My 10 year old son was dx March 24, 2009. He has been on injections of NPH and Humalog for the past 1 1/2 years. He is doing ok on it. His A1C just went from 9.1 to 8.1 in the last 6 months. I have tried several times to talk to him about trying a pump, but he was always resistant. He was scared about the tubing, especially attached to his stomach. Last weekend we walked in the JDRF walk in Boston and there was a rep from Omnipod there who gave us a sample of the pod. Now my son says he wants to try it. Does anyone have any advice? My biggest concerns are about how responsible he would have to be at school to use this(there is no nurse at his school) and about sports(he plays a lot of organized sports).
My 14 year old daughter was dx 02/19/2009, Our highest A1C after release from hospital has been around 6.3. We went on the One Touch Ping in April 2010. Alexa loves it. She really disliked the shots but loves the pump. She is very active in volleyball. It does give her alot of freedom. However, we are still learning to adjust the basal rates for her activity. It definitely is a work in progress. The biggest problem we have is the lows. She experiences the 6-8 hour exercise lag. We have figured out the basal rates and boluses for single game days. But, we are struggling with tournaments. She has to eat alot to avert the lows. But, the more we have, the better fine tuning. (By the way, a bolus is the insulin given through the pump for a snack or meal, much like the shot. The Basal rate is the amount of insulin that is infused every three minutes)
Although Alexa is rather responsible, at her boluses and taking blood sugars, she does not keep a log book outside of the pump.
Overall, the lows are a concern until you get the right settings. I have a friend that recently went on a pump and she hasn't had many lows since the initial fine tuning. However, she is not very active athletically. I think Athletics is a little more difficult, but the benefits far out way the consequences.
Also, since your school doesn't have a nurse, I recommend that all the teachers are made aware of symptoms he exhibits when he is low and how to help him. Each of Alexa's teachers has a fast acting sugar and a slow acting carb in their desk in case Alexa needs something.
My 5 yr old son has been on the Ping for about 10 mos. We love it. I think it has made it easier at school, because the pump is very easy to understand how to use, so we have trained his teachers and because of his age, they are actually responsible for using it and giving his insulin via the pump. I wrote up a binder of how to use it as well as showing them/watching them do it to train them. They just call me when they have questions. I'd think for a 10 yr old, you could have his teacher at least watch him give his insulin via the pump so that he isn't bolusing for 100 carbs instead of just 10.
I think the pump makes it easier for big activities. We usually disconnect my son when he is swimming or playing outside in the snow. But at the playground at school, he wears it. We just have them check his BG after recess to make sure he hasn't gone low.
I would look at all the pump options before deciding on one. Medtronic, Animas, and Omnipod. We got the Animas Ping for our son, mostly because we felt the Omnipod was still too big to find good spots on his little body! Both with the Omnipod and the Ping, the meter is a remote control for the pump which makes it really handy. Also talk with your diabetes care team, they might have pump information or training that you go can attend before you make your final decision.
Good luck and come back with any questions you might have!
My 6 year old has a pump and it works well. She does most of it herself with the teacher or someone at school watching. Our school nurse is there once a month I think so I just made sure that there were several people that we trained. Medtronic even came to the school and did the training for me, so I am sure Omni Pod would too. I like her having the pump at school because it is so much easier for me and for her. She is responsible, as much as a 6 year old can be, and knows there are times she must do certain things and it works well. Looked at the Pod for my daughter and the angled insertion was a problem because she is so skinny and would kink it. She has the Medtronic 522. Good luck!