Which pump for my child?

tamarares

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Parent
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello, my daughter was dx at 4 and is now 9 and we're finally getting a pump. Could you le me know if you're happy with your pump, which one it is, and why you prefer it? We're in the United States, and I thought I had it narrowed down to 3: Minimed/Medatronic, Anumus OneTouchPing, and the Omnipod. However I see a lot of families on this forum liking the AcuCheck. Also, a nurse at our clinic recommended against the Omnipod because it only inserts straight in and it may hurt lean kids and my daughter is lean. But I've heard some families love it. Thank you ahead of time!
 

DublinMom

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi Tamarares, congratulations on getting a pump we got ours in June 2014 it's a Minimed/Medtronic. My son was also diagnosed at 4 and is now just turned 8. We didn't have a choice but we find this pump great it's easy to use and the sites are easy to insert he is also very lean. We change sites every 3 days (all going well) & he even can bolus insulin himself. Our pump also has a wizard where you can enter your carb ratio. When u enter blood reading & amount of carbohydrates you are going to eat it calculates the bolus for that meal. It is a great feature hope this helps best of luck with it all
 
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Ann65

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I've been t1 for 31 years. On my third Medtronic pump. This one is the 640g- absolutely brilliant! It is waterproof and when used with a cgm, suspends insulin to prevent 90% of hypos. I suffer from hypos where my blood plummets very quickly and this pump suspends once it detects BM dropping. It is only one step away from being the full artificial pancreas & the 24/7 support from Medtronic is invaluable. If you would like any more info, I'm happy for you to pm me.
 
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ronialive

Well-Known Member
Messages
254
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
ignorant people
hi I have had a pump for 2 and a half years. I have a animas vibe which are not easy to get in America- however I believe it to be the best for a child as it is waterproof so it does not need to be taken off when they go swimming which counteracts the potential for forgetting to put it back on. They are children after all. it also makes control easier as basal does not stop.
it uses a variety of different cannulas= angles straight plastic or metal so which ever one suits your child best can be used. I tried them all till I was happy. The support team and main company is Mercian so I don't understand why it isn't used in America much.
I love it and have found service to be excellent with any problems. It is simple to use and connects to diasend with no problems.
 

tamarares

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Parent
Treatment type
Insulin
I've been t1 for 31 years. On my third Medtronic pump. This one is the 640g- absolutely brilliant! It is waterproof and when used with a cgm, suspends insulin to prevent 90% of hypos. I suffer from hypos where my blood plummets very quickly and this pump suspends once it detects BM dropping. It is only one step away from being the full artificial pancreas & the 24/7 support from Medtronic is invaluable. If you would like any more info, I'm happy for you to pm me.
Thank you! that's good information! Do you know if a child can wear the 640?
 

tamarares

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Parent
Treatment type
Insulin
hi I have had a pump for 2 and a half years. I have a animas vibe which are not easy to get in America- however I believe it to be the best for a child as it is waterproof so it does not need to be taken off when they go swimming which counteracts the potential for forgetting to put it back on. They are children after all. it also makes control easier as basal does not stop.
it uses a variety of different cannulas= angles straight plastic or metal so which ever one suits your child best can be used. I tried them all till I was happy. The support team and main company is Mercian so I don't understand why it isn't used in America much.
I love it and have found service to be excellent with any problems. It is simple to use and connects to diasend with no problems.
Thanks for the info! Our clinic only mentioned Animus OneTouch Ping and when I googled it I saw that there is the vibe as well and couldn't figure out the difference between the two. I just googled again and figured out the Vibe is the newer model. I think it just recently has become available in the US. I'll have to see how easy it is to get. Do you know people that have the Minimed? How do you think it compares?
 

Ann65

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Thank you! that's good information! Do you know if a child can wear the 640?
Hi,
my diabetic nurse fits the 640g pumps to babies so it would be perfect for your daughter. She says that their parents are reassured as their child has less chance of going hypo, as there are settings on the pump to vibrate and alarm if the pump algorythm detects a continuous drop in blood levels, then will automatically suspend insulin until the pump detects a sustained rise in bloods, when it will automatically resume basal insulin delivery.
When using the continuous glucose monitor, a graph is visible on the screen on the pump so you can see the level of your blood day and night. This inspired me to try to keep my bloods within ranges I'm happy with, doesn't always work, but my intentions are good (I had a heart attack 3 years ago & have proliferative diabetic retinopathy) so any improvement in my Hba1c will help long term.
You can also input events, such as illness, exercise etc, and pre programme temporary basals to avoid bloods fluctuating and its really easy to use - if you can use a mobile phone, this is childsplay! The graph is particularly useful for me, as my finger bms all looked great before meals, but I was unaware that my bloods spiked dramatically post prandial (after meals) then plummeted hours later.
It is used with the contour blood monitor, which bluetooths your finger prick bms to the pump, but also acts as a remote to deliver boluses (if you want to) There's a care package available free to download to your computer, where you can upload your pump results in data and graph form, so you can detect trends and alter the insulin accordingly. I tend to email these to my diabetic specialist nurse, who looks at them & helps me with modifications to my insulin regimen.
Accessories available include hard cases(useful when doing sport) and leg holster, so the pump can be hidden under trousers (I tend to just clip it to boot socks or knee length boots, or to my bikini on the beach, works a treat) There's various plastic or needle cannulas in varying lengths (all visible on the Medtronic website if you fancy googling )
I have had 2 minimed pumps in the past (both medtronic) but this one is by far the superior.
Hope I haven't given you too much info but I can't recommend this pump more highly, I absolutely love it.
This is from a diabetic who still hates injections, and changing the cannula & cgm is pain free (& you don't need to see the needle if you don't want to)
Good luck with your & your daughters' choice; you know where I am if I can be of any more help
Ann x
ps: look up "64 days on 640g" on youtube for more information