How are you doing? I've had Type 1 for 31 years and have been using a MiniMed for the last 2. My life is way better now than it was for the first 29 with Type 1. My question is this,,,What pump does your child use? Tell me about the pump please? Bolus wizard"s, ease or difficulty changing settings, ease or difficulty changing infusion sets, resevoirs, I love my MiniMed and wouldn't trade it for anything, unfortunately for me, I don't know anything about the other pumps that are offered. My child has asked for a pump and I would like to get her one but I need more info and education.
My 7 yr old daughter's been on the Animas Ping for the last 14 months and I can't rave about it enough. She did shots a year and we were ALL ready for a pump. There are a lot of options out there and this is a great comparison tool: www.diabetesnet.com/.../pump-comparison. The only thing we don't like is the tubing, but unless an Omnipod would work for you/her it's worked so well for us that we wouldn't really consider switching right now. The main thing we love about the Ping is that it's the only water proof pump; living in Florida and Kyra being a water nut, it's a must for us. The reservoirs and infusion sets are so easy to load and insert it's great. Like I said, for our family and lifestyle, the Ping is great. If there's anything you'd like to ask about or know, I'd be happy to help! Missie
My 8 year old daughter just started on the Omnipod a little over a month ago after about 8 months of shots. We love it so far. She likes to swim a lot in the summer and it has been great since it is waterproof. Her favorite part of it is that there is no tubing. She has the new smaller pod and it is very easy to use.
How old is your daughter Brad? Does she play any sports?
I'd order a sample Omnipod off their website and see what she thinks of wearing it. They are big but some people don't mind them.
The tube of traditional pumps was never a big issue to me but it is to some. I can see it being a concern for a young child or if your daughter does cheerleading or some other active sport. The main advantage with a Ping is they are waterproof. One disadvantage is the Ping reservoir only comes in a 200u size, which is a lot of insulin. I like that Minimed gives you the choice of 150u or 300u. I know you should underfill the reservoirs to what you need, but in reality I just fill to the 150u line and change the infusion site when it runs out. 200u would lead me to put of site changes WAY too long.
If she's pre-teen I'd probably go with a t:Slim. They aren't as quick to bolus and have a few small drawbacks compared to a Minimed, but the coolness factor would be big to an older child.
Thanks to all. Jenna, I guess I was looking for a little more like, In the Bolus Wizard's on other pumps, do they track "Active Insulin". My fear is that because she is 10 she will "cheat" and bolus to have extra snacks. The bolus wizard in the MiniMed tracks active insulin, So "stacking" insulin is less likely to happen. do the other pumps have this feature? And warrenty? MiniMed will replace thier pumps for up to 4 years no questions asked. What do the others offer?
Omnipod offers a 4 year warranty on the PDM which controls the pods. The bolus calculator keeps track of insulin on board separately for both carb boluses and correction boluses. We let the pump subtract for correction boluses but we always give full meal boluses anyway and the pump will let you chose. We have found the new pods much smaller and more discreet than the older ones and after a few weeks she would even forget which spot she was wearing it!