And Pump Makes Three...

I have some great news...Yesterday I not only ended up getting my pump in the mail, but I also got to go for pump training that same afternoon!  My CDE called yesterday morning and said she had the afternoon free if I wanted to come (keep in mind, she's two hours away), but I wasn't sure at that point if the UPS man was going to bring my packages before lunch, when we would have to leave.  I spent the whole morning watching out the window for him like a kid waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve, but he didn't show up.  I had written it off as a disappointment, but I decided to drive through town (which only takes a couple of minutes in a town of 2,500!) in a last-ditch effort to find him.  I drove past the barbeque place (where he eats fairly often), but no UPS man.  I was about to turn around and come back when I spotted him coming from the opposite direction, so I followed him to his stop and asked him for my packages.  I explained the situation, and he was happy to find them for me.  I should probably add that we've had the same UPS man for the 10 years we've lived here, so we know him pretty well...and I'm pretty sure he gets stalked fairly often. =)  So, off we went--my dad had an appointment up there that afternoon, so it worked out great.  He dropped me (and my two big boxes) off at my CDE's office and went on to his appointment.

Pump training went great.  We went over the basics (safety, pump functions & setup, etc.), and most of it was common sense stuff.  I was relieved when she told me we wouldn't be messing with the CGM until a couple of weeks from now, when I've had the chance to get used to using the pump first.  Many of you already know that was the part that I was most nervous about, so I have to admit I wasn't that disappointed to have to wait.  It will give me a chance to get used to inserting the infusion sets before I have to do the same with that big, honking needle!

Anyway, after going over all of the need-to-knows, she had me go ahead and insert my infusion set (the Quick-set) myself.  She walked me through the whole process, but I kind of jumped the gun on the needle removal part...She told me to grab the blue part to pull the needle out, so I did--before she could tell me to hold the infusion set down with my other hand in the process.  We were afraid that I may have pulled out the set by doing that, but it all appeared to be fine.  She told me to keep an eye on it and if it got red or my BG went up, it was probably sitting on my skin surface instead of beneath it like it should be.

We went and ate supper right after that, and I got to try out the bolus wizard for the first time...We would have actually practiced doing that in my CDE's office, but she said I was the only person who'd ever come in for pump training that had a BG within the target range during the visit--so no bolus/correction for me!  She just walked me through the steps instead.  Since we ate Mexican food, I decided to do a square wave bolus so that my insulin would spread out over a couple of hours to match the slower absorption of higher-fat food.  It was wonderful to not have to get up and go to the bathroom to give myself a shot, or worry about giving two shots for the square wave effect as I had to do before.  Not only that, but it's pretty awesome that you can watch it happen--I'd bolused 4.7u over two hours, and I was able to see it give the final 0.1u over the last couple of minutes.

We set three different basal rates: 0.7 for 12:00AM to 3:00AM; 0.85 for 3:00AM to 8:00AM, and 0.4 for 8:00AM to 12:00AM.  I knew that this setup would probably not be the right one for me, and I had this confirmed when I woke up at 6:00 this morning with a BG of 60.  I was stable from 12:00AM to 3:00AM, but that next increase was just too much for me.  I'm pretty sure it's because unlike most people, I don't experience the Dawn Phenomenon very often...My fasting  BGs are usually normal, below 100.  On the other hand, I have a feeling that the 0.4 basal rate for daytime won't be enough, because I tend to run highest in the evening after supper.  I guess we'll just have to see what happens!  I'm supposed to call my CDE today and let her know how it's going so we can make some changes if needed (which we will, obviously!).

All in all, it hasn't been a very big adjustment for me.  The hardest part thus far was having to figure out what to do with it at night, because I toss and turn a lot.  I ended up clipping it onto my pj bottoms and undies, just so it would stay in place better.  I tucked the tubing in there as well, and everything seemed to have stayed in its place overnight.  I'm planning on making some pump bands to go around my thigh for the nights that I wear gowns instead of regular pjs, and for when I'm wearing dresses or skirts.  I started to order some online, but for what I would have spent, I figured I might as well just buy some stretchy fabric and make my own since I know my way around the sewing machine pretty well!

Other than that, I'm just glad to have the opportunity to use such an amazing piece of technology.  It's already simplified my D-lfie, and I look forward to using it to help me achieve my goals.  Since my new 24/7 companion and I will be spending a lot of time together, I figure it's only appropriate to give it a name...I just haven't come up with one yet.  I'll keep you posted on that one, and suggestions are always welcome =)