Our son Was diagnosed at at 19 months. He is going on 22 months now and we have been using the Omnipod. We aren’t very happy, i think he rough plays too much and it kinks and stops giving him insulin. Is there a better option for a toddler. Everyone raves about the Omnipod to us, but this is just become more of a headache than it’s worth. I would love to hear from anyone with a child younger than 3 on what they do with their child!
Hi @Cotliarmom and welcome to the forum. Perhaps I should not chime in her - and certainly not first - because I don’t have a child with diabetes. Hopefully you will get lots of helpful first hand experience responses and tips from parents of pumpers. I’m old school and was diagnosed in the 1960s when I was 3. I took shots and the needles in use at the time were a much larger gauge than now. Pumps and home glucose testing were not available until around the time I graduated from college but I did well, as far as we know. We don’t know what my numbers were but I didn’t have any complications.
While you have access to the excellent technology now don’t rule out injections. I know the idea of giving your little one shots is unappealing, but the needles are much finer now and there are ways to minimize any pain there might be.
I’ve been on a pump for a couple of decades now, and occasionally my tubing gets caught on a doorknob. Still. Usually because I haven’t tucked it far enough in my pocket. Thankfully my set stays in and I’ve learned to deal with it. When I started pumping it was said it was the best method for managing diabetes. That may still be true, but many people do just fine on shots. By the time you’re little guy is older and headed off to school pumping may be more manageable in some ways than injecting. But for now don’t rule out injections as an option, assuming they work well for him (which remains to be seen).
Hopefully you will get some feedback from parents soon, hopefully with lots of positive info and suggestions to share. I just wanted to put that out there.
Hi @Cotliarmom and welcome to TypeOneNation. There are only 2 styles of pumps , the one you have and a “tubing” style where the bit on your skin is tiny but you need a remote pump to wear and the 2 are connected by a long thin tube. You can see an example if you look up the “Tandem TSlim”. So it’s the one you have, and the tubing style and that is it-no other choices in pumps. You could always go to MDI (multiple daily injections).
I see it’s only been about 3 months since diagnosis. During that time your child is rapidly growing and insulin needs are probably changing. I hope you have the support you need. Insulin needs will be changing and will need adjustment probably every 6 months for the next few years. This is a tough time for both of you.
I’m assuming you are seeing high blood sugars? Is that happening? What happens when you change the pod? Is this all the time?
To give you some perspective, I’ve been treating my T1 diabetes for over 40 years and I get high and low blood sugar quite often. I make hourly adjustments to my pump to compensate for more or less activity and different kinds of foods. It takes a long time to get the hang of, but you can do it! Hope to hear from you.
Hi again. I see you posted under the Newly Diagnosed topic. Granted it’s only been a day but you might get more attention if you post under Parents. I’m not sure if you can change it on your own but the @moderators might be able to - or let you know if you need to start over.