Pump advice for children.

[Ellie's mum]

Thank you

 

[himtoo]

great news for Ellie !!

I am on an omnipod here @Ellie's mum
glad to help anytime you need !!

 

[catapillar]

@Ellie's mum before I went on the omnipod they gave me a dummy one (filled with saline) just to check that I was happy with it before committing, so is worth asking if your clinic will do the same.

I love my omnipod. Big bonuses for me are: 1) no infusion set fuss, just sticking it on and pressing the button is bliss; 2) I can wear it under dresses with no tube and no rummaging about to bolus.

Although, I actually don't mind wearing it where it will be visible - I just think it's a pretty cool bit of kit.

If she is a creative girl, she might want to have a look for people who decorate their pods (with sharpies and nail varnish etc) it's quite cute for the kids

 

[wrobin]

My daughter, aged 12 has been on a pump for the last year and a half and wouldn't want to be without it. One needle every three days is the main selling point for her. She likes the fact she doesn't have to inject to eat - it makes her feel more like everyone else if she can have a snack when she wants. She has a handset for it so she can give her bolus discretely if she's out or with people she doesn't know well. The pump seems much more flexible than MDI and her control's been good since she's had it. If she's being very active you can reduce her basal rate temporarily to stop her going low. When she's unwell you can increase it.
I would recommend buying Pumping Insulin at some point and having a read as it has a lot of useful information in it for when she's using the pump. It can be a bit confusing at first, as there are lots of settings but both of us would say it's definitely worth it. Our DSN was brilliant and very supportive - it sounds like yours is too. Good luck!

 

[Ellie's mum]

Thank you @himtoo and @catapillar

Ellie really liked the simplicity of the omnipod, she currently uses the freestyle libre and felt the two were very similar in terms of place on skin, click, go

 

[Ellie's mum]

Thanks @wrobin

Ellie starts secondary school next September so I'm hoping the pump will help her feel more like everyone else when it comes to lunch times and PE

 

[Diamummy_]

That's great news the omnipod looked great when we were choosing a pump but it didn't go down in small enough doses for my little one so maybe next time, good luck to Ellie and to you xx

 

[Ellie's mum]

Fingers crossed she likes it when it comes to actually getting it x

 

[T1Dad]

We have also been looking at the Omnipod for my 5yo Daughter who was diagnosed around 10 weeks ago. We like the no tubes concept. However, the clinic we are with only seem to offer the Medtronic 640G, which is a good pump, but I was just wondering how you managed to get a choice of pumps?

Is it something that you just need to be persistent with?

We are also on the Libre and feel Omnipod would complement it very well.

The Medtronic Rep that was present at our Pump Information evening was pretty dismissive about tubeless pumps stating that they can give out inaccurate doses....however, there seem to be many people using Omnipod happily

 

[Ellie's mum]

The DN that came last night brought 3 pumps with her that are currently offered in our area the omnipod just happened to be one of them that's all

 

[azure]

@T1Dad Different hospitals offer different pump,choices. The Medtronic is good. I believe @tim2000s has it. It was my second choice after the Animas Vibe, which I now have.

If you're really unhappy with the choice offered, you could see if you could attend a different clinic maybe, but all pumps have their pros and cons.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Some hospitals haven't got nurses trained on more than one pump.... And they have to be trained.
My hospital near to me only offer one pump, thats all they are trained on, so that is it. The attitude when I disliked the pump I was given was "as this is everybodies 1st pumps they are grateful to get one and will take anything".......so it was that or nothing.

I asked my GP to transfer me to another hospital. The Diabetes Manager actually came to my house and told me I couldn't get tertiary care that I need. I contacted Input and got superb advice telling me different. I phoned GP and fter I put phone down to GP, the Manager phoned me.. Yes, they thought I should go to a different hospital... (The one that Input had listed as one that could help me).

Anyhow, hige difference between hospitals. Absolutely staggering. Not only do I get choice of pump with full discussion with the team but they also discussed a diaport.

Some hospitals are just training their nurses more on different pumps and can offer more choice.

 

[T1Dad]

Aha..thanks. Should have figured out it was probably to do with training and capabilities. It may also be to do with the relationship the pump company have with the hospital. Anyway, I have hi-jacked this thread enough already.

Good to see that you ended up with a positive outcome after all the chopping and changing

Well done @Ellie's mum this will definitely work out for you guys.

 

[azure]

Some hospitals also have 'preferred' pumps. Also, I think some stick to a certain number of choices and think that offers enough options.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Very positive Azure but only being offered one particular pump isn't any option but "take it or leave it!!"... Very positive thinking-lol!!

 

[azure]

Very positive Azure but only being offered one particular pump isn't any option but "take it or leave it!!"... Very positive thinking-lol!!

Lol : D I was kind of thinking of my own clinic that has a choice of 3 : D

You did make me smile : D