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Newbie father/mother of son with Type 1

R

rsagoo

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all,
First time posting here, my 3-year old son was diagnosed with Type 1 about 6 weeks ago, he was brought into hospital with DKA, as everyone probably knows a scary time for parents or anyone, but he got through it. We've gotten used to the daily routine with carb counting and MDI's, which he is now fantastic with and wants to help (a bit too much) with his blood tests and insulin injections.

But now have the option of him going onto a pump. Our nurse has given the option of the Medtronic 640g combo or Animas/Dexcom combo. I wanted to ask peoples thoughts on these, the Medtronic looks easier to use, but have read mixed reviews online, but the nurse recommended the Animas. Plus I've been looking at other options as well such as the OmniPod/Libre/Accu-chek. With all these options our minds are drifting from one to another. Some may not be appropriate for his age, but I was hoping if anyone has had experience with young kids with Type 1 and pumps.

Thanks for any info.
 
Hi @rsagoo sorry to hear about your son being diagnosed but that's great he is taking it all in his stride & wanting to get involved! I was diagnosed at the same age and was a little fearful at first but I think children soon get used to something new and take it on board, I am a pump user but I use the Medtronic veo which is the older model before the 640g so can't help with that, I'll tag @1Sarah1 as I'm sure her daughter has just gone onto a pump after diagnosis, hopefully other pump users that use the models you said above will be along soon, Abbie
 
I'm on an animas vibe, and it's alright. It's great if he's accident prone as it is water proof pretty much ! Also it's quite easy to work and as he's quite young it has function on it where you can lock the screen so that no accidents can happen ! The vibe is really easy to use as well and has great ezcarb bolous which is good ! Hope this helps x
 
Hi and welcome. Sorry to hear about your son. I'm T1 as is my son who is now just turned 3 and was diagnosed at 15months. He is a super active boy so our thoughts of him on a pump has crossed our minds many many times. He is a real breakaholic so we try to restrict his access to things so they can stay in one piece. We have mastered carb counting and with a strict menu the hypos and hypers are very few. Hope all goes well with a pump. Please please at least for me
let us know how your son gets on with it. Good luck and keep strong I know exactly how you feel.
 
Hi @SteveOsborne
WOW-- so refreshing to hear those words in your post -- strict menu !! -- in my softer language that translates to ROUTINE!!
all good for a newly diagnosed child.
keep spreading the word when you post.

I think the medical peeps have gone overboard to look the other direction "to eat whatever you want whenever you want" in their treatment guidance but a routine definitely helps with avoiding peaks and troughs in BG terms !!!

and just a hug from me for the whole family too [[hug]]
 
I have an Animas Vibe and I'm very happy with it. It's simple and intuitive to use. It's also a neat-looking little pump and robust as well as waterproof. I dont use the Dexcom with it as I'd have to fund that myself and can't afford to at the moment, but I personally felt the Dexcom was the best of the two CGMs so that was another reason I chose the Vibe.

It sounds like a tiny thing, but it also has a good, strong clip. I'd read a horror story about someone's pump clip breaking and the pump falling in the floor.
 
Thanks everyone for the support and info. Much appreciated.

@SteveOsborne That's my fear with my son, he loves to 'fix' things and see how they work by taking them apart! We've also changed his diet and as @himtoo says, we've made a routine for his meals and snacks. I'm pretty good at carb counting as I've changed the way I ate the last few years to be healthier.

I'll definitely post my review of the pump when we eventually go on to it.

I think the Animas is the way i'm leaning towards at the moment, just worried about when he sleeps, that the tubing may get kinked as he does get restless sometimes, guess we won't know till we try though.
 
I can't imagine having a child with T1, but if I ever did I'd have them on a CGM as soon as possible. I'm not terribly familiar with the minimed CGM, but the Dexcom G5 or the Dexcom G4(with share) is what I personally chose and what I would get for a child.

My mother has a friend with a 7 year old child with T1, a couple weeks ago he had apparently tried to secretly eat some extra pizza and candy, but didn't correct for it. His blood sugar apparently shot up over 600mg/dl (~33mmol/l) so they had to bring him to the emergency room.

That was alerted by his Dexcom and who knows what could have happen if he never told anyone, went into DKA, and they didn't know what happened otherwise.
 

The tubing is pretty unkinkable It tends to form big loops so you can't really bend it or anything.

At night you could tuck the tubing in his pyjamas. You can also tape it down with Micropore, if you like. If you choose the right length it shouldn't be an issue once he gets used to it
 

Its possible to put any pump inside a sock as the ankle cuff will stop it from falling out (unless pump is an Insight) and punch a hole in the toe part, neaten with nail varnish to stop the hole from fraying and then use semi stretchy elastic cord and create a lanyard to go over neck. That way, the pump turns with the body and the tubing should be ok.
 
That's good to know at least, thanks!
 
Would never of thought of that,

We're not rushing into a decision just yet as he's comfortable with MDI's at the moment and our diabetic team is having a meeting with Libre reps and next week and waiting to see what their thoughts are on it. He's also changing nursery as his current one could not train enough staff members to take care of him, lots of change happening at the moment.
 
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