Yes - this is what I would do
Best pump for 6 year old
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I definitely wouldn’t remove a POD for a full 24 hours…ever. No need in doing that in my mind. If you plan to use a hot tub, use it, but no need on removing a POD for 24 hours for that (unless you plan on being in the hot tub for 24 hours.) Bolus extra before you get in, remove it when you’re getting in, put a new one on when you get out.
But I think the underlying question you had is…is it easy to just go back to MDI? Sure. You can do a week MDI and then after the vacation, get back on the PODs. Many people take “breaks” from pumping for various reasons.
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Got it! Thanks all for clarifying.
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Regarding hot tubs, has anyone tried just leaving the pod on? The water is at most a few degrees above body temperature. It’s technically above spec, but not by much. There should some safety margin, right?
Saunas are a different matter though.
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My daughters DR. mentioned that we need to attend a 3 hour pump class and see the dietitian as our first steps in getting the pump. Did other do the same? What do they go over in a 3 hour pump class?
Thanks
Yes I did the class - I booked a room in the local library. The class was very straight-forward and very helpful. I contacted the rep a few times after the class so make sure you get their contact details
I think your doctor should provide some initial omnipod settings to you in advance based on your current doses and logs etc.
I think the first part of what the rep went over is covered in the tutorials below - I found them really helpful and watched them a lot in the beginning. They are well done and just 1-2mins long.
https://www.myomnipod.com/podder-support/videos
Definitely worth taking an hour and watching them in advance.
POD settings was the other part. It is summarized here. This is essentially to setup how much insulin basal your daughter will receive in each hour. And Secondly how much bolus she would get (Carb-Ratio) at different times of day
Ed
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We had this training as well. They just show how to operate the PDM, how to fill the POD, extract insulin, etc.,
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So according to her doctor the pump class is where all the reps come and you learn about all the different pumps out there. Its mandatory before picking a pump. I’m just surprised its 3 hours long. Then once you pick a pump, training is another 2 hours in office.
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Not picking sides. Just remember. Sales people will lie to your face.
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Yes we attended one of these also. We only talked to the vendors that really interested us. Also, ours was organized by the doctors and was open to multiple newly diagnosed parents of t1 kids. We had already done much of our own research and had our minds made up before this meeting.
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Yes. We have our mind pretty much made up too. Tubeless is a huge desciding factor, that is why we are leaning towards the Omnipod. Our daughter was diagnosed 5 years ago, but we were so overwhelmed at that point we were not ready to consider a pump. In fact it wasn’t even offered to us as an option at diagnosis. I wish in a way, we started off with the pump. But I understand they dont want to overwhelm parents too much and she was so little. Glad I learned MDI though.
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We were MDI for the first six months.
I don’t recall a pump class with reps but I did quite a bit of research. Maybe because Audrey was young there were very limited approved pumps. I would probably have gone if it was offered.
Tubeless contributed very significantly to the decision. Tandems offering was not as strong at the time.
Ed
We were given the choice however strongly encouraged to start with MDI. We stayed MDI for a year before switching to an Animas pump.
Technology can always fail. MDI is a great backup plan that gives you time to deal with any sort of tech issue.
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Our endo encourages my son to take a pump break of at least 3 weeks out of each year to ensure he remembers how to manage everything. We resisted this at first, but the last two summers he has done it and found it to be a nice break from pumping and he likes the MDI approach as a change of pace.
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While 3 hours seems long, I am assuming that’s about a 45 min presentation and then question period from tandem, insulet, and medtronic each, and possibly a short ones from dexcom and libre on CGMs.
And so will the customer service folks, the CDE, and the Endo. Myself and others I am sure could fill up this site with in Orr info we have been handed from “experts” over the years. I am admitting to bias, but your best experts are here. So when they tell you something that seems too good to be true or just plain wrong, I suggest you come back to verify.
The 2 hour class - it’s been a long time, but I remember some definite overkill on useless information and some very helpful information. I always say to folks it’s useful to people who are new to pumping.
With the subsequent pump system, it’s a complete waste of time. They will all insist with every pump you get you need in person training to make sure you know how to set it up and use it, BUT I can tell you when a pump fails, and they overnight you the new one, or switch pod types, you get a 1 page sheet with programming instructions. No trainer comes to your house to make sure you can program it correctly and your endo’s office doesn’t call to walk you through anything. Training is in fact is NEVER “required” - the FDA doesn’t require it, if you don’t go to training after the pump is delivered to your house, they don’t send someone to collect it, I can say I have had the Endo threaten to stop scripts. I have never had one follow through, but suppose there are some out there that might. Of course, there are more endo’s down the street.
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The 3 hours that the reps are there is set to 3 hours only so that all parents have an opportunity to visit all the vendors. At least at our location, we weren’t the only parents that were there…we were one of like 5 different sets of parents. 3 hours provides all caregivers time to visit all the vendors that interest them and ask all their questions. It’s not “mandatory” to stay there for the entire 3 hours.
The 2 hour session afterward (at a local library is where we had our one on one training with a pump teacher) is the time to learn about the technology and get your hands dirty programming (with saline), inserting the insulin, changing things out…it’s really the time to experiment with the pump technology, get your hands dirty and ask any pertinent questions that you may have. We found a lot of value in this class.
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#Syd7 was not 2 when diagnosed. She has went from Ping to Medtronic(she did not like guardian sensor only wore it a few times) now Omnipod. Of the 3 on my 6yo she loves the pod. She and I love that people do not have to dig in her clothes for her pump… or whip up her dresses any and every where.! Also no tube to get caught in panties when she goes potty. Her words.
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