pump 101

BRYCE SHOWING OFF HIS PUMP  

It is about the size of a pager which he wears in a little pouch around his waist.  It has a little cartridge filled with insulin.  The insulin is delivered through a thin tube the connects to a "set" that is inserted into his lower back.  We change this set every 2-3 days switching sides each time.  

THE SET ALL ATTACHED

This is what the set looks like when attached.  The blue part and tube can be disconnected leaving just the quarter sized sticker part.  There is a thin tube, cannula, that goes under his skin so he can get insulin.

SIDE VIEW OF SET

The cannula is the tiny tube you see under the white sticker part.  A very small part goes under his skin so the insulin can get in.

THE INSERTER THING

This is the contraption that gets that cannula under his skin.  It has some spring action that pops the needle out fast and when you take the needle out, it leaves the cannula.  We have had a ton of probs with this part.  Mostly not getting enough of the cannula under the skin or the sticker part curls or we've even had it not puncture the skin.  Because Bruce has such little amounts of fat, we use the angled set.

THE PUMP

While there are controls on the pump itself, his blood glucose meter serves as a remote control.  We test his blood then enter the number of carbs he is going to eat and it calculates how much insulin he needs to cover it (bolus).  We then decide how much insulin to give him based on that recommendation.  If he wants more food, we just give him another bolus.  The pump also gives him very little amounts of insulin every few minutes throughout the day (basal) for the time between meals.  

There is a lot more to all this but I think that gives a good overview of what pumping is all about.  Any questions?  I'd be glad to answer them :-)