Pump or not?

[CosmicLibby]

So just before my son's 16th birthday on the 12th of December he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Since then we have found out he is more hypo than hyper as his blood sugars dip more than rise.

He has been given the possibility to apply for funding for a pump but is unsure if he wants to or not.

He understands the benefits and downfalls but not sure what difference it would make to day to day life for him and doesn't know anyone on a pump to ask.
Thanks for any insights.

 

[azure]

@CosmicLibby I'm an adult not a teen but once I got used to my pump, I felt I'd got my life back. I felt more like me before diabetes.

A pump allows the basal to be fine tuned hour by hour, reducing the risk of hypos. It allows temporary basal rates for illness and exercise. It allows special boluses to cope with different meals eg pizza.

It means no injections - just a cannula change every two or three days.

I love my pump!

Check out the Pump section here and maybe get your son to take a look too.

 

[noblehead]

He understands the benefits and downfalls but not sure what difference it would make to day to day life for him and doesn't know anyone on a pump to ask.

Have a read of the following from INPUT, it gives an overview of how a pump works, can help with day-to-day management of type 1 and basically weighs up the pro's & con's of pumping insulin:

http://www.inputdiabetes.org.uk/alt-insulin-pumps/what-is/

You can also look on Youtube for user feedback, there's any amount of video's and some are from kids around your sons age @CosmicLibby

Best wishes.

 

[Gaz-M]

personally speaking if I was offered a pump when I was his age I would turn it down............................. BUT knowing what I do now I would have jumped at the chance as it could minimise the complications in later life if he is willing to do the work what comes with a pump, got my fingers crossed for you both

 

[izzyj09]

I got my pump at the age of 13 and literally I thought I had a life again.... it meant that if I wanted to et with everyone I didn't have to go hide to inject, I didn't have to have people stare and stuff, but I think that might just have been a self conscious teenager speaking! But now I'm a bit older I really love my pump, it makes it a lot easier to be spontaneous as if I wanted to do sport in the next half an hour then I just reduce my basal rate and I can go do it ! But you do at the beginning have to try really hard to set everything up properly but once you've done it it's easier just to tweak hope this helps