Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Finally a pump update!

So here I sit on the couch at 3:45 am while the rest of the house is asleep.  Why?  Because diabetes is keeping me up.  It has been two weeks since Taylar started using the OmniPod (is that all?) and things have definitely been interesting.  Overall her numbers during the day have been pretty good.  Actually, no, they've been great. There have been occasional lows which I don't like and am not really used to though.  We've handled them he best we could and I'm convinced the change in weather has a lot to do with it.

The first week was a bit overwhelming learning all there is to know about the pump but by now we pretty much have it down. (Except for extended bolusing which I'm very anxious to use especially for when we eat pizza.  But I won't get into that now because "Taylar vs Pizza" could be a blog all it's own!)  Of course the biggest benefit is not drawing up syringes or dialing up insulin pens.  I hardly use the sharps container anymore which has been a good thing.

So part of this whole thing has been checking Taylar overnight at 12am and 3am.  Oh yes, that has been a blast, let me tell you.  I've tried handling it in different ways.  Staying up until 12 to test, trying to sleep before getting up at midnight, attempting a nap during the day.  Honestly, it doesn't matter how I do it because in the end it leaves me T I R E D!  And, like tonight, sometimes it leaves me A W A K E!  Just can't win sometimes I guess.

Before dinner last night we changed her pod site to her back.  She never put it there before so I was a little nervous that it might hurt.  But like usual, Taylar took a few deep breaths and moved on. 

For these two weeks we have been adjusting the basal rate set for 8pm - 12am to bring down her midnight highs.  And we're talking 272, 365, 488, and 255 just to name a few numbers from this week.  Lovely, huh?  It started out at .3 basal rate.  Up to .35, up to .40.  It doesn't really matter what we changed it to, she's still high at that time.  Talk about frustration!  Yesterday I called our nurse educator (yet again) and left a message saying I assume I should up it to .45.  She called me back laughing saying, "Hey, you don't need me anymore."  (Yeah right!)  So tonight .45 it is.  That sounded like a lot, it should do the trick.  Right after changing the pod I made the basal rate change for the night. Blood sugar check was 120 before bed.  Her target!  Ooh, happy Momma! 

So bedtime....I went through the whole bedtime routine and Taylar started complaining that the site hurts.  Mind you we just changed it 3 1/2 hours prior.  She tried laying in different positions but she really seemed uncomfortable.  After about 30 minutes of trying to convince her that it was fine (because yah, I would know how it feels right? Not!) we changed the site.  This was a first.  It was a new pod and it was now 8:30 (She's usually asleep by 8pm) and Taylar needs her beauty sleep.  (I'll just leave out the part that I had planned on grabbing my iPod and going for a nice long walk by myself after she was in bed. Note to self: Never plan something for yourself because chances are it probably won't actually happen.)  Let the frustration kick in here.  Ugh!  The site looked fine but obviously it didn't feel very good, poor kid.  We did what we had to do and by 9pm she was back in bed and sound asleep.  I pouted as I folded laundry and then had some ice cream with praline sprinkles.  (Hmm, probably not the best decision but my emotional eating could be yet another blog all on its own!)

Midnight check at the new, increased again, basal rate was... 273.  Waahhhh!?!  I gave a correction and rechecked at 3am...201.  What the?

So THAT is why I'm sitting here in front of the computer while everyone else is sleeping.  The diabetes monster is having its way with me and won't get out of my head.  I'll call our nurse educator in the morning to see what in the world we should do again.  ::sigh::

Oh my goodness, it's 4:30am and I hear birds chirping outside!  Maybe I should try and go back to sleep now.  My hubby leaves for work in an hour and my youngest, Carissa will be up about an hour after that though.  Maybe I should just stay up.........Actually, maybe I should grab the iPod afterall and take that walk.  But sshhhh, don't tell anyone!

2 comments:

  1. What a look into what you both go through with diabetes. I wish it were easier. Make sure you get your walk today...and preferrably during daylight, ha!

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  2. It's hard to get all the variables defined in the beginning. It can be rough. It will get better and the sleepless nights, although won't be gone, will be fewer.

    Hang in there. We've all been there with you.

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