Pump it up!

Leo is finally on an insulin pump!!! We got it in a couple of weeks ago and went to the Barbara Davis Center last Tuesday for training and saline start. The doctors don't like to start pumps on people with insulin right away. Good thing too because if I mess up on a dosage or entering a number correctly, all he gets is harmless saline. But we are starting insulin on Wednesday and I'm so ready to see how his numbers respond.

Portable insulin pumps have been around since the early 1960s. The first ones were HUGE and had to be worn as a backpack. I'm so grateful for the modern technology that allows Leo to carry his pump in a pocket or hooked on to a belt! Although the design has changed, the principle is still the same.

Leo, and other type-1s, usually use 2 different types of insulin; a long acting that controls his blood glucose over a 24 hour period, and a short acting that he gets when he eats. The long acting insulin is a set dosage every day while the short acting dose changes depending on how many carbs Leo eats or if he needs extra insulin to bring a high blood sugar down. Pumps use only short acting insulin (in Leo's case it's a brand called Humalog) that is dripped in little by little throughout the day to mimic the constant production of insulin by the pancreas and also given in a larger amount when he eats. The constant drip is called the basal rate and the larger amount is called a bolus.

The insulin is delivered from a cartridge in the pump and pushed through a thin tube and into Leo's body through an infusion site. The site and cartridge are changed every 2-3 days. I was really nervous about doing the insertions at first, as was Leo, but like anything new, once you know how to do it, it gets easier. Leo was scared the first couple of times but now he realizes that it's no worse than getting a shot and he only has to get them once every couple of days. The infusion set comes in it's own package with a thing that I just cock back and click to do the site insertion. I can't believe how easy it actually is.

To give insulin now is so easy. All I have to do is push a button and enter his blood glucose and the amount of carbs Leo is eating. The pump calculates how much insulin he needs based on the carb count and if he needs any correction dosage to bring a high BG down. Then I just push a button and away it goes! No more drawing up insulin in a syringe and worrying about over-correcting or giving too much for a snack!

I'm so excited to see the results from pump therapy! We will be going back in a couple of weeks for more training on using the pump and dosing insulin over longer periods of time for different foods. I still feel a bit overwhelmed by all of it but I will get there slowly but surely and Leo will be so much better off.