Bumps along the road

This pump is not doing what it promised.

Just look at all of those happy, carefree people on the brochure, literally jumping for joy. "Just look how simple living with diabetes will be! Look at all of the freedom you will have! Welcome to your new life!"

Bullshit.

It has been two weeks since M started on insulin with the pump. The first third of this time period was fraught with dangerous lows. M's bg level was generally in the 40s and 50s. Sometimes it dropped to the 30s, which left me in the bizarre position of force-feeding her carbs at all kinds of hours throughout the day and night.

We adjusted her basal rate. We lowered it so that she was receiving fewer units of Humalog per hour. 1.35 to 1.25 to 1.15, to 1.1 at night, and 1.15 during the day.

Then it happened. Two days where nearly every test came back with a bg in range. 108, 99, 112, 128, 89.

Yes! We found the magic numbers.

After the two days though, her bg began to spike 348, 398, 378.... What the hell?

We looked at her new infusion site. She had just changed it to the front of her thigh, where some folks had told her she might be more comfortable. Everything was connected. She gave herself bolus after bolus with no visible result. Her blood sugar wasn't going up, at least. We checked, but there was no leak in the tubing.

I thought that maybe the cannula was kinked, delivering some of the insulin, but not all. We decided to switch her infusion site. M took an injection of Humalog using her insulin pen. In an hour her bg was 118.

Phew!

M chose to put the new infusion set on the back of her arm so that her belly could get a rest.

Later that day, she ripped it out while doing some yard work.

Ugh.

Insurance only covers one new infusion set for every three days. Now we will have gone through three in one day.

Super.

M put a new infusion set in the back of her arm. Things are better, but we are still readjusting her basal rates back up. Right now, we have her at 1.35 during the day, and 1.15 at night. Her bg is still in the 200s for the most part.

I am sure that not sleeping through the night isn't helping, but this pump is making me mad.

Evidently, I had some unrealistic expectation that perhaps M's insulin doses would start making sense to me. That maybe we would have better control of her bg.

Right now the control has seemed worse.

I am also sure that it's not the pump's fault. I am sure that I am doing something wrong. Or maybe I am not patient enough.

All I know is that we haven't even paid for the damned thing, and I am ready to send it back.

I am waiting for M to look like those happy people on the cover of the package that we were given, instead of bewildered about her bg levels.

It can't happen fast enough.

Bewildered parent and/or diabetic child.