no sleep!
>really worried that you would be so put off by the early struggles that you
>would decide to go back to injections and miss out on the wonders of pumping!
Janet, you might still be right…I’m waffling back and forth. Last
night was the Night From Hell, requiring a 3am site change which took 45
minutes (by day it takes 10). And I realized that out of the past seven
nights, I’ve had 3am site changes during two plus insufficient sleep all
seven…and it looks like there’s no end in sight.
What I’m thinking is (and PLEASE somebody tell me if I’m wrong!) is:
If I don’t check my sugars at least once each night, I’m risking
ketoacidosis which is horribly dangerous.
So it looks like I have a choice of living without enough sleep (for some
reason I’ve never been able to fall right back to sleep after getting up)
OR courting death. (Admittedly, I get more melodramatic after a
Night From Hell.) But given that choice, the old system of shots is
looking better and better.
The other problems, like taking forever to do a site change and realizing
the insertion process still hurts and being impatient with carb counting,
have all improved over time…but I don’t see how the above dilemma CAN
improve.
Anybody?
Laurie, who absolutely SWORE to keep pumping for a month before making
any decisions one way or another
September 15th, 2004 at 11:03 am
Laurie,
Why are having to change sites at 3 AM? Are the alarms going off or do you
awaken with a high BG?
Gail
September 25th, 2004 at 8:17 pm
Laurie-
I’m a little confused as to why you’re doing site changes at 3 a.m. I do get
up occasionally (fairly regularly at first, so I think it’s good you’re doing
it), but I have never had reason to change the site. Are you getting highs
that you consider "unexplained"? If I have a high at 3 a.m., I dose as usual
per my sliding scale and go back to sleep. Granted, if it’s hard for you to
fall back to sleep, this is a nuisance, but it really should be just
temporary. I think I used to spend about 20 minutes doing site changes at
first, but last night when I ran out unexpectedly right at bedtime, I had a
new set in and toddled off to bed no more than 6 minutes later. I’ve been
pumping for almost 2 years, so I’ve had lots of practice. The hardest thing
for me at first was inserting the catheter with the bigger needle, but once I
stopped trying to push it in slowly and carefully and just started popping it
in like I used to do with syringes, it really doesn’t hurt enough to even
think twice about. I saw some suggestions about using ice and some sort of
numbing stuff go by that may help you, but for me it was just a matter of
deciding this was what I wanted to do and doing it. It’s easy for me to say
that since that’s how I view every part of life and may not be easy for you
to do since you’re not me! I also went through years of denial over the
entire need to take care of myself until I was so sickly and miserable I just
wanted to die. Since dying SLOWLY wasn’t an attractive proposition, I
decided I’d try doing things right for a little while to see if it made any
real difference. I felt so great in such a short time that I began to see
just how much the diabetes routine could actually help me live better and
enjoy it more. Okay, it sounds a little Pollyanna-ish, but I really don’t
mind being diabetic because I’m probably the healthiest person I know since
it forces me to take better care than most "normal" people do of themselves.
Okay, long, long, LONG story to make a pretty short point–DON’T GIVE UP
YET!!! I’d be glad to offer opinions, as I know all of the folks on this
list will, on things to try to make it work for you. I still would be
willing to bet that if you stick with it, you’ll be glad you did, but again,
it’s what works for you, not me. Good luck and keep us up to date on what’s
going on - you’ve got a whole slew of people rooting for you out here!!
Janet
September 29th, 2004 at 3:16 am
<< The other problems, like taking forever to do a site change and realizing
the insertion process still hurts and being impatient with carb counting,
have all improved over time…but I don’t see how the above dilemma CAN
improve.
Anybody?
Laurie, who absolutely SWORE to keep pumping for a month before making
any decisions one way or another
>>
Ok Laurie: pull up a chair and listen…….it can take some people more
than a month to get the hang of finding the right places to use as a
potential site, and you should try some of the other infusion sets. The
problem with the plastic cannulas in the
Silhouettes/Comforts/Tenders/Softsets ( and don’t everybody start yelling!!)
is that they all have the potential to kink no matter how perfectly you put
the thing in or how well secured they are with tape. Since they are so thin,
that is the potential. Next: because they are somewhat thicker than the
needle sets, they can be more irritating and so, fail sooner. That’s one of
the reasons that I found the Rapids work for me. I use the 6 mm in the less
fatty areas (which for me are "very" limited, and the 8 mm for all the rest.
the 10 mm are just to long for me and hit paydirt with a major kick! "They
said "HELLO" I’m here!
I would suggest that you use your abdomen for right now. Remember the Lilly
diagram (man front and back) where the appropriate injection sites for
insulin are??? Run a straight line from your chin down, horizontal at your
belly button and another horizontal at the tip of your breast bone, and
another just above your pubic area. Wherever you can "pinch up an inch of
skin" is a good site to pick. Stay away from areas with too thin a layer of
fat. Try alternating sites, but stay at least 2 inches from the last one all
the way round. That will allow enough time to heal. I did 8-10 bgs when I
first started….most of us will tell you that they did about the same until
we fine tuned our basal rates. They will vary depending on stress, heat,
fatigue, and your general hormone rhythmns, and whether you hit the Haagen
Daz or Ben & Jerrys Ice cream.
You aren’t going to go into DKA that fast. You do have to remember that if
you are using Humalog, there is no prolonged effect like regular or NPH.
Yes, some of us wake up if the site fails, other’s don’t. Me, my heartrate
picks up and that wakes me. It took about 2 weeks to actually get used to
having our pump buddy with us 24/7, after that, it will settle and you’ll
sleep like a log. First time my bgs stayed below 120, I slept so hard I was
tired from just sleeping. Used to snore once the bgs got over 150 and didn’t
sleep well.
You need to educate yourself as much as possible. Once you do that, your
anxiety level will go down, you’ll have more confidence in yourself and your
pump and you’ll find out that there’s a whole new world out there. Go to
www.diabeteswell.com and check out the site. It’s geared for on-line patient
management and is written for the layperson. Dr. Pendergast and his team are
all in there to inform, and believe me, they INFORM!!!
Give yourself a chance, you’re doing a lot better than you expected, you want
to stay on the pump, otherwise you would have quit already. Keep your chin up
and have faith in yourself….Sweet Dreams, Joan:))
October 12th, 2004 at 4:55 am
<< but I really don’t
mind being diabetic because I’m probably the healthiest person I know >>
I gotta give you a hand….I could never say this.
Not trying to be a
downer but I HATE BEING A DIABETIC!!!! But….I’m very thankful I was born
after insulin was invented and am able to be on the pump. It makes life much
easier.
chrissy
October 13th, 2004 at 1:33 pm
Amen, dittos, and etc. to Chrissy!!
Jan
October 14th, 2004 at 7:04 am
Chrissy, just think of all the worse diseases ya could have, like the big
"C" for example and you’ll be grateful you have a disease that’s at least
livable and treatable. Nobody likes being a diabetic, but……..
fp
October 22nd, 2004 at 2:23 pm
It just works best for me to think of everything I have to "put up with" as
having some kind of wonderful, hidden fringe-benefit like better health or
whatever. I’m almost always in a good mood since I figure I’m doing
exceptionally well (in my opinion) with a situation that might strike another
person as a handicap or "bad luck". If you never wish for anything you can’t
have, you’re always happy because you have everything you want. That one got
me through a childhood of being at the bottom of the hand-me-down list and
served me well until I slipped up and started wishing to be rich, famous,
beautiful, Mel Gibson’s wife and started feeling dissatisfied with my life.
No more of that stuff–Mel’s already got a wife and 7 kids–I think I’ll
stick with my wonderful husband that makes me FEEL like I have all those
things I wished for!
Janet
October 26th, 2004 at 10:18 am
<< Chrissy, just think of all the worse diseases ya could have, like the big
"C" for example and you’ll be grateful you have a disease that’s at least
livable and treatable. Nobody likes being a diabetic, but……..
>>
Yes this is true and sorry to say you hit a nerve because thats what my
mother always said to me growing up…..It still doesnt make it any easier.
I used to know every hospital in town. Didnt want to be around anyone who
was sick becuae I could end up in the hospital w/an IV getting something as
simple as the flu. I hated when everyone in high school always would say
eeww how can you take shots???? After awhile I would just say well its
either that or die. I could go on and on w/how this terrible disease has
messed up my life but…..I am still alive I have to wonderful adopted
children because of my diabetes/that is the good thing. Im not in a total
depression or anything but there could always be something worse that could
happen. It just doesnt make me feel any better. Chrissy
October 27th, 2004 at 2:33 am
<< Mel Gibson’s wife and started feeling dissatisfied with my life.
No more of that stuff–Mel’s already got a wife and 7 kids–I think I’ll
>>
AR AR Im a Mel Gibson fan also,
But I’ll keep my loving husband too.
Chrissy
October 29th, 2004 at 8:58 pm
You gonna need a printer?
fp
October 30th, 2004 at 11:57 am
You offering free services????
October 30th, 2004 at 9:21 pm
Free?? U must be jokin…..LOL
fp
November 4th, 2004 at 4:49 pm
<Step-Mom> How can you be so calm about all this?
<Me> Well, it’s not AIDS, it’s not Cancer, it’s not
Paralysis, I’ll live. I’ll keep going because I have
to and because I’m not done driving my family insane
yet.
Meanwhile, this is only the second time I can ever
recall seeing my birth mother cry. The first time
being in the middle of her divorce from my father when
I dropped the lid to the toilet through the bottom of
the tank. (Hey… I was a curious little tyke) She’d
had a lot of stressful stuff going on and the sight of
all that water covering the bathroom and hallway floor
must have pushed her to the breaking point.
o/~ Don’t know where I’m goin’ but I’ll tell ya commin’
back… o/~
-Sara