Insulin pumps and water parks

[rbalcom]

This is our 14 year old DS's first trip with an insulin pump. (He just got it in October) He loves the water parks and we're not sure how to manage them with the pump. Also any general tips would be appreciated. I did a forum search but did not get a lot of recent posts. His pump is a Cozmore. TIA

 

[tinkerbell_29]

I'm not really familiar with the cozmore pump. I have a paradigm from minimed and it is not water proof. I disconect at the site and store it in the cooler with our drinks when we are at a waterpark. I put it in the cooler so the insulin wont get to hot. About every hour or so I head back and reconnect for awhile. When we take a lazy river break I leave it connected and clip it somewhere that it won't get to wet. Even if it were to say waterproof I would hesitate about wearing it on the off chance somehting goes wrong. As for general tips test often and try and not stress to much. we went to WDW two days after I started insuin on my pump and while we had a few issues nothing major. have a great trip.

Lissa

 

[jayandstacey]

Our DD6 wears a Cozmo. I would do as Tink said - disconnect, but hook back up every hour or so. Essentially pretend you're back off the pump for the day and use the pump instead of a shot. You might consider a site that isn't buried beneath his suit so the hookup can be easy and not require hiding.

Check the sugar levels often. Then check some more. Consider running a little high as you enter the park, and letting the exercise and sun bring him down - if that's how he generally responds to activity.

finally, you might experiment with a trip to a local indoor pool before you go. It'll give you a feel for things like - will the site be ruined by swimming? How often is too often to check in? to hook up? Where should the site be?

I tend to overplan, so your mileage may vary enjoy!

 

[Selket]

I haven't been to a WDW waterpark but we use the same method as others mentioned - disconnect and use the pump for food boluses and replacing the basal when needed. With the activity at a waterpark he usually doesn't need as much basal insulin.

I would not feel comfortable leaving the pump in a bag or cooler unattended however. If someone takes it then you are really out of luck - and you would be responsible for the full cost of another pump if you want to replace it. I usually keep William's pump with me (he is younger so we aren't on the big slides and his is waterproof) or I put it in a cooler and store it in a locker. I'd suggest checking on the locker situation and whether there is a first aid station at the water park that might be able to keep it secure for you.

For times when he is in the water a lot we use Skin Tac to keep the site in place and Unisolve to remove it (both are sold by Animas where we get his set supplies and you could probably find it through where you order yours. Or Animas would certainly sell it to you as well - it isn't super expensive and WELL worth it.) With Skin Tac there is no way the site is coming off.

 

[rbalcom]

Wow! you answered so many questions that I hadn't even thought of asking. My DS is very active with basketball and his site regularly comes out because of the sweat. We have never heard of the Skin Tak but will be asking about it. Also the Cozmore is waterproof but the attached glucometer isn't so we will be leaving it in a locker, and reconnecting as you suggest every hour or so. Thanks so much.

 

[jayandstacey]

Plan for the worst so you can enjoy the best... Have a great time!

 

[arlene22]

The frio packs do a great job keeping the insulin/pump cool in the heat.

You might want to try using the "untethered regimen" that is described on www.childrenwithdiabetes.com Basically, it describes how to combine a daily shot of Lantus with using the pump for boluses and some of the basal. This way, you always have some insulin on board. Makes it easier on those days when you are disconnected for much of the day. I find this works better for my DD11, than the method of reconnecting and bolusing the missed basal (probably b/c we're supposed to do it every hour and we usually end up going longer than that).

I recommend packing twice as many infusion sets as you think you'll need. They will probably fall out more often than usual. We use IV Prep which disinfects the site and also makes the skin a little tacky to the adhesive sticks better. Also protects her skin, as she reacts to the adhesive if we don't use it.

 

[scrappin]

I would suggest you try various adhesives before you go just to be sure there are no reactions to them. When we went to the lake, we used tegaderm to cover the site and that held the entire time.

 

[SueM in MN]

I recommend packing twice as many infusion sets as you think you'll need. They will probably fall out more often than usual. We use IV Prep which disinfects the site and also makes the skin a little tacky to the adhesive sticks better. Also protects her skin, as she reacts to the adhesive if we don't use it.

Someone had also posted once that the sets don't stick well to waterlogged skin. They found that when they replaced a set after swimming.