Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chance on June 15, 2011 at 6:45am

My son just turned three a few days ago. He has been on the Ping for about a month now and he still fights with us everytime we have to do a site change. I litterally have to hold him down while my wife does it. I am not sure if one of us could even do it by ourselves. With our son we give him a Sponge Bob bandaid right after we put the site on. Even though there is not any blood he likes to get the Sponge Bob bandaid. We put it on right above or below the site and it makes him get over the pain a little faster. I know that it hurts a little but he never cried when he was on injections. I think with my son that it might be his age. He has two older brothers (6 & 4) that are not diabetic and he is starting to figure out that he is the only one having to do things differently and he is becoming very aggrevated.

What part of the body is he wearing the infusion set? I am assuming that you are changing the site around each time. Even though, with kids this young there are not many options for places to wear the infusion set.

I really hope that things get better for your son. I know that it breaks your heart everytime that you have to change his sites. I definitely can relate!

Permalink Reply by Theresa on June 15, 2011 at 7:04am

I wonder if maybe the noise of the inset scares him more then the actual needle? My son is 13 and has been on the Ping since 3-21-11. I asked him to compare the site changes to the pen needles and he told me that the pen needles he couldn't feel but the site changes hurt for a little. He thinks the noise alerts him to what is coming and probably makes it worse. Sorry you are going through this. A parent is only as happy as their saddest child. Maybe try some noise to drown out the inset. Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on June 15, 2011 at 7:27am

Hi, there~
I'm sorry for the pain your son is going through. My daughter was diagnosed at 15 months and is now 5 years old, on the pump since 18 months old. I think kids get burnt-out at times, and what used to be ok, suddenly isn't. My DD never complained about BG checks, but has gone through periods when she seemed very burnt out, resisted them, etc. At that point, the Endo said we could do a few less BG checks to give her a bit of a break. I've seen this as well with her site changes...sometimes she yields easily, sometimes she fights it. I remember the days of having to hold her down, and it will get easier with age. I used to let her lay in front of the TV and watch a favorite cartoon to distract her. I've also used stickers for when she's done to encourage her. I would use his favorite band-aids, stickers, a sticker chart or a favorite TV show.

I also let my daughter choose a location for the site to give her a sense of some power (of course making sure it's not too close to an old site) You might want to consider getting a stuffed animal that also has diabetes and letting him change the pretend pump site after his is done. I use Pumpernickle the Pump Monkey, and he has become a part of the family. You can find it on 50/50 pharmacy. He has his own personality and voice (voiced by me) and for my DD it has really helped her cope with diabetes. When she has a low, Pumpernickle also has a Low and prefers to drink banana juice (SMILE). When she has to check her BG, Pumpernickle also has to check his BG, change his site, etc. I also use books for kids on other kids having diabetes to help her cope better emotionally.

Hope this helps! Jessica

Permalink Reply by Erin Halvorson on June 15, 2011 at 7:45am

My daughter is now 4 and a half and we have been pumping for about a year and half. It was a nightmare for a while with site changes even with cream to numb the area. I think the main issue is having a sense of control. 4 year olds need to have a sense of control over their environment. I started to let her choose what would make it better. She chose holding my hand or her fav stuffed animal. Give him some choices and discuss it ahead of time instead of in the moment. You might be surprised with what he comes up with. God bless

Permalink Reply by Natasha Bowlds on June 15, 2011 at 8:03am

I haven't read all the answers but have you tried doing it while he's asleep? My son is 10 so the pain and fear isn't the same as with a 3 year old, but he has anxiety and sometimes just asks me to change his CGM while he's sleeping. Obviously when he's grown up that won't be an option, but as long as I can help him manage this disease and not get completely overwhelmed by it, I don't mind. With the emla cream if I wait 45 minutes to an hour he doesn't even flinch in his sleep.

Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on June 15, 2011 at 8:14am

We also change the CGM while my DD sleeps...it's not even an option when she's awake, she seriously dislikes the whole process.

Permalink Reply by Celeste on June 15, 2011 at 8:26am

Our daughter is 4 and has been on the omnipod since 23 months - in the beginning we changed the sites while she was sleeping a lot! Worked like a charm. But of course sometimes you need to change off schedule - we sing a lot during the change - or if her sister is willing - she gets to play the ipod touch.

She really hated needles toward the end(it is a real struggle now when we need to correct with a needle) - so if she gets really resistant I ask if she would rather be on needles - so far that has worked. I HATE when she gets so upset about it - just really brings to my attention how unfair this all is!

We bought an extra PDM for the pod(in case of emergency) so I was thinking that I could put pods on my husband and myself and let her be the one to hit the button to install them - she might feel in control then...

Celeste

Permalink Reply by matilda on June 15, 2011 at 8:46am

THANK you so much for your responses. i appreciate all of your advice and will try some new things out. i really like the monkey. i had made him a little pump for his bear but it wasn't near as nice as this. so we'll try it out and see if that helps. he only lets me put it in his back end. i have asked a few times about the belly and he gets really upset and says no it will hurt too much.

Permalink Reply by Holly on June 15, 2011 at 11:05am

My daughter was diagnosed about 2 years ago and she wanted to see it coming so for the first year she would only allow the stomach. Now we have moved the pump to the back end and occasionally her legs. Sometimes she screams and cries and sometimes she just closes her eyes really tight and before you know it she is all done. I know it is hard. My husband (an EMT and studying to be a Patient Care Tech.) can't (well not cant but really doesn't)do it. I just tell him. I kinda just do it. Then I will hold her on her bad days and tell her how brave she is. Some days are just better than others. Last week she was fighting me and screaming like I was cutting off a limb and the other day NOTHING. I think that sometimes it is the fear and the pain and sometimes it is just being a kid. It is hard to remember that they are just little ones because with this disease they seem to become little adults so quickly but they have their moments too. Sometimes they just want to be a kid.

Permalink Reply by WendyP on June 15, 2011 at 3:06pm

Are you using EMLA cream? It makes a huge difference. Use that and do it while he's asleep. Then you can even get in a belly site and show him it doesn't hurt.

Permalink Reply by lindanu on June 16, 2011 at 11:06am

Give him the time he needs to get ready. Let him tell you 'when' even if you have to wait 20 minutes. When my son was like that we had the house completely silent, Tv's off and no talking while he prepared himself for the shot. I think if you give your son the time he needs he will feel like you are with him instead of against him. My son is on the omni pod and what we really like about it is that he pushes the button when he is ready and is now in complete control. He refused the ping specifically because of the needle. The omni pod doesn't hurt at all. It is similary to a finger prick for him. You may want to try to 'ice' the spot too. that worked for us.

Permalink Reply by Robin on June 16, 2011 at 1:06pm

My daughter, Isabelle, three years old, was dx Feb 17/11 & just started the ping on June 6/11. Site changes have been a little better (we are using the metal infusion sets, so there is no injector) and are doing site changes every two days. Our problem is taking off the tagederm dressing...she freaks out! Also, do you guys take the old site off first then put on the new site? My daughter has really high readings after a site change, but if I correct them, she drops low!

The whole thing breaks my heart, but we have to stay strong for these little ones! Good luck and I know things will start to get better!

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