• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.

Pumps for toddler

A

aimeeparkinson

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent
Pronouns
She/Her
Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding an insulin pump for my newly diagnosed 17 month old child. She will be having the Dexcom G6 and the pumps that have been discussed with us are Ypsomed & Omnipod

We have had very few conversations about this with the diabetes team so far, but they have mentioned they feel the Ypsomed is more suitable due to precision and its algorithm

After seeing this pump alongside the Omnipod, myself and my husband were very shocked at how big it is considering how small our child is and are concerned at how comfortable this would be for her, along with how practical it will be with the size and tubes etc and the Omnipod looks much more suited to a child her age

We have been advised that the Omnipod algorithm is not as good, and the insulin doses are not as precise however all of the research I have done suggests that it’s a really good pump system and there isn’t much to say that Ypsomed is

Does anyone please have any experiences with either systems alongside the Dexcom g6 with children of similar ages and could give me some advice?

So sorry for the long post this is very new to us and want to find out as much as we can. Thank you
 
Welcome @aimeeparkinson 🙂 I’d choose the Ypsomed out of the two. Are those the only two pumps you have been offered? I know two young children with Type 1 and one has the T Slim plus Dexcom G6 and the other has the Dana i. My clinic doesn’t give the Omnipod to children for the reason you mentioned and others.

Tubed pumps are great IMO. They can be stashed away and come with a wide variety of sets and cannulas, meaning you can choose the right one for your child. The Omnipod has no choice. It’s also bulky and very knockable by a child. I had a trial pod years ago and it was like a huge egg on my arm whereas my tubed pumps I don’t even notice because the cannula site is so small.
 
Inka said:
Welcome @aimeeparkinson 🙂 I’d choose the Ypsomed out of the two. Are those the only two pumps you have been offered? I know two young children with Type 1 and one has the T Slim plus Dexcom G6 and the other has the Dana i. My clinic doesn’t give the Omnipod to children for the reason you mentioned and others.

Tubed pumps are great IMO. They can be stashed away and come with a wide variety of sets and cannulas, meaning you can choose the right one for your child. The Omnipod has no choice. It’s also bulky and very knockable by a child. I had a trial pod years ago and it was like a huge egg on my arm whereas my tubed pumps I don’t even notice because the cannula site is so small.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your advice. We have only discussed it briefly at the moment as she was only diagnosed just under 2 weeks ago, however they are the only ones they have mentioned so far. We would be more than happy to pay privately for one of those are the only two she can be funded for on the nhs, if we felt that there was another that would be more suitable for her

We would prefer her not to have the tubes or have to wear the band to keep the pump in like you have to do with the Ypsomed as it is so bulky and she is so small still. We want her to be comfortable and feel “normal”, so want keep it as discreet as possible, but obviously want what is best for her physical health too so it’s a hard decision
 
Thebearcametoo said:
Hi and welcome.

The ypsomed would be my choice because of the smaller basal doses. I’m also surprised tslim isn’t an option though. And is there a reason they’re putting her on G6 and not the newer G7?
Click to expand...
Hi thanks for your advice. That was the nurses main point that it gives smaller doses, this is all so new to us and doesn’t make sense to me as at the minute the lowest insulin dose she is on is 2 units? Obviously I don’t understand how pumps work yet so this may make more sense when we learn

It may be an option as we haven’t discussed in full, but all they have mentioned so far are those two. We would be more than happy to pay privately for one if we felt it was better suited and she couldn’t get funding for it. I’m not sure they just told us they were ordering the g6 and we wasn’t given an option. I will ask this tomorrow, thank you
 
aimeeparkinson said:
I’m not sure they just told us they were ordering the g6 and we wasn’t given an option. I will ask this tomorrow, thank you
Click to expand...
The G7 is moderately new and isn't just smaller (= more appropriate for such a young child) but is a one piece device - use for 10 days and throw away. The G6 is a 2 part device, with a 90 day overall life, but a secondary throwaway part that needs replacing every 10 days. This is cumbersome. About 18 months ago my Hospital still didn't have the G7 in their listing's and I had to ask them to break the mould and take on G7; I could have had G6 with no further discussion. They didn't know that G6 and G7 were equal cost to the NHS. So you might be gently asking your Hospital Team to get their procurement mould "broken" or at least revised.
 
As regards self funding a different pump, the problem is that you need support with it and your DSN's are likely only trained in the use of the pumps they offer. With your child being newly diagnosed you will need a lot of support, so apart from the very significant cost or self funding not just the pump (normally about £4000 I believe) but also the consumables like tubing and cannulas, which can really add on to that total over the 4 year period or a pump life, you may also need to be under a private clinic to support you with the use of a different pump than those supported by your clinic.

Have you tried the "dummy" Omnipod to see how you and your child feel about it. I believe you can contact the manufacturer to obtain one just so you see the actual size and how your child reacts to the adhesive and how well it sticks and if it gets knocked off easily. I think the benefit of the Omnipod, with it being disposable, is that you may not be tied into a 4 year contract like you may be with the Ypsomed, so it might be worth asking about that and then if you really want to go with the Omnipod but it subsequently doesn't work out, you may be able to fall back on the Ypsomed.
I am not a pump user myself but these are some of the discussions and options I have read about on this forum, so certainly things to ask your team about.
 
You don’t have to decide immediately. You are very newly into this journey and are dealing with a lot of information and new changes.

Pumps are great for younger kids as the basal amounts are often small and having it spread through the day is easier for their bodies to manage but it can be done with pens.

Please don’t jump to paying privately until you see all the nhs options for all the reasons above.

Also as above. You can try the Omnipod and see if it suits and then move to a tubed pump later if you don’t like it. In our clinic you get to handle all the pumps so you get a proper feel of them.

There is a lot of kit that comes with a diabetes diagnosis and it can feel really overwhelming. There is no wrong decisions right now. Any pump has benefits. Injections work just fine if you choose not to go for a pump just now.

My kid was 8 when diagnosed and we didn’t move to a pump for several years (his choice) he now wouldn’t go back to being without his pump.

I remember the overwhelm of those first weeks. We’re here for all your questions.
 
aimeeparkinson said:
Hi thanks for your advice. That was the nurses main point that it gives smaller doses, this is all so new to us and doesn’t make sense to me as at the minute the lowest insulin dose she is on is 2 units? Obviously I don’t understand how pumps work yet so this may make more sense when we learn

It may be an option as we haven’t discussed in full, but all they have mentioned so far are those two. We would be more than happy to pay privately for one if we felt it was better suited and she couldn’t get funding for it. I’m not sure they just told us they were ordering the g6 and we wasn’t given an option. I will ask this tomorrow, thank you
Click to expand...

The basal dose is spread over 24hrs on a pump @aimeeparkinson You can programme the pump to release just what your daughter needs each hour. That might be, for example, a larger amount as she wakes up but less through the night. The tubed pumps allow you to program tiny amounts of basal precisely when it’s needed, rather than having 2 or more units sitting there releasing on its own schedule rather than in response to what your daughter needs.

They also allow you to do more accurate boluses which can be something like 2.35 units rather than having to choose 2 or 2 and a half. You can also do tiny correction doses eg 0.05 of a unit. Perfect for little children in particular.

The tubing is honestly nothing. The two young children I know who have pumps have no issue with the tubing or the pumps. They run, they play, they climb, they roll around. They show no concern about the pump and you wouldn’t even know they had it.
 
Hi. I’m guessing the reason for the g6 is that the plan is to do a HCL (hybrid closed loop) with ypsomed and camAPS software? G7 which is smaller isn’t licensed for looping yet. You’ve had to take in an awful lot in two weeks, so my heart goes out to you. It honestly does get better, as you learn more about T1.
 
Saoirse said:
Hi. I’m guessing the reason for the g6 is that the plan is to do a HCL (hybrid closed loop) with ypsomed and camAPS software? G7 which is smaller isn’t licensed for looping yet. You’ve had to take in an awful lot in two weeks, so my heart goes out to you. It honestly does get better, as you learn more about T1.
Click to expand...
We loop with G7 and tslim fwiw all supported by the nhs paeds team.
 
Proud to be erratic said:
The G7 is moderately new and isn't just smaller (= more appropriate for such a young child) but is a one piece device - use for 10 days and throw away. The G6 is a 2 part device, with a 90 day overall life, but a secondary throwaway part that needs replacing every 10 days. This is cumbersome. About 18 months ago my Hospital still didn't have the G7 in their listing's and I had to ask them to break the mould and take on G7; I could have had G6 with no further discussion. They didn't know that G6 and G7 were equal cost to the NHS. So you might be gently asking your Hospital Team to get their procurement mould "broken" or at least revised.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this information, I wasn’t aware of this so I will raise this with them tomorrow!
 
rebrascora said:
As regards self funding a different pump, the problem is that you need support with it and your DSN's are likely only trained in the use of the pumps they offer. With your child being newly diagnosed you will need a lot of support, so apart from the very significant cost or self funding not just the pump (normally about £4000 I believe) but also the consumables like tubing and cannulas, which can really add on to that total over the 4 year period or a pump life, you may also need to be under a private clinic to support you with the use of a different pump than those supported by your clinic.

Have you tried the "dummy" Omnipod to see how you and your child feel about it. I believe you can contact the manufacturer to obtain one just so you see the actual size and how your child reacts to the adhesive and how well it sticks and if it gets knocked off easily. I think the benefit of the Omnipod, with it being disposable, is that you may not be tied into a 4 year contract like you may be with the Ypsomed, so it might be worth asking about that and then if you really want to go with the Omnipod but it subsequently doesn't work out, you may be able to fall back on the Ypsomed.
I am not a pump user myself but these are some of the discussions and options I have read about on this forum, so certainly things to ask your team about.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that advice they’re important points to consider, was more thinking if it would mean she could have a “better” one all round in terms of practically and how efficient it is but after speaking to them today they have assured me that funding isn’t an issue it’s more down to her age that we are limited with choices

We haven’t yet as we were only made aware of that today but I will definitely be doing that it’s a great idea, thank you. I think this is the option we are thinking of going with as I am really not sure on the Ypsomed and don’t feel comfortable committing to 4 years when she is so small

That’s really helpful, thanks for your advice
 
Inka said:
The basal dose is spread over 24hrs on a pump @aimeeparkinson You can programme the pump to release just what your daughter needs each hour. That might be, for example, a larger amount as she wakes up but less through the night. The tubed pumps allow you to program tiny amounts of basal precisely when it’s needed, rather than having 2 or more units sitting there releasing on its own schedule rather than in response to what your daughter needs.

They also allow you to do more accurate boluses which can be something like 2.35 units rather than having to choose 2 or 2 and a half. You can also do tiny correction doses eg 0.05 of a unit. Perfect for little children in particular.

The tubing is honestly nothing. The two young children I know who have pumps have no issue with the tubing or the pumps. They run, they play, they climb, they roll around. They show no concern about the pump and you wouldn’t even know they had it.
Click to expand...
That makes sense, thank you. We have a meeting tomorrow to chat about the pumps in depth so I’m sure it will all make sense then

In regards to the T slim you mentioned, they advised me that they do use this and Medtronic, however only on children over 6 years old, so she wouldn’t be eligible for this

That’s good to know, thank you so much
 
Saoirse said:
Hi. I’m guessing the reason for the g6 is that the plan is to do a HCL (hybrid closed loop) with ypsomed and camAPS software? G7 which is smaller isn’t licensed for looping yet. You’ve had to take in an awful lot in two weeks, so my heart goes out to you. It honestly does get better, as you learn more about T1.
Click to expand...
I’m not quite sure of all the technology yet, but they have spoken about a loop and pairing it with the pump and I’m assuming this is what you mean? That would make sense why they have chosen the g6 if that’s the case. Thank you so much, there’s so much to learn and obviously just want to make the right decisions for her. Hopefully it won’t be long until it all makes a bit more sense
 
Last edited:
aimeeparkinson said:
I’m not quite sure of all the technology yet, but they have spoken about a loop and pairing it with the pump and I’m assuming this is what you mean? That would make sense why they have chosen the g6 if that’s the case. Thank you so much, there’s so much to learn and obviously just want to make the right decisions for her. Hopefully it won’t be long until it all makes a bit more sense
Click to expand...
Yes that’s right. I have the camAPS loop but with a Dana I pump. A loop takes over some of the work of managing diabetes and can for example suspend insulin delivery when blood glucose is going low. It’s not perfect but sort of smooths out the bumps a bit. There is a peer support group on Facebook “camAPS users” which you can join if you do go with this combination.
 
How did your meeting go @aimeeparkinson?

I’ve never been keen on ‘pod’ style pumps myself because of how big and ‘sticky-outy’ they would be on me?! I’d imagine on a toddler it would be even more extreme.

Hope you are able to get a system that suits you and your little one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top