Insulin pump for a 12 year old

[Rubyx]

Hi, my sons consultant is recommending that he use an insulin pump to help control his diabetes better.. Anyone out there using it for their child? How are they finding it? Has it helped with better control? Does it go sore where the pump is put in?

Hello Rubyx, my 2yr old son had had an insulin pump for nearly 18 months and it's fab! He has a medtronic paradigm veo and we use the sure t cannulas. We've recently started using a sensor too. He doesn't seem to notice when we put the cannula or the sensor in, what he doesn't like is being held still to do it. A friend of mine has a 7yr old on a pump and they use a small ice pack to numb the skin before inserting the cannula, maybe we'll need this when son is older. A couple of times he's had a bruise underneath the cannula but it's usually when he's fallen on it. Recently we've discovered Lift Plus wipes which you can get on prescription to remove the adhesive, much better than Zoff wipes. A bit of tea tree cream or cavillion cream can help the insertion sites to heal more quickly.

We are getting towards better control, the sensor should help with this. We receive excellent support from the paeds diabetes nurses and talking to other families who are 'pumping' has really helped.

Good luck with it, do keep asking questions.

Thanks for that information.. what is the sensor?

it's an Enlite sensor from Medtronic, it's inserted in similar way to cannula and measures blood glucose every 15 minutes then produces little graphs on pump. It can also be set up to alarm if the blood sugar level drops below or rises above preset levels. Is very clever! As with the pump, all the information it collects can be downloaded on Carelink website for your consultant to study.
Hope this helps.

It does. I have a lot to think about thanks