I currently use a Dexcom g5 for my 7 year old son. So far we have loved having it - great to look on our phone anytime of day and see what his level is, really gives us peace of mind.
He has had type 1 for several months now - we were doing ok with shots for a few months when he was in the honeymoon period, but now that he is coming out of that giving shots 3 - 6 times a day for each meal and snack is just no fun, and of course there are the wide swings with shots. I would really like for him to get on an insulin pump soon to help even things out, plus he hates getting shots of course being a kid.
I want to stick with the Dexcom though - thinking of getting the x2 slim since it seems to be integrating with the Dexcom 5? Have also looked into the Medtronic 670, tempting but seems to be unsafe since he still takes a smaller amount of insulin. Thoughts, suggestions, what do you guys use for your children that works? Also have to think long term since this needs to last 4 years!
We have many parents on the forum who use different pumps for their children, so you will get a variety of opinions.
I think @Thomas’s child uses Tandem. The appeal of being able to see the Dexcom reading on the pump is nice, but keep in mind, if you want to see it on YOUR phone, your son would need to carry a phone around so the data gets shared to your phone. I don’t think the Tandem pump shares the data the way a phone does.
@ClaudnDaye’s son uses an Omnipod. The appeal there is the tubeless and waterproof pump. I think that is a real winner for kids.
I myself use the Omnipod–love it–and want to mention that you can integrate the CGM data with the Pod data using MyGlooko. Right now I still have to do a manual upload from the Pod controller (that will change next year, I think) and I usually do that after I fill my pump reservoir.
Yes, our main consideration when thinking of our son’s pump was the fact that we could dose in .05 units, which, for a 2 year old was really nice. Also, that it is tubeless there isn’t anything to get snagged…the omnipod is a self-contained unit where you put the insulin directly into the pod, affix that to the skin, and all bolus/basal requirements are able to be remotely programmed. Lastly, there were less times per day he’d have to be stuck…so we definitely felt we needed to go pump. Our son, who was diagnosed at 2 years of age, has now been diabetic for going on 1.5 years and 1/2 of that time, he was on MDI, and the other 1/2 he’s been using the pod. Although he hates having the pods changed out, it’s only once every 3 days, as opposed to the 5 or more MDI shots he’d get each day.
The Omnipod will have an APS system in the near future and we’re hoping for that in the short term…long term - a cure.
We just made a list of our top concerns and requirements for a pump and decided on the one that most closely matched our specific requirements. Each persons requirements will vary so the Omnipod may, or may not, be for you – it’s something you’ll have to review with your family. Since your son is 7, in my opinion, his opinion should be heavily considered since he’ll have a good idea what he would be most comfortable with.
Moving to the CGM/Pump was the best thing we ever did, though…and as you indicated, they really provide peace of mind for a roller-coaster disease.
I was just talking to my wife last night about how insanely beautiful the body is in being able to regulate so many things with such perfection. A non-diabetic’s body’s ability to regulate itself to keep a perfect BG level range all the time is just fascinating. After having watched the roller-coaster ride in my son for the past 1.5 years, it’s just unbelievable to me how the pancreas / immune system of a non-diabetic is able to so perfectly regulate insulin.
Gratz on your decision and we’re all here for you and your son! BTW - my son’s name is Liam. What’s your sons name? I like to refer to each of our kids names as much as possible.
Thanks for all your replies so far! My son’s name is John. He is taking about 4.5 units of basal (lantus in the morning) and about 4 total units of bolus (Humalog) a day right now.
We use an old Medtronic 522 along with an open artificial pancreas system (openAPS), which was developed by the open-source community. WE originally had an Animas ping, because of the waterproofing and the ability to bolus from the remote – this was useful but ultimately we wanted to have the automatic response of a system like the Medtronic 670G. The difference is that the open-source version is much more customizable. It does take some technical savvy to set up, and you will often pay about $500 for a used pump, but the benefit for us is huge.
I think if we had to go to a non-artificial pancreas system we’d switch to Omnipod… Mainly because you don’t have to take it off.
I wouldn’t get the 670G unless your son was using more than about 9 or 10 units a day. On days he’s running low that could drop down to 6 or even 5 units and the program isn’t calibrated to run properly at those low dosages – or at least they haven’t tested it in that range.
If you’d like, I can put you in touch with a rep I know. She’s very nice, and can answer your questions without any of the high pressure sales tactics you get from some of the pump companies.
Really depends for the user… I fish a lot in waders and waterproof would be a high priority for me, it’s not all that uncommon for me to trip and end up soaked unintentionally soaked while I was intending to be in the water but dry all day
I agree there’s really no valid definition of waterproof but I’d speculate in terms of warranty coverage the ‘splash proof’ ones probably have an internal water sensor that if it gets wet and changes colors the warranty is voided… just like cell phones, cameras, etc… whereas the ones that advertise they’re waterproof probably really can’t void a warranty for getting wet…
My son uses the X2 and we really like it. Looks great, is small, has an internal battery that charges with standard micro-USB connectors, and has less screens to punch through to get to the dosing.
Really, I don’t think you can make a wrong move. I hope your endo has a class like ours where they let you play with each model and then give you the reps contact info so you can ask your deeper questions.
Once we got the pump dialed in, we were able to enjoy things that had been missing, like sleeping in and skipping a meal.
Cody uses pump bands, both athletic and others for regular wear. So it is always around his middle which works well for him. He doesn’t wear clothes that are sturdy enough yet for a clip to work. Some day…
