Insulin pump advice

[VLowen]

Need some advice about my son, the hospital want to put him on an insulin pump was wondering if anyone has one or knows someone who does. Would like some independent advice as to how reliable they are. Thanjs

 

[CarbsRok]

Need some advice about my son, the hospital want to put him on an insulin pump was wondering if anyone has one or knows someone who does. Would like some independent advice as to how reliable they are. Thanjs

Hi if you go to the main index of the forum and scroll down you will find a pump forum, loads of pumpers there

Pumps are very reliable. But this is a big but, they are only as good as the user. They give a fantastic quality of life but they are a lot of hard work. Esp when setting them up. Everything that goes into his mouth must be accounted for so carb counting is a must.

 

[AMBrennan]

Pumps are very reliable.

True, but absolute statements like that are perhaps not very useful when making such a decision. Pumps are more complex (pump, infusion set) and thus prone to failure than MDI, which can be serious.

Everything that goes into his mouth must be accounted for so carb counting is a must.

The same could be said for MDI.

At the end of the day, insulin pumps are not magic. If your son is having problems with MDI, then a pump may well help but if he has perfect control on MDI then I don't think a pump would help all that much. Without knowing how your son is doing and why the hospital suggested the pump, it's difficult to give any advice.

 

[CarbsRok]

A pump has to be ultra reliable it is a medical device.
From reading your posts AMBrennan you seem very anti pump Perhaps as you know nothing at all about pumps it's best not to comment about them.
99.9% of pumpers would never go back to MDI after having a pump.

 

[VLowen]

My son is 10 and on any given day his bs levels can vary from 2 up to hi so not very good at all. Thanks for the advice I will look for the pump forum.

 

[TT17]

I'm 14 and am soon going on a pump I have been told that they increase stability and allow you to bolus more effectively for fatty food and buffets. I think they are good and can reduce complications in later life.

 

[AMBrennan]

My son is 10 and on any given day his bs levels can vary from 2 up to hi so not very good at all

Given this information, a pump is a good idea. [NICE recommends insulin pumps either for high HbA1c despite patient's best efforts or frequent hypos]

Perhaps as you know nothing at all about pumps it's best not to comment about them.

Could you point out which part of my post is incorrect?

A pump has to be ultra reliable it is a medical device.

I never said that a pump is unreliable; what I did say was that pumps are *more* complex than once daily basal insulin, and complexity inevitably increases the ways in which it can fail (e.g. a pump can run out of power whereas insulin, once injected, cannot - and if you use a pump, this is something you need to be aware of). Do do you disagree with this?

All I said that insulin pumps, like anything else really, has pros *and* cons, whereas you evidently, judging from your post, believe that there only advantages, which is why I felt that some... balance might be helpful.

99.9% of pumpers would never go back to MDI after having a pump.

I have a Master's degree in Mathematics and my main area of interest is statistics, so you'll have to do better than that: Pumps are not handed out randomly; instead they are given to people who will benefit from them, which inevitably means that they will do much better on them and will not want to go back - so your statistic proves nothing.

From reading your posts AMBrennan you seem very anti pump

I believe it's important to consider both the benefits and risk when deciding on any medical intervention. Without knowing anything, it's impossible to say whether any given medical intervention is appropriate.