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Injections r pump?

S

sugar-monsters

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Location
Ireland
Type of diabetes
Parent
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Diabetes
At the minute my little girl 4 years old is being injected a min of 4 times daily! Jus wondered wat the feeling was pump vs injection? I hav to say I don't no much about the pump and don't like the thoughts for sum reason but a lot people on here praising it!? Is it the way forward! And is it a choice I should leave to her for wen she knows ?!


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I hated the thought of a pump before I got one (after about 13 years of injections). However now I have got it sorted out and I'm used to it I really do like it and wouldn't want injections again.

My reason for trying it was I was having a lot of hypos. The good things about th pump for me are (please note this is just my opinion):
- 1 injection every 2-3 days
- I can adjust my insulin more easily for exercise and illness (I can easily put the basal rate up and down)
- when eating high fat meals I am able to extend the bolus - I tend to split my insulin and give some straightaway and extend the other part of the dose over 5 hours.
- my pump helps me calculate my correction doses and amount to take for the carbs in my meal if I want it to (although some blood meters also now do this).
- I can take it off for showering, swimming etc for up to about 1 hour

Cons (again just my opinion):
- can occasionally be annoying (this is rare but occasionally in bed it is a pain)
- I now have even more stuff to put in my handbag to carry
- it took a big effort to get he basal rate correct and it required not eating / lots of testing till I got it correct (not all at once - I did this gradually)

I can't think of any more positives / negatives at the moment.

I think you could ask your DSN if they have any pumps you could borrow for your child to wear for a weekend (I've heard some hospitals lend out some with saline in so individuals can see if they think they would like the pump or not) & explain what it does to her to see if she thinks it's a good idea or not.

You can also look online to see some of the pump functions different pumps have so you understand a bit more about them too. I have a DANA Pump and if you look on the website they have a virtual pump so you can see what features it has on it.

Hope that helps!


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No I would say push for a pump now. Will give you both so much more freedom with giving insulin (down to 0.1 of a U) how often you give it, over what length of time and 1 injection every 3 days vs 12 :-/ if I had a d child I wouldn't even consider injections.


Type 1 diagnosed 1990
HBa1c current 8.3
Pump and CGM used (animas vibe)
 
Hi i no exactly how you are feeling my little girl was diagnosed a year ago and started on injection 4x a day then more corrections it could be 8x a day .she hated it was embarrased in school full of bruises and cried a lot .we were offered the pump a 2 months ago and i had my concerns as did she but ....we would never look back ,it takes a lot of hard work on your part getting it right to start with but chloe wouldnt give it back for anything in the world she still hates the injection/cannula but its every 3 days so she is very happy about that .she takes up off at swimming /gymnastics and never found it uncomfortable at night as there is lots of ways to wear it . Keeping her bloods more accurate is whats pleased me the most but the change in chloe is amazing .i felt chloe was getting depressed at 9 !!! She just was not herself most days and always crying re the injections now she has the pump she has changed immensely she i a much more happier child.
Its really down to choice chloe was very very scared at the thought of the pump to start with especially because she had to inject it into her tummy but she wouldnt give it back now for anything
Hope this help you make a informed decision ask as much as you need to x


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What I don't understand is that for me, insulin injections have never hurt and never bruised. When I say never hurt, I don't mean I grit my teeth, I mean I literally never feel any pain at all. And I don't have neuropathy - my nerves are in great shape luckily.

Is it different with small children though? Because apart from the pain and bruising you are reporting, I would have thought it was injections rather than the pump that would give a child freedom. I feel rather tied down, conspicuous and inflexible at the moment with my pump, compared to pen injections. I don't know how wearing a pump would work for a child during PE for example.

Anyway I have no childhood experience of either pen injections or pumps so it's really just a question.

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Why do u hav more to carry? Jesus I can't imagine hav more stuff lol we hav her rucksack and it goes everywur it has sharps bin finger pricker pouch insulin pouch needles diary lucozade carbs and cals book gels extra needles strips omg I'm insane already lol the list goes on!


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Engineer88 said:
No I would say push for a pump now. Will give you both so much more freedom with giving insulin (down to 0.1 of a U) how often you give it, over what length of time and 1 injection every 3 days vs 12 :-/ if I had a d child I wouldn't even consider injections.


Type 1 diagnosed 1990
HBa1c current 8.3
Pump and CGM used (animas vibe)
Click to expand...
I totali forget bout the more actuate insulin dosage to cause I do find myself tidy in her food r increasing it to match the insulin which sumtimes is annoyin


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sugar-monsters said:
Why do u hav more to carry? Jesus I can't imagine hav more stuff lol we hav her rucksack and it goes everywur it has sharps bin finger pricker pouch insulin pouch needles diary lucozade carbs and cals book gels extra needles strips omg I'm insane already lol the list goes on!


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Click to expand...

I need to carry extra cannulas in case there is a problem and an extra syringe (part that goes in the pump), the cannula inserter (although I could do it just with my hands but choose to carry this) and my insulin pen incase of a pump fail (it has never failed me but it is recommended you carry a pen with insulin in just incase).

Diabetics definitely need big bags!!



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Shell1 said:
Hi i no exactly how you are feeling my little girl was diagnosed a year ago and started on injection 4x a day then more corrections it could be 8x a day .she hated it was embarrased in school full of bruises and cried a lot .we were offered the pump a 2 months ago and i had my concerns as did she but ....we would never look back ,it takes a lot of hard work on your part getting it right to start with but chloe wouldnt give it back for anything in the world she still hates the injection/cannula but its every 3 days so she is very happy about that .she takes up off at swimming /gymnastics and never found it uncomfortable at night as there is lots of ways to wear it . Keeping her bloods more accurate is whats pleased me the most but the change in chloe is amazing .i felt chloe was getting depressed at 9 !!! She just was not herself most days and always crying re the injections now she has the pump she has changed immensely she i a much more happier child.
Its really down to choice chloe was very very scared at the thought of the pump to start with especially because she had to inject it into her tummy but she wouldnt give it back now for anything
Hope this help you make a informed decision ask as much as you need to x
A lot of wat ur sayin sounds very familiar to me ! I just no if we decide to ever go wit a pump the hardest ting will b for her to say yes to it she is such a creature of habit and I guess if I wana push ESP if she drags her heels I need to b sure it's rite for her! I might b safer waiting for her to make the decision herself ? It's so hard to no! Can't do rite for doin rong but tanks so much very helpful ;)

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Click to expand...



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Patch13 said:
I need to carry extra cannulas in case there is a problem and an extra syringe (part that goes in the pump), the cannula inserter (although I could do it just with my hands but choose to carry this) and my insulin pen incase of a pump fail (it has never failed me but it is recommended you carry a pen with insulin in just incase).

Diabetics definitely need big bags!!



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Click to expand...
Well I guess that makes sense and I'm definateli the type of person I'm prepared for every occasion to a fault mayb a little OCD even :s.


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michaeldavid said:
The stuff you - or worse, your daughter - is encouraged to cart around is mostly completely unnecessary.

I need only some testing strips (a tube of visually read strips, with a lancet within), some jelly beans, insulin and syringes - that's it.

No meter (or not necessarily), no spring-loaded gadget for getting blood samples, no pen-injector.

No flaming 'purses' full of junk!

I certainly don't need a pump. But I've no doubt that some do.
Click to expand...
Well I no I'm ott already but of I'm honest I do use majority of the stuff in her bag everyday to b fair! But I'm glad u travel so light it must b great ;)


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sugar-monsters said:
Is it the way forward! And is it a choice I should leave to her for wen she knows ?!
Click to expand...

Best to discuss your daughters options with her diabetes care team, most of the feedback from pump users is positive but whether a child so young can adapt to the change is anyone's guess.
 
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