then too low, I asked him if it was too frustrating and if he wanted to just go back to MDI. He said “Are you crazy? - Even with all of the problems, this is great compared to all of those shots!”. He is not really a complainer, so I had really underestimated how much he hated it and how much it affected his life.

I hope you can find support in getting a pump. I don’t think my son’s control is so much better but it has really helped his attitude. He says at times he forgets that he is diabetic.

I agree! My son is only 9, and started pumping (Omnipod) 2 years ago, 5 years after dx. We made the switch so he could have more independence from us. His A1C has remained in nearly the same range so for us it was not about more control, but about more freedom. I can definitely see that for a lot of teens a pump would be less conspicuous than shots and so they would be more apt to correct when needed.

Whether the conversation is about the pump or any other part of T1D care, I would not be happy with a doctor that I did not feel was at least discussing options with me. It has to be a partnership, above all else.

I agree tying a different doctor may be the answer…my son was diagnosed only one month ago and we have already been approved for the pump. He tests many times a day and sometimes gives himself up to 7 shots a day, depending on what he eats. His AC1 or A1C numbers are still very high and his BG levels were very high, but have stabilized…I am so looking forward to seeing how the pump changes things…

Has the doctor given you a reason for saying no?

I am surprised that your doctor is okay with a pump while your son is still in the honeymoon stage. How old is your son if you don't mind me asking?