Terrified at the thought of a pump for my son.

[SusieT]

Had 3 month review this morning and HbA1c gone up for the second time in a row. DSN asked if we had considered a pump and of course I have read a lot about them and wanted more information. My son is 5 and quite keen and I will do anything for better control for him and to make his life easier. So DSN going to come and chat with us about it. I will do whatever it takes. BUT I am absolutely bricking it at the prospect. I am terrified of getting it wrong, of what will happen at school, of having to carb count (we don't at present). I could just cry thinking about it. I don't even know why I'm posting or what I'm asking. I just want this horrible condition to go away.

 

[SophiaW]

My daughter uses a pump and she copes very well with it, both her and I much prefer it to when she was on injections. Going onto a pump is the best thing that's happened to us as far as her diabetes is concerned. I think it's been a positive experience due to a number of reasons which include: It's improved my daughter's blood glucose control where injections were failing, we went into pumping with a good understanding of what was involved and how it would benefit her, we all (daughter, myself and care team) supported the decision to start pumping.

Going onto a pump is a decision that should be made by your son, your care team, and you. You are your child's carer, your son won't be able to do everything by himself at this young age, so you do need to be on side in the agreement to start pumping. You may be uncertain about a lot of things so the meeting that has been arranged with your DSN is an opportunity to ask lots of questions and find some answers to your concerns.

Carb counting is something you should learn, even if your son wasn't going to get a pump. It takes out a lot of the guess work with diabetes and gives you a better chance at getting those good readings more often. Sometimes you will still have to guess the amount of carbs but with experience your guesses will become fairly accurate. It seems difficult and time consuming to start with but after a while it becomes much easier and quicker to do as you get more experienced.

Use this forum and your DSN to ask about whatever is concerning you, doesn't matter how silly the concern might be. I find things are far less daunting when you know the facts or can hear of other people's experiences.

When you get the pump you usually are offered a trial period where the pump is loaded with saline. This gives you and your son time to use the pump without any risks if you get things wrong. It's an opportunity to learn your way around the pump menus, do some set changes and generally get a feel for what it's going to be like using a pump. Pumping doesn't always turn out to be the best thing for everyone, remember that you can always decide that pumping isn't for you and your son and return to injections. If your experience is anything like ours then you won't want to give the pump back!

 

[shop]

My Friend has two T1 children One is a little boy same age as yours. He went on a pump just before Christmas and she says it is wonderful........It must be scary for you. Hope it works out well....xxx

 

[SusieT]

Thank you both for your replies. I really have felt for a while that the pump would be the way forward for us but I suppose it's just the reality of it I find frightening. It would be an omnipod he would try and it does seem pretty amazing I guess I'm just scared of getting it wrong for him.

 

[Hazza]

I bet you were terrified of getting the injections wrong when your son was first diagnosed. That's completely natural, but after a while it becomes familiar. We were exactly the same when our daughter was diagnosed but she was on Levermir at night and then carb counting and novo rapid for her boluses. We had to adapt to her needs and it wasn't easy.
When she went onto a pump it was a lot of hard work, but she wouldn't have the multiple injections back for anything.
It will take time to get the pump set right for him but it is worth the effort and it is so much more liberating for you both.
I wish you all the best and good luck with whatever you decide.

Harry

 

[bobbyboo]

Hi - my son is on the pump now and he loves it.

Some of the good things are: his diet and eating times are not so restricted; he doesn't have to inject daily; it only needs changed once every three days and changing is easy and quick (once you get used to it); it can give better control and better HBA1c (although my son's went up slightly).

Some of the disadvantages are it can be quite stressful at first and there is a lot more finger pricking and more involvement and when they are ill or high they get ketones more quickly.

The advantages generally outweigh the disadvantages and very, very few parents ever give a pump back to return to their old regime.

My advice would be to go for it and if you find after a couple of months you don't like you can always return to the injections. One of my worries was I would bolus him too much in error but the pump can be set to a maximum bolus to help prevent this happening.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Jill x