Insulin shots and pumps

In the beginning, having injections was a problem. The first week he was upset about the injections, but after that he forgot about them. He always understands what the meaning is of this and that. He understands that he has to deal with it and look forward.

 

Father

 

Picking up the pieces
You slowly pick up the pieces and start making sense of it all. I just had my appointment with our nurse, and I said to her, “What’s really hard for me is that I’m completely type A with a very black and white personality.” We’ve been having problems with his pump and I keep saying when his blood sugars are high, I’m not sure it’s high because the pump is not working the way it should or if I haven’t covered him enough or given him enough insulin.

So, I struggle with that day to day, and I know that I can’t find the answer on the internet and that I can’t call a doctor and get a “Well, that’s happening because this is happening.” Every kid’s diabetes is different. It’s all different, so that’s what I struggle with day to day. I take thyroid medication for my thyroid. It’s one pill. I take it every morning, and that’s it. Diabetes isn’t like that. You can’t just take a dose of insulin and you’re fine and you can go ahead. It’s a constant juggling act no matter what you’re doing.

Mother

 

Transition from injections to pump therapy
Before with insulin injections, we used to go out on Sunday night for dinners and stuff like that more than we do now with the pump. The reason is because we trained people how to inject easily, but we haven’t trained people on how to use the pump. Now, we haven’t gone out for a couple of months.

Father

 

Using a pump
Our daughter has had diabetes for a year and a half now and has been on an insulin pump for just over a year. We were all pleasantly surprised to learn that her diet would not be severely restricted (our ideas about diabetes were very outdated). She is 13 now and is extremely responsible. She tests her blood sugar frequently and adjusts her insulin as necessary. Between the insulin pump and a PDA which contains a large database of carbohydrate information, she is able to be very independent and flexible in her food intake.

Mother