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19th February 2007
Alissa & Patrick - the first weeks with her new Medtronics insulin
pump
So, what's the latest on Patrick, Alissa's new
Medtronics pump?
We finally got the right supplies & accessories, apparently there's been some problem with funding, which
has now been sorted out.
It's interesting to reflect that Alissa felt that she wasn't really given sufficient information when she was
first diagnosed with type i diabetes. I wonder what she'll think about how easy (or not) it was to change
over from one pump to another?
Whilst the hospital staff are very supportive, the general feeling is that now she's over 18, she's old enough
to handle things herself. This includes sending her off with a brand new insulin pump, together with handbook
and letting her sort it out.
Anyone who's sat with a new insulin pump, infusion sets and bottles of insulin will know that this is not
something which is designed to reduce anyones blood pressure ! I certainly don't recommend doing it late at
night when you're tired, as the frustration can be even worse!
Well, with the hurdle of getting the first infusion set in and working over, it was time to review basal rates
and see how they were affecting her sugar levels. With a log of her food, meals and bolus levels written down
over the past few weeks (oh, and fasting several meals to see how that affected blood sugar levels too), these are
now in the post to the medical staff to see what they suggest for changing her basal rates.
We're hopeful that this will result in improved control - since she hasn't made any major changes to her basal
rates for a long time (apart from the emergency changes over Christmas - see the January entries in this blog).
The good news is that Patrick has now been formally introduced to most of Alissa's friends, who love being on
first name terms with him!
With the new bolus wizard, Alissa has had far fewer high levels and certainly seems to be feeling much healthier
- best of all, she's not having to spend so much time worrying about getting her levels better, they already are
good!
So, although Patrick was funded by the NHS (National Health Service) so that we didn't have to pay for him
ourselves, we already think he's well worth it, whatever his price !
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