Pumps for pre - schoolers

Hi,
Both my daughters are on the pump, the little one went on it when she was 5, so not a toddler. However, I know our clinic has put quite a few very young children on the pump and I've never heard any stories about infusion sets being pulled out etc. One child I've seen at clinic used to wear his pump on a sort of harness between his shoulder blades. He never seemed to take the slightest notice of it and charged around causing mayhem much like any other little boy of his age.

Speaking for us, we would not want to go back to basal bolus now. The pump gives so much more flexibility and evens out the highs and lows. It is hard work to begin with, but very worthwhile imo. Hope this helps.
Best wishes
Sue

Welcome to the forum.

My toddler (now 3 but dx at 8 months) is still on basal/bolus. I don't think I would of liked a pump in the early days but now he is getting older and I'm a good carb counter I think it would be a fantastic idea. Sadly, Khaleb has Down syndrome and will not be elligible for a pump due to intellectual impairment. I like that Khaleb doesn't have anything attached to him but it is not a very flexible life with meals/snacks needing to be on time. I can now do the bolus dose before meals as Khaleb is fairly reliable to eat all or most of what is offered. If I have any concerns or he is at the bottom end of the scale (bsl 4 or 5) I just feed first still.

I haven't seen many really young kids with pumps either but I think that is probably due more to cost and red tape than anything else.

A forum just for parents based in Australia is at www.muntedpancreas.com and I'm sure you will find lots of young ones with pumps. I just don't read those bits because they don't really apply to me. Hope this helps.

Hi, i haven't checked any forums weeks due to my 4 year old starting the pump. It has been absolutely exhausting made worse by the fact that the run up to christmas with all the extra activities going on does not help, but 2 months later and we are just about there. He started school last Sept and this caused his diabetes to go haywire so we were unexpectedly offered the pump.

In the midst of getting up every 2 hours for BG checks, which were so tiring as my husband also got a lot of late and night shifts at the same time so i was doing a lot of it on my own, i really thought i was crazy and just had to keep telling myself it will be worth it, and it is. He has got used to having the cannula changed, his class mates could not care less about it, i have not gone into school for over a week now, as before i was there every day for insulin injections. the freedom for ethan to eat what he likes when he likes is fantastic.

He is so much better with his behaviour, a lot of the mood swings have stopped and it must be making him feel so much better. He got hand, foot and mouth over the hols and his BG so well controlled through it all, which was previously unheard of in our house. He is very energetic, and we have had a couple of times pulling the tubing out of the pump, but we always make sure we have spares with us. If we go to a play centre or his martial arts i just dissconnect him for a bit, it's no problem.

We have had to be a bit creative sometimes as to how to wear the pump. i have sewn socks on the inside of his PJ top which i put it in at night but usually it is in a holder he wears across the shoulder so it sits under his arm, more out the way. At the end of the day, if you don't get on with it you can go back to MDI but if you don't give it a go you will never know. Rosie

Hi only you can really answer that. i am self employed and for the last year have held onto my business by my fingertips. i can finally see light at the end of the tunnel and am now getting round to sorting paperwork and other things out. working and running a family as well have as having the extra pressure of diabetes, who i feel is like another member of the family, the naughty one who always causes trouble, is very difficult and tiring and it does get better. The pump had made a huge difference to our lives. Ethan still is in a pull up as night but his BG levels are a lot smoother than what they were. we do find it difficult as my dad who is willing has been fighting cancer almost since ethan was diagnosed so never been well enough to learn anything and my mum refuses and we have no other family living near so i spend a lot of time moving my work around to fit in with him and school and clinic appointments and emergencies. we don't get to go out on our own. Thank goodness his TA at school is just fab and we pay her during school holidays for child care if i need it but she doesn't want to come in an evening, but i might be able to wear her down.

I would not be able to manage without my business being so flexible and having lots of understanding clients. I do feel like i have spent a lot of the last year in a bit of a dream and i can only say you need to have some backup. it is very tiring setting the pump up but then we have found so much more freedom now it was worth it. ethan really isn't bothered by the pump, he equally will not wear his id braclett.

ust thought of one other good tip, we used to inject ethan after his meal as we never knew how much he would eat, but now i work out how much insulin will be needed for the meal and give him how much i think he will eat. then i can top up the rest after the meal. i can often guestimate it nearly dead on now. you know how much your child eats and if it is there favourite etc so by giving it 15 mins before he eats it stops the highs after the meal. occasionly i give to much but he has a quick slurp of lucozade or a sweet to make up the difference. we still have a couple of issues in the evening as have to eat later due to his sisters clubs and it's too close to bed but otherwise works well. i don't know if it helps but i can only say it does get better, and the older the child gets the little bit easier it becomes all the time.take care. Rosie