We use the Inset 30 pump sites with my son's Animas Ping. He still hates having his pump site changed (6 weeks into pumping) but loves his pump and is very proud of it, and I know he'll get better about the site changes. HIs BG control has been AWESOME since we started. But I would like some help on making the site changes hurt less (at least for my ears!)
Am I am really hurting him when I am removing the site?
What is the part that hurts? The whole process or when the cannula is pulling out or other?
What I can be doing to make it hurt less?
I use the Uni-solve wipe that we got from Animas and get the whole site wet and then lift up a little edge and keep using the wipe between the site and his skin to keep, I think, gently loosening it until is all off. I have tried coming from the side, the end where it plugs in, and the cannula end. The screaming is about the same. Usually I get it off and he is still screaming, then I say "I'm done!" and then he calms down a little bit. So I tend to think this is a little more mental than actual pain.
I agree that it might be more mental than physical pain. Usually the only part that hurts me is getting the adhesive part off, but you said you loosen it all the way so that shouldn't be hurting him. I think just the idea of taking it out scares him so he screams. did you ask him exactly what hurts? maybe he could give you better insight.
It is not painful for me at all to remove them. I have a similar type, the silhouettes from medtronic, and they look just like the 30s from animas. I take from off from the base where the tubing goes into the site and it never hurts, sometimes it actually feels good to have them taken out. It may be the fact that he's grown accustom to the site being where it is and he's scared of that this change will affect him somehow. Just a thought :) ask him if it really is painful or he's just scared.
He's only 4 so while he can talk your ear off, he isn't very good at saying "this is the part that hurts." I think it is more the thought of getting the new one and that is more mental too. I think he just doesn't like the "look" of the long needle on the inserter. But I have also tried putting the new one in before I take the old one off and he still screams while I take it off. He screamed about shots for a good long time and in reality we have only done less than 20 site changes, so if I think about how many days he screamed about shots at 4+ shots/day, we have a few more weeks (months?) of screaming left. At least it is only every 3 days. :-) Thanks for the insights so far, keep 'em coming folks.
I agree that it seems mental as well. I'm even a girl and it never bothered me ;) Maybe you could give him some sort of incentive for being "brave" when removing the site! Or maybe you could talk to him while it's being removed so that he doesn't even notice. My mom used to do that when checking my blood sugar so I wouldn't even realized she had poked my finger! Hope this helps!
My son (7 yrs) also hates taking it out. I just rip it off. I am feeling kinda guilty about that right now. He like to scratch it right when it comes off. He also like to put an ice pack on the site right when it comes out. We use a bag of frozen fruit. My son thinks it is REALLY funny to use the bag of frozen fruit that my husband uses to make his smoothies because his site is on his tushy. Anytime he is sad or feeling bad, I say blueberries and it makes him smile.
I have the same pump and everything and i think its more mental too cause mine dont hurt lol
I mean sometimes when its still sticking good it wil hurt a little but not that bad but usually by the 3rd day when i go to change it it is already lose to i dont know.
Thanks all. Well, I found at least one sure-fire way to make him not notice the site removal during last night's site change. I had already put the new one on and was clipping his pump pack around his waist when I accidentally pinched some of his belly skin in the belt clip. OMG, the screaming!! I am sure that hurt like h***. I felt really bad about it. Anyway, he was screaming so much about his pinched skin that he didn't even notice that I was taking the old site off. Geez, guess that blows my chances as Mother of the Year. LOL!
He did admit (later) that the pinch from the belt was much worse than the site going in or coming off. So we'll see how it goes on Wed. :)
Yikes. I've done that to Brandan's leg with the clip on the carseat. Poor baby screamed for a few seconds before I realized what I had done. Left a nasty little mark.
I think I'll have problems with his site removal too (when we finally get the dang pump) because he freaks out when I take a bandaid off. In fact, he won't even let anybody see a bandaid he's wearing for fear of it being removed!
I would have to agree that it is more mental than physical pain. I mean every once in a blue moon I might tweak something. I equate the pulling a site out to ripping off a band aid. In the long run it only slightly hurts, but it is still the mindset that it is going to hurt. Not to mention as I am using my arms right now I am tend to do some unintentional waxing at the same time.
I personally wouldn't prolong the removal of the site, I think it is better to get it over and done with in one shot and not worry about it. However, I am 28 years old and not a child, so I can only give my slightly older and probably equally as mature answer.