When Sydney was diagnosed at 11 months old-we felt like the rug got pulled from under us. Yet-I was determined to maintain a positive outlook. I met other D-Moms that seemed defeated and tired all the time. Boy-little did I know. It didn't take my husband and I long before we were like walking zombies from lack of sleep. On the outside boy did I smile! I think I smiled all the time. A little too much I'm sure-but it was all I could do to keep from crying at times. I refused to be weepy and defeated but I was. And then Sydney's doctor waved a gold nugget at us-- Insulin Pump Therapy. He said Sydney was a perfect candidate- even at a year old. Her Blood Sugar's were all over the place. 50 one moment and then 500 the next.
I called insurance to see what our out of pocket costs would be..and then the bomb! "I'm sorry Mrs. Tennial, Insulin Pump Therapy is not available until shot therapy has been proved ineffective for 6 months." Thanks so much Aetna-NOT!
6 long months ticked by. The worst part of shot therapy was that if she went into a meal high-we had to wait to correct until she had finished her meal. And by that point her sugar was in the 400's and then she would ride the sugar roller coaster until it came down. Can you tell how much I hated it?
Then the heavens opened (haha dramatic I know) and she was approved for an insulin pump at 18 months old with no out of pocket costs because we had already met our deductible for the year. Ha! Like that's hard to do with a diabetic child!
Now-the hard part. Which insulin pump? We had narrowed it down to the Omnipod and the Animas Ping. We had a rep from each company come over and show us all the features. After seeing our options we picked Omnipod. We were so excited to not give Sydney 6+ shots a day. We started using it and within a week we had mixed emotions. Our biggest problem was that the pods would fall off all the time!! I've heard many Moms comment that they can just reuse the insulin inside. Omnipod Customer Service said it's not recommended because it could be contaminated and I would not risk that. We lost bottles of insulin-so much for no out of pocket cost!
What we didn't like about OmniPod:
You lose a Pod-you lose Insulin
Not good at dosing small amounts
Takes up a lot of skin real estate
Does not calculate IOB for food
Her pants never fit quite right when we put the Pod on her bottom.
The cannula is longer than Animas so not great for belly sites
OmniPod and the beach just don't mix
What we loved about OmniPod:
That we didn't have to give 6+ shots a day
That the insertion was automatic
That it used the Freestyle Test Strips-Requires the smallest amount of blood
That it had a wireless remote
That she didn't have tubing
Finally after a year and a half the dislikes outweighed the benefits and we switched to Animas Ping (in pink of course)!
What we love about Animas
We didn't have to give 6+ shots a day
The insertion is nearly automatic
The brand is J&J-they have been around a long time and I trust them
It has a wireless remote bolus feature
The site is so small that we can rotate and apply to more parts of the body
She can wear a cute pack with her clothes
She can disconnect at the park or before a bath
The tubing hasn't been bad at all-when it's tucked in her pack you can't even tell.
The pump is waterproof and it loves the beach/pool :)
It calculates IOB for meals in addition to BG corrections
It gives the smallest amount of insulin available
So far-we haven't had any major problems and I'm glad we made the switch! Sydney just told me yesterday that she loved her pink insulin pump because it's pink like a princess.
Me on the other hand..I have a love/hate relationship with the pump. I hate the pump because it's a constant reminder of her disease. I love the pump because it keeps my child alive-and that's enough for me. Me and the Princess Pink Pump have a long road ahead of us and I hope it's up for the ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment