Another Step Closer

Welcome to the latest update in my inevitable journey to pumpliness.

At the start of my blog it was a case of 'sort yourself out Dave' and I'm sure the more experienced pumpers might have seen the signs early-doors but it took me a while to convince myself that this was the right step to take. And yes, I still have concerns about delivery failures but hey, I'll get over that.

So today was my first training session with the pump and my excellent DSN.  Thanks to some pre-reading of John Walsh's Pumping Insulin and the Medtronic training guide I was fairly comfortable with what I was being told but it was useful to get my hands on one and have a good play with it.

We went through a few menus and scenarios and agreed that it was pretty much like a phone and once set-up correctly seems to be as complex as you'd like it to be.  There was quite a bit of "not many of my people do that" when I asked about advanced settings, "but if you can work it out that's great and then you can teach me" so that may be something I have to play with myself.

I'm due back for another session on Friday although I'm not sure what else is to cover until my pump arrives.  Apparently it has been ordered last Friday but might take two weeks [Mike @ Everydayupsanddowns - I think you'll be the first of us to abandon #teammdi]

I have though been given a pump and some sets to have a play with on a leather bag for four days.  Me being me, I've pushed that test a little and have attached the tube to my stomach (without the stabby bit) and then attached the tube to the Veo that has no liquid in it.  This is the true test as I wanted to banish the biggest 'it's always there' concerns forever more.  As a bonus, tonight is a football match to watch and tomorrow I'm working in the office so will have it for the commute etc.  It's these scenarios where I believe it will work best so we'll see.

I also enquired about borrowing their CGM for the first week to give a better understanding of my levels early doors.  I was initially met with "Erm, we don't normally do that" but a little bit of persuasion later and it looks like it's a goer.  I can feel my long-term goal of a CGM permanently may take some time but small steps have got me this far. That is a battle for after I'm up and running.

On the negative I was advised that I'll need a manbag or suitable carry-all for the spare kit I'll need to have with me at all times.  I'm still not sure on this but I guess that knowledge will come with time.

So after about two hours it's still sticking on and not annoying me too much.  Now it's just the wait until go-live day. I'll admit to getting impatient - I like to research things for, erm, a long time, but once the decision is made I want it NOW!

Thanks for reading.

Dave