First of all I'd like to point out that this isn't anything urgent. I am in 8th grade and I have had a pump for 3 years. So for 3 years, I haven't been able to wear a dress. Last night at the mall, my mom and I stopped at a store and were just kinda browsing the prom dresses waiting for my dad to pick us up. And then this hit me. When it comes to prom time when I'm a junior, how am I going to wear a dress!?! So for hours last night I was in hysterics. Today I searched to posts and saw that nobody has really brought this topic up, so here I am. So how do you do it? Alter the dress? Please tell me what you have done in the past or plan to do at the upcoming proms.
there are some pump accessories that are arm bands & pouches that you can put under a dress...you should check it out! diabetes should not stop you from wearing ANY type of clothing-the whole point of the pump is that it gives you freedom! =)
i know minimed makes the pump accessories, you can probably find a bunch of other companies with similar options!
Thanks Shannon! Do you or anyone else know of the other companies? I looked at the MiniMed one and it looked good, but I just want to see some other options. Thanks!
Ok listen you can wear your pump with a dress. There are other ways to be creative. I dont know if you wear a bra or not but you can stick your pump in your bra in the front middle or inside the part under your arm.
If you wear stockings you can get the ones with control top which can be a little tighter by the thigh and stick your pump inside the stockings on the inside part of your thigh and it is easy to get to there too I do it all the time.
Make sure you get a good strap and test it out before wearing it out in public because my pump fell down my leg when I walked across the stage during graduation! It was pretty funny actually, all my friends and family knew what it was but everyone else was like "what????" haha.
I've been on the pump for three years also. I LOVE wearing dresses, and my pump hasn't stopped me! There's no reason it should stop you either. :-)
One of the first things I bought was this: http://www.minimed.com/mmStore/application?origin=sub_category_view.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.portlet.event&pageid=Products&portletid=Products&wfevent=product_detail_direct.event&wlcs_catalog_category_key=C-ACC-106-P
It is a velcro band that goes around your waist that has a pocket attached for your pump. Even if you don't used a Minimed pump, you should measure your pump to see if it fits.
And recently, like other people have suggested, I've begun using control top pantyhose to hold my pump - it works great.
Spanx, which are normally used by adults to smoothe out and control their tummies, also make excellent pump-hiders for dresses. I stick my pump in my lower back under the Spanx, and the Spanx hold it there nicely.
Here is the link to the product I'm talking about: http://www.spanx.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2990106&cp=2992042.3015040
Target sells a less-expensive version (this is the one I use, but in the beige color): http://www.target.com/ASSETS-Sara-Blakely-Unbelievable-Underwear/dp/B000F8IJ2S/sr=1-16/qid=1235958000/ref=sr_1_16/189-8783255-8053049?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&index=target&field-browse=1041790&rh=k%3Aassets&page=1
Thanks for the suggestions, but just one more question. Do any of these look bulky?? Like the waist band, does that give you a lumpy stomach? Or if you tuck it in the side of your bra, do you get a big arm lump that people see every time you move your arm? The people around me aren't very understanding and rarely mind their own business, so I'm hoping to find a way where I'm not going to have lumps and bumps. Oh, and which one of these is least likely to fall down??
I have never used the waist band. I dont really see how that is hidden under a dress at all. I can understand that you may be a bit self conscience about having a lump. What i do is test out different things to see what works best try it out with your dress before to see where it will be hidden the best without being lumpy. Its pretty much a trial and error sort of thing.
I know how you feel...i found the fix AFTER i graduated :( but it really does work and you don't have to buy and fancy anything....the pantyhose that come up to your thighs hold the pump really really well :) they are the only pantyhose i wear with dresses now...i have also done ace bandages that are wrapped and tied around the inside of my thigh....(high up if needed)...i have done duct tape (don't recommend that) and also had a wrap that i got from minimed that i put around my leg...usually the thigh is the perfect place...there are no lumps and ur date doesn't notice it either :) hope this helps :D good luck
You guys have the greatest ideas. But duct tape?!?!? Ow!!!! LOL I can only imagine how that turned out. The panty hose idea seems pretty popular, but I'm not a fan of panty hose. I have a TERRIBLE tendency to tear them within like 5 minutes. LOL. I'm kind of clutsy and not too cordinated, so if my fingernails don't do the job, I'll trip and scrape my knee or have my shoe tear it. LOL Not fun.
Anna, If you can't get used to wearing panty hose, no worries! I run mine all the time too and then I just cut the band part that holds them up off and use two of those to keep my pump strapped to my leg... works especally well with sundresses where you wouldn't want to wear panyhose anyways... anyways good luck, there's lots of options and you have lots of time to experiment!
It is really stretchy and the whole strap is velcro, so no matter what size your leg is, it will fit. I wore it on my thigh and you could not even tell, it wasn't bulky or anything. I also barely even noticed. I made it pretty tight around my leg, so it did not fall off. I readjusted it a few times, but it was no big deal. I don't wear a lot of dresses but the few times I have, I have always used that and will continue to use it for any other times that I wear a dress.
Sometimes, I think you people in the US are so lucky...! You see, pump accessories (and even the pumps themselves) are so hard to find in Canada and when you do come across them, they cost a fortune! That being said, maybe I'm just cheap (I prefer the word "frugal" actually!) but I've checked out the thigh straps available on the US company websites and I am going to attempt to make my own, costing me only a couple of dollars. I bought some fabric elastic about an inch wide and a pair of baby socks; I plan on simply sewing a sock to a strip of elastic, sewing the ends together to make a ring and then I'll slip it onto my leg... Hope it works! It might take me a couple of tries to get the fit right!
In all seriousness....whose to say you will even be wearing a pump by the time your prom comes along?!?!?!?
I know everyone agrees, but the amount of medical changes that have occured in the past....even year, are astonishing. i know it's stressful, but worry about today not tomorrow (or 4 years from now!)
I was cleaning out my moms kitchen the other night and I have old bloodsugar meeters from the 90s and I was like WHOA what is that?!?!? it was so bulky and weird looking!!!