Pump Day is 17th April!

[Gary_W]

Hi all,

Well this is suddenly moving at the speed of light :D

The nurse in charge of pumping just called me and said 'how's the 17th of April for you?' to which the answer was 'perfect'. I'm off work that week and will have a few days to settle in before normal service has to be resumed. It's just about perfect. I really cannot believe it.

I'm carrying this little loaner around with me everywhere to try and reduce the 'weird factor' when I get plumbed in. Stuck it under the pillow last night and as they are those foam orthopaedic things I was unaware that it was there. I know it's different when you've got the tubing around you as well, but I figure I've got years to deal with that so I'll break myself in gently. I also got it to tell me how much to inject for breakfast this morning / to correct the 8.4 (151) starting position due to Lantus NOT dropping me like a stone last night (do wish it would make it's mind up!). Apparantly, I needed 7.35 units. I whacked in 8 and thought about pulling the needle out early ;)

A little practical question regarding getting dressed. I was wearing my dressing gown (bath robe or whatever you wish to call it) and had the pump in the pocket. I then popped it on the bed whilst I dressed. Do you folks disconnect when dressing or how is it done? I started imagining spaghetti problems...

Gary

[kgm0612]

Congratulations, Gary. Glad things are moving quickly for you.

I wear pajama bottoms to bed and clip the pump onto the waistband. After I get out of the shower and dry off, I pull on my underwear & clip my pump to it before putting my bathrobe on. I usually do not disconnect when I'm getting dressed.

Karen

[Jan B]

:dancing: WOW!!!

I usually wear a belt at night -- it wraps around your waist and fastens w/velcro. I disconnect for showers (give .3 units beforehand . . . which is 15-20 minutes of basal for me). Then reconnect after the jeans are on and attach the clip and clip on my jeans. I also have cases I sometimes use instead of the clip, that either attach like a clip, or hang from a belt loop.

[Clint]

I normally disconnect when dressing as I have gotten it caught on things or dropped it.. Since it only takes me a few minutes to dress, not a biggie.

[shabbie]

:congrats: gary that is just fantastic news!!! :D

do you know which one you will be gifted with?

i sometimes disconnect whilst dressing, and sometimes not....depends what style of clothing i'm fighting with ;)

for sleeping i take off all outer clips and just have it roam free in the bed at about shoulder height.
i got strangled on my first night with it under the pillow! lol!


i'm so thrilled for ya
:party:

[pegasus]

:dancing: WOW!!!

I usually wear a belt at night -- it wraps around your waist and fastens w/velcro. I disconnect for showers (give .3 units beforehand . . . which is 15-20 minutes of basal for me). Then reconnect after the jeans are on and attach the clip and clip on my jeans. I also have cases I sometimes use instead of the clip, that either attach like a clip, or hang from a belt loop.

:thumbsup: :dancing2:

Congrats, Gary!

I'm with Jan on the belt/cases; haven't done the added basal for showers, tho that does give me an idea ....

[palefacegirl03]

April the 17th , that is fantastic, Gary.

I clip my pump to my pj bottoms or tshirt at night, disconnect for my morning shower and then put it back on when I put on enough clothes to have something to clip it to, for women, the bra strap is perfect while getting dressed.

[notme]

Wow that was fast Gary!

I disconnect while dressing. Make SURE you put your pump in a place that you won't forget to reconnect. In the beginning, put your pump on suspend when you take it off so it beeps at you if you leave it sitting on the bathroom counter. When trying on clothes at a store, put your pump in your shoe. I left my pump once sitting in the dressing room and drove home only to discover this an hour later. Lucky for me, it was a slow day and my pump was still in the dressing room.

[SGT Shoutmore]

Gary,

Right on!

But brother, be prepared to be overwhelmed at first, I just got mine today, and it will be a big box full of other boxes, and I mean FULL of other boxes, a mountain of boxes, papers, books, DVDs, CD Rom discs, sets, you name it. As I unpack it, (Yes, I am doing that right now) I am trying to figure out where I am going to put all of my supplies, my bathroom already looks like a Doc's exam room with various shelves, apothecary jars with needles, preps, syringes, crapola. So, *shaking head* I am laughing right now sort of maniacally, for the love of God, I need therapy.

My rep said any 12 year old can put this stuff together, I looked in the box all over and could NOT find a 12 year old anywhere, I don't think they will include one in your box either, so, it's a job for the lone ranger. I recommend you clear your schedule and have a pint or a dozen handy. [lol]

It's fairly cool though, you'll get a kick out of it when it arrives.
:beer:

[w5wjp]

I had an entirely different reaction when I got my pump. First reaction was...where is the rest of it? I expected something much larger even though I had read the brochures and checked the sizes. I just didn't seem to be big enough. After a year of wearing it, my reaction now is...why is it so big?.....lol

Sleeping with it, I wear a pocket t-shirt and stick the pump in the pocket. If it falls out, so be it. Most of the time it stays in the pocket. Never noticed it at all, even the first few nights.

I disconnect and suspend the pump for showering and the beep it make does help remind you that you are disconnected. I reattach when I have enough clothes on to stash the pump somewhere.

[gettingby]

That's super news Gary. I'm glad you were able to get a pump.
I don't disconnect for dressing. Only when I take a shower. Like Charlotte (palefacegirl) said, we women have infinite places to put our pumps while getting dressed. ;)

[Gary_W]

Thanks for all the replies and dressing tips, folks :)

Sharon - I was given a free choice between a Minimed, an Animas and a Spirit. I went with the Animas. I decided against the Spirit due to the lack of carb calculator etc (I'm sure I'd cope, but when the others are offered and do it...). I'd have been equally happy with either the Animas or the Minimed from a features point of view. I chose the Animas on robustness / potential customer service. I've seen lots of folks on-line whinge about Minimed service and I must say that I've emailed them twice for info and had no reply! That did not inspire confidence. Animas were straight out with the brochures, info etc. I think that, over here, they are the new kids on the block and are clearly keen to make an impact. That, plus the fact I've always liked the Ultrasmart meters which are also a J&J product, so the (included) software with the pump will all be nice and compatible. I'm sure it would have been fine with the Minimed also, but they seem to be charging people for download cables over here which (IMO) stinks if they've been given £2500 for a pump. The cable should be provided free upon asking. Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick on that one.

Jan - Thanks for the belt info; where do you get such things from? I'm looking forward to trying one of those as I bet I'll look wonderful wearing nothing but a velcro belt and a pump (and a pair of socks to finish the scene off....) Oh the joys of diabetes..

Pump - £2500
Supplies - £1200
Velcro Belt - £20

The look on my wife's face when she sees me wearing nothing but that and a smile - Priceless :eek: :eek: :eek: :D

Gary

[Gary_W]

That's super news Gary. I'm glad you were able to get a pump.
I don't disconnect for dressing. Only when I take a shower. Like Charlotte (palefacegirl) said, we women have infinite places to put our pumps while getting dressed. ;)

Problem is I have to wait until my wife is out of town before I can borrow one of her bras to clip it on...

I'll go now before I dig myself in deeper...

[shabbie]

roflmao gary !!!!!

i can just picture it!!!

[PusCat1970]

Gary,

Congratulations, that's great news :thumbsup: , you'll love it. I've been pumping for 5 weeks on Monday and it's great. Had a few problems at the beginning with inserting cannula, but I'm over that now. BGs are much more stable, but not perfect yet!

As for dressing, I just clip the pump onto my underwear, don't bother to disconnect, but you'll find whatever is comfortable for you. The only time that I disconnect is for showering and intimate moments LOL :wink: Sleeping with pump has been no problem at all for me, I clip it onto the front of my pj bottoms and tuck the line in.

Best wishes.

[Subby]

Great news Gary! Best of luck with getting it all sorted from here. I am sure you will do well :)

I tend to try and keep my pump connected when dressing etc - mainly in case the act of taking it out disturbs the flow much. This may be being overly cautious but then again I've removed it sometimes, and had a drop of insulin come out the end, which I assume really belonged in my body! It can be tricky to do this but if you stick to it, in a few weeks it becomes second nature to sit on bed (with pump beside),pull jocks up, clip pump, pull pants up, clip pump in pocket (where I keep it - very handy with the slim MM clip).

Of course I still disconnect it when I really need to. But I have also found with very very grim lessons, that if I unclip it more than 3 or 4 times a day, this becomes a natural action and I either forget to put it on, or I take it off in my sleep.

If I keep the disconnections to a daily minimum, I don't have these urges, I seem to accept it's place is on me and nowhere else.

[Coppernob]

That is such good news Gary - I can feel your excitement - YEAH!
After several years of wearing my pump clipped to the neck of my nightie, sometimes waking with a lump ON my throat and thinking I was being strangled, I switched to wearing PJs - I don't know why I didn't do it years ago as PJs are sooo comfy!
Loved the various mental pics you painted for us all:rofl:

[SGT Shoutmore]

That is such good news Gary - I can feel your excitement - YEAH!
After several years of wearing my pump clipped to the neck of my nightie, sometimes waking with a lump ON my throat and thinking I was being strangled, I switched to wearing PJs - I don't know why I didn't do it years ago as PJs are sooo comfy!
Loved the various mental pics you painted for us all:rofl:

I had to chuckle. I found wearing surgical scrubs made great PJs, with a breast pocket, it's perfect place for my pump while I snooze. The scuba are very comfy too, perfect to lounge around in as well.

[Coppernob]

The nurse in charge of pumping just called me and said 'how's the 17th of April for you?'


Hey Gary, this is the week - countdown to PUMP day. I wish you luck but I think that you are so motivated you won't need it - your sense of humor will help too! :)

[Chappo]

Gary,

Congratulations!!! I can really feel your excitement - i'm currently awaiting a medical needs letter and for my insurance company to give me the acceptance that they will cover my pump!

So i'm hoping i'll be pumping within the next month!

Please let me know how it goes - i'm now doubly excited for you and myself!!! :D

Best wishes for your big day!

Alex

[Gary_W]

Hi Anne and Alex,

I am getting excited (sadly enough!) and really can't wait.

I've actually had the latter part of last week off work and my family and I had a few days away; just got back tonight. Yet another benefit for the pump came out... We were eating in the restaurant of our hotel. I was quite low before eating, and I tend not to inject until the food turns up anyway. It turned up, I had a few mouthfuls whilst counting up the carbs and then decided I needed 8u. At that point, our youngest daughter kicked off with a tantrum that only a sub 2 year old can. Despite consoling her etc she wouldn't calm down, so I took her up to the room whilst my wife and our 6 year old finished their meals quickly. When they came up, I went down and ate the remainder of my food.

At that point, I realised that I couldn't recall injecting. I'd worked it out, but in the screaming and chaos could not be certain if I had or I hadn't. I decided the best thing to do would be to whack in 4u just in case (half way house), and test lots. I knew I would have to correct later with either food or insulin, but it was better than a raging high all evening.

It soon became apparant that I had indeed put the 8u in earlier. 500ml of orange juice was required to keep the hypo at bay, and I then had to eat yet more before bed to feed the hungry beast that is Lantus...

At that point I thought 'If this was next week, this just wouldn't happen'. I'd check the history and voila! And then I'd be able to go to bed without Lantus feeding as there won't be any Lantus. Joy of joys :) .

I really cannot wait. The above scenario is a rare thing, but it's not the first time I've become distracted and forgotten whether or not I've actually done the injection. A minor benefit, but another one to chalk up.

Gary

[shiftzor]

There really is such a thing as pumping in the uk. Great news, it gives people like me hope ;) I really hope you have a positive experience and i am sure it will be worth the effort. I have done that several times, its an anoying/dangerous problem if you don't keep testing: Have i injected? Doh!

[Dewey]

Gary, I'm excited for you & hope things go well on your pump start. The pump will definitely be beneficial to you, especially at times like you described! :eek: Glad you are ok after that incident. Once again, congrats to you & look forward to hearing how your pump start goes!

[SGT Shoutmore]

Gary,

It's coming down to "LIVE" time! Just three more days! WOOT!

[FatCatAnna]

I just purchased an Animas 2020 a few weeks ago. Had tried out the MM for a few months - then the 2020 - and fell in love with it - mostly due to the support from the rep/company. MM rep left me in the loop a few times when I needed help - plus I wasn't allowed to call the 1-800 number since I didn't "own" the pump - Animas was completely opposite.

Am still trying to find a diabetic educator or an endo in my province of Quebec that speaks English - Animas is trying to help me out there which is great. Surprisingly enough - pumping is still relatively new here in QC - so not much help for newbies such as myself (my Animas rep said it's very sad that it's this way in this province). Not sure if it's to do with the two languages - or just the fact that not many people pump. Anyway, I'm plodding along - learning as I go along - with the help of books / Internet / this great group here.

I'm like the others here - for where I clip my pump. Since it's so small - it's pretty unobtrusive. On holidays a few months ago - my waiter when he saw me clicking away on the keyboard as I was bolusing - was setting up for a poise ... he thought I was going to take his picture <lol>. I explained to him about the pump - and his Mum is a diabetic - so I put a plug in for insulin pumps (Animas of course).

Well, off to enjoy some sunshine - snow is melting - upper teens tomorrow - will be fighting with my better half to use the motorcycle :bike: tomorrow (wish he'd get the old one working - as I like the new one better).

Cheerio and congrats!!! One more day and you will start to feel like a NoRmAl human being in no time at all!!!

Anna