My son is going to start insulin pump therapy here soon. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how they keep the insulin pump from falling off while wearing. It came with a belt clip but with an active boy I am concerned that it will fall off. I was wondering if anyone recommends a belt for my son to put his pump, and Dexcom devices in.
There are some generic packs that clip onto a belt loop or slide onto a belt. The original clip that cans with my TSLIM pump didnāt secure it very well - they were a but loose, but they have new ones now that are much more secure. Mind you Iām an older woman (cough coughš), but an active boy, but the new clip works well for me in the gym, etc. Amazon has some options for cases that provide protection as well. If heās going to use the TSLIM pump it serves as the Dexcom receiver as well, although it comes with a handheld one, and an iPhone/Apple watch serve the function too. If he does want or need to use the Dexcom handheld receiver, Iāve found Vera Bradley has some ID cases that are great - and they do have neutral colors.
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Hi Erin @loftiner, I too am an active boy and Iāve not had problems with any of my pumps falling off. What helps, is to think, think ahead for anticipated activities and place the pump accordingly. I strongly argue against a āfanny packā type carrier; too much opportunity for tabbing to get snagged. I do use a fanny pack to carry juice boxes, granola bars, crackers.
Be creative in pump placement. When mounted ring, construction, etc, I use a fabric, velcro belt with pouch inside my shirt so tubbibg is hidden and protected. For biking, running, jam, an other times, i have had no problems just using the belt clip, on a BELT, or even just slid onto waistband of gym shorts.
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I am a heavy equipment mechanic by trade. I have taken to wearing my pump in my pocket with the tubing tucked inside my pants. Fanny packs tended to get caught on things. The best setup I found was a cell phone holder for a flip phone, but as flip phones have died finding the holders has become difficult. There are some people on etsy making pump holders. Personally as I climb all over, under, and around equipment I find the tighter to my body i keep my pump the less issues I have. I have been looking at some of the concealed carry gun shirts as a new option but Covid kind of put a damper on my research activity.
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I use a tubeless pump so I donāt wear one. However I have seen some others, including runners, who wear a Spibelt. They have ones specifically for adult/kid wear.
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Depends on pump brand. Tandem recently started offering an improved clip for their existing case. Itās very good - about $6 from Tandem or Amazon. I use it most of the time, just clipped to my belt or waistband. I sometimes wear a Spibelt, the medical model that has a sewn-in tubing hole. My favorite is a custom cover by EDC Solutions T1, but they are expensive.
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Welcome! I use a cell phone case. Has great clip and protects pump as well. Case is one designed for a phone like Gibbās NCIS flipphone
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I love the spibelt. They have one specifically for pumps
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Look up ādreamflight6000ā on you tube. She has some awesome videos about her experiences with her young son who has Type 1 diabetes. She talks about his devices and different bags, belts, etc that they have tried. She gives great advice about daily living with Type 1.
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You obviously have your pump but for future reference, we highly recommend the Omnipod which is tubeless. Our āactive boyā was diagnosed at 12 and has worn it for five years, playing multiple organized sports, swimming and just being a kid. It has provided great freedom for him. Best of luck!
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My daughter used spibelt from the time she was 1 till 9. The year make them child size and most people never knew she had it on. She does gymnastics rides dirt bikes we never had a problem with them because they are small for children but now she wears the omnipod which is tubeless and loves it. But if sheās swimming or really sweaty from sports we have put skintac on skin to hold in place the more we wear omnipod we find their tape not very well.
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Hi @nicky81. I donāt use Omnipod but found a take I like to use with my Dexcom sensor - and the company makes them for Omnipod as well. Itās called Simpatch. They come in a couple of colors - hereās a picture of me with my pink Dexcom patch, and a screenshot of the one for Omnipod that I found on Amazon.
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Thank you everyone for your help. We are going to go with the spibelt. We did look into the Omnipod but we would have to pay more for it. The tslim is covered under our pharmacy benefits and not our medical benefits. It will save us thousands of dollars a year. We are all nervous and excited to start this next part of my sonās T1D journey. The next thing is how to make sure the infusion set doesnāt come out in the middle of the night. We wish all yāall the best.
Congratulations on your decision - I imagine itās a load pdf your mind to have picked one. Iāve found the infusion sets stay in pretty securely - the key is to make sure you press the tape firmly all the way around.
Use skin tac from Torbet. I buy mine on Amazon and you know if you pulled hard enough to pull one out. Tac Away is the remover as well, I definitely recommend that for young people.
Apologies, chiming in late here, but I used to be an active bike racer and still do a lot of running in the mornings for an hour or so. When Iāve used a pump Iāve done it two ways. Using a belt as others have indicated with my cell phone for the dexcom in the back pocket of my running shorts or holding it while running. Another trick are compression shorts with a cell phone pocket such as North Moore or Sport-It. They always have two pockets. One for the cell phone and the other I would place the pump in.
My son (now almost 10) has worn a tubed pump since he was 3. RARELY does it fall off unless swimming a LOT or sometimes he gets tangled up in his sleep (VERY rarely). We use Skin Tac glue to keep it extra sticky on the site. I highly recommend the liquid version (no alocohol and stickier). But also, he has worn lots of versions of fanny packs. Right now, we love our Tally Gear belt. They have performance material that feels good on his skin. He does not get the velcro (thatās a mess when you need to wash it). On his tummy side he wears a window pocket for his pump. Allowing him to do all the functions on his pump without taking it out. And on his backside he wears his phone. He slips it on and it doesnāt move around or bounce. Heās plays competitive baseball and soccer and so the bounce is key.
@loftiner: My husband occasionally wears a custom-made āpump beltā that has spandex fabric against his skin and a mesh pocket system that the pump (and/or supplies) can be put into. Itās also good for people who run. In the summer he finds it too warm to wear all the time but while hunting itās fine. We bought ours on Etsy, and she custom-made the belt to fit his waistline. But honestly, the pump clip is very strong and he swims and is active with it just attached to his belt area. On another note, he just switched to a non-hole SimPatch over his Guardian 3 and uses SkinTac before applying the sensor. The Medtronic tape is worthless but the SimPatch appears to be very very secure.