Him,
My name is Sharon, I am 41 and have had type 1 diabetes for 7 years. I am married with 2 children aged 12 and 9. Big shock being diagnosed as no family history, nor did I have gestational diabetes and was otherwise fit and well! Just gone on to animas insulin pump 2 weeks ago, not off to a great start and was wondering how others have fared with pumps? Does it get any easier to navigate and how about having to wear the thing 24/7? I have had it fall out, rip out (line and all!) and 2 lots of un- explained high BGL's so far!!
Hello Sharon and Welcome to the Forum
I have had type 1 diabetes for 8+ years and it is a bit overwhelming at first. Sometimes it gets to be too much even now - it seems we all go through stages where the pump is too much or the ups and downs are too much etc.
Do you have a pump trainer that was provided to you by the Animas company? That person should be able to help you with the problems you've mentioned. I can tell you what I did and maybe others on the forum will be along shortly.
Yes, it does get easier to navigate. For you I'm sure it is made more challenging by the fact that you have two young children. If there is a day when the children are in school, maybe you could sit down with the pump manual and read a few pages. I was gobsmacked when I first got the pump and I thought "I will never be able to do this". But here it is a year later and I am doing ok.
As far as the pump falling out, where do you wear it? Being female I wear mine in my bra the majority of the time. I also place the pump inside of a baby sock to protect it from perspiration whilst in the bra. When I insert the infusion set, I place a few pieces of tape - one across the set itself (depending on which set you use) and another piece of tape about 2 inches away from the set. This helps to keep the tubing in place so that it isn't jerked out accidentally.
Is your doctor or Endocrinologist working with you to establish good basal rates? This step is absolutely essential - sort of like building a house. If you don't have a good foundation you have nothing substantial. There is a book that I found helpful called "Pumping Insulin" by John Walsh. I bought mine on Amazon.com. It explains so many things about pumping insulin and can answer questions that may come up.
Don't know if I have helped you or not, but please don't give up yet. It does get easier and I think you can do it. Let us know how you get on.