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13th February 2007
Pump School online 
- an interactive tutorial on how to use your new Minimed insulin pump
I was browsing around the internet last night and came across a really cool idea from Minimed.
When we were last at the hospital, one young woman was most reticent to get to grips with the pump, yet the pump school now offers a way to
learn about the basics of pump therapy and to see how easy all that button pushing could really be.
It's easy to sign up to try out, it's free and it's open to anyone over the age of 13 - if you're younger than that, mum or dad will have to
sign up to it for you.
It's not designed to take the place of full training by your diabetic nurse, however it is a good way of getting a flavour for what's involved
in pumping and try it out in the comfort of your own home!
When Alissa first got her new Paradigm pump she had some training, but it was mostly in the differences between her new pump and the old
508. Of course, it comes with a comprehensive, surprisingly user-friendly manual, but sometimes a visual or video is easier to
understand.
There's three main sections:-
- Self management skills - what you'll need to know about insulin pump therapy
- Button Pushing - Understanding the buttons and how to use them, including the Bolus Wizard™ Calculator, which makes
insulin dosing so much easier and saves trying to do all those maths calculations in your head!
- Starting on Insulin - a preview of what your Medtronic MiniMed Pump Trainer or health care provider will be
demonstrating to you during your hands-on pump training session
If you find it helpful, there's some simple multiple choice questions to check that you've understood what's been explained. There's
also a follow-up section to help you get the most out of pump therapy.
It's helpful to learn some of the terminology before you get your hands on your pump - otherwise you'll be struggling with concepts like
basal and bolus rates and priming.
The pump school program also asks you to consider scenarios, such as having a high level following a meal and what you would need to
do about it - this is helpful for not only learning the terminology, but in feeling confident as a pump user.
Really Useful Information
Believe me, when we first had Alissa's pump this kind of online learning would have been very valuable - although we had the wonderful support
of Susan Judge, our Minimed diabetic nurse, who helped us through - just feeling that we knew how to handle everything before we started
would have been such a help.
It's also full of information that's helpful to any diabetic - like
reprinting the American Diabetes Association recommendations for HbA1c levels and how they correlate with average levels of blood sugar
levels. For example, if you're HbA1c is 8, your average or overall glucose level is 205 mg/dl or 11.5 mmol/l - yikes! Wish they
told you this kind of thing at the hospital clinic !
There's also some detailed information about what to do for a hypo - or hypoglycemia. This is far more detailed and helpful
than I can recall ever hearing from any medical advisor - whether that means I've forgotten or was never told, who knows ?
As the risks of hyperglycemia are higher with the pump (there's no residual insulin in your body, unlike with injections) , the hyperglycemia
protocol which spells out just what to do if your level is high (above 250 mg/dl or 14 mmol/L) to help prevent ketoacidosis (DKA).
It's worth printing out both the hypo and hyper protocols and keeping them with all your diabetic supplies and information. When we've
faced a hyper, it's always difficult to recall what we're supposed to do and it's great to have something written down which you can follow.
The diet information about "fatty foods" and how they affect your glucose levels is simple but useful - for example, the fact that they can
affect your blood glucose levels as much as 4-6 hours later and that they slow down the absorption of carbohydrates.
I spent around 20-25 minutes on the Self Management section and was surprised to find that I learned some new information and was reminded of
things that I'd forgotten.
Why not try it yourself?
Whether you're new to the pump or an established user - this could be a really great way of taking a refresher course. I know that I'll
be recommending it to Alissa !
Check out how it could feel to use a pump and learn more about the benefits in your daily life at https://pumpschool.minimed.com/index.tpl
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