Pump recommendations for toddler please

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Janaka81

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Hi. My son is 2 yo and is on a waiting list for a pump. Our consultant says he hopes he can have one by the end of the summer. Our hospital works with Medtronic Mini Veo, Roche and Animas pumps. Does anyone have any experience with these, and any thoughts on positives and negatives?

Thanks 🙂
 
Hi janaka. Nice to see you back. Hope you sorted out your toddler's basal, and that things have settled down a bit now. Not a pumper. Just wanted to say hi.🙂
 
Hi Janaka, I'm not a pumper either. Sorry you haven't had any replies to your question yet. Try re-posting in the Parents board?
 
Hi Janaka,

Any pump will be a million times better than MDI! They all allow you to fine-tune your basal rates, give insulin in tiny increments, use extended boluses, etc. The main advantages of each one are:

* Roche - this comes with a separate handset (which also doubles as a BG meter) from which you operate the pump by Bluetooth. This means you can bolus insulin without having to fish out the pump from under clothes/duvet etc. It can be quite handy with an uncooperative toddler, and also for bolusing a correction when they are sleeping without disturbing them by rummaging round under the duvet for the pump! On the other hand (more for older kids) there is always the risk of losing the separate handset!

* Animas - the only pump that is fully waterproof (the others must be disconnected for baths, swimming, etc.). Good for people into watersports etc.

* Medtronic - the Veo is the only pump which has a "low suspend" function when used in conjunction with CGMS (sensors) - this means if it detects a hypo and the pump user does not respond to the alarm, the pump will suspend all insulin delivery. This is a potential life saving feature in the event of nighttime hypoglycaemia, but as I say, it only works if you have sensors also.

Hope this helps! 🙂
 
I use the Roche pump and my kind rep gave me a back-up meter to use in case of emergencies. It's not as good as the usual meter but is handy to keep for emergencies and has backup of my requirements too (just in case I loose/destroy the main one).
Don't know about the others, but Roche also do various sizes in canula - both the canula itself and the length of the tubing.
The only downside is the meter stops working if it gets too cold - but if you don't live in Northern Scotland, in a very cold house, it's probably not an issue! 🙄

Good luck
 
Thanks again!

I do like this forum... 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I do like the thought of the Roche working through bluetooth as it sounds as if it is the most non-invasive of his daily activities. Our dietitian said that most pump users in our hospital uses the medtronic pump and I did have a look at their website and liked most of what I saw. I suppose I'm just not quite sure of what I should be looking for as we're so very new to this still. And we do live in Northern Ireland in a fairly cold house, but it's rarely below 0 degrees so should hopefully be ok..?

He's also tested positive for coeliac antibodies so we are waiting for an appointment for a biopsy in the next month or so. Our consultant says he is fairly convinced he is coeliac. Another challenge but we'll deal with that too. We are counting carbs for dear life and have worked out his mealtime insulin requirements fairly well so doing ok. Ready for the next challenge! 😛
 
Hi Boden. Still not fully there but closest we're going to be until we get the pump I think. He is now on half unit Levemir in the morning. Still hypoing most nights but at least we know what time it will happen at and it's only the one time. Honeymoon period as they say 🙂
 
Don't worry too much about the temperature thing - in all three types of pump, he'd be wearing it up against his body, so it would be nice and warm. It's just in the case of the Roche's separate handset that you'd have to be careful if you were out and about in freezing weather. But the same applies to BG meters, cameras, etc. - anything with a battery in it can be affected by sub zero temps.
 
Janaka81 said:
I do like this forum... 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I do like the thought of the Roche working through bluetooth as it sounds as if it is the most non-invasive of his daily activities. Our dietitian said that most pump users in our hospital uses the medtronic pump and I did have a look at their website and liked most of what I saw. I suppose I'm just not quite sure of what I should be looking for as we're so very new to this still. And we do live in Northern Ireland in a fairly cold house, but it's rarely below 0 degrees so should hopefully be ok..?

He's also tested positive for coeliac antibodies so we are waiting for an appointment for a biopsy in the next month or so. Our consultant says he is fairly convinced he is coeliac. Another challenge but we'll deal with that too. We are counting carbs for dear life and have worked out his mealtime insulin requirements fairly well so doing ok. Ready for the next challenge! 😛
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Hi Janaka,

We have used the Medtronic minimed pump since my daughter was 23 months and have had no major issues with it, it has run fine for us. It also came with a remote handset if you like the idea of not rooting around for the pump on him to bolus for food.

Regarding the coeliacs, Mills was dx in August after the biopsy and is managing well despite my initial dread and concerns, tc 🙂🙂
 
Glad to hear you're coping well. There's so much to take in at first, but it sounds like you're in control of the situation. 🙂 good luck choosing a pump!
 
Hi Janaka,
Good luck in your choice of pump. I would suspect you would need to pick the pump with the smallest basal delivery though as your little one is so small 🙂
Medtronic and the animas have the capability to use a sensor in conjunction with them so if you think sensors would be a help then go down that root. The sensors with the animas are a lot more accurate though.
 
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