Which insulin pump do you guys think is the best for a 14 year old girl that is very active?
Omni pod without a doubt, no tubes, wires to get caught on anything, and you can put in anywhere, besides it’s good up to 25 feet of water, none of the other pumps are good under water.
@brynnrenee05 I would look at what’s available, what is covered by insurance, and since they are all essentially the same, whichever she likes best. Have each representative show you the technology. Starting a pump and CGM at the same time may be a bit overwhelming.
Thank you very much!
I agree with Joe’s comment. Most Diabetes Educators will allow your daughter to wear a pump for several days filled with saline to get the feel of what she wants. It is an invaluable experience given you are married to this electro-mechanical device for 4-years.
Hi Brynn @brynnrenee05, first I’ll offer you a warm welcome to TypeOneNation Forum - a place where you are free to interact with many others affected by autoimmune diabetes [T1D]. I hope you are able to find support here and that you will continue here offering your support.
As you are finding, each of us has preferences in our pump choices and in how we manage our diabetes - I’ve used four different models of pumps. Your daughter [and you] should do, as you are doing with your question, become fully educated with the many choices and then narrow down the list.
The current edition of Diabetes Forecast Magazine published by American Diabetes Association [diabetes.org] has its annual review id tools, including all available insulin pumps. Start with that list. Then discuss with her doctor / her endocrinologist who knows her better than folks here your choice with its pros and cons - consider the costs and what assistance you will get through insurance. You have choices well beyond the two cited in this Topic heading.
I had used three MiniMed [Medtronic] pump models before switching to a Tandem t-Slim x2 pump in January. For me, this pump the pros far out weighed the cons, including the facts that its software can be updated through the internet and I will NOT need to replace the pump because it becomes outdated - at $8,300 I need to use a pump for a while. Also, consider how you / she will pay for the necessary on-going cost of necessary supplies.
I’ve been using the medtronic 670 for about 4 months. I got this one because my insurance wouldn’t cover the dexcom. I would definitely not recommend the medtronic for anyone more active than a couch potato. Even if you put it on temp target to exercise. if you exercise for more than a couple hours and your sugar doesn’t drop below 100 it will fuss and take you out of auto mode. (Brisk walk not even running…)
My 10 year old son choose the OmniPod because it was tubeless. He has that and the Dexcom G6. We’re happy with both products.
We started my 11yo daughter with the OmniPod last year. She liked the tubeless part, but the separate PDM to bolus was easy to forget for her (maybe de to age). We also had a couple of mid-bolus pod failures while we were at restaurants along with a few other issues, and she got pretty frustrated with it. We switched to Tandem TSlim X2 in December and she has been very happy with that. We love the Basal IQ and integration with Dexcom and the small infusion site compared to the OmniPod. She likes that there is no separate PDM, and the tubing doesn’t bother her like I thought it might. We were very lucky that Medical paid for the OmniPod and Prescription benefit paid for the TSlim as switching so soon is not the norm. As many said, it’s really a personal decision and having an educator let you try them is helpful. OmniPod also has sample pods available, and our rep even let all of us wear one so we could empathize.
I like @rschnoke post. I love my Omnipod because it’s tubeless - I hate waiting 2 more years to get a closed loop system for my Omnipod and Dexcom. Tandem wouldbemy next choice if I did tubed - closed loop (soon) and ongoing software updates. Personally I have stock in Omnipod, Dexcom, and tandem because I believe these three companies will revolutionize the treatment of diabetes and give us much better outcomes through automation.