14 year old recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

[mumoftwoboys321]

Evening I was after some advice we recently found out my son is a diabetic type 1 and I was wondering what people’s thoughts are on the insulin pump as this is something his team want to speak about eventually

My daughter was diagnosed at 13 and has just switched to an omnipod at 16. She really likes it and time in range has improved even though she was achieving 70% on injections. She waited for the omnipod as she wanted something without wires. Good luck with the diabetes, it's not an easy journey.

If you offered me a pump I’d jump at the chance. Get all the tech he can whilst he’s in paeds, it’s so hard to get access as an adult

My son has omnipod 5 and gets on really well with it, he definitely prefers it over injections.
Hope you and your DD are doing ok.

Diabetic of 50 years, pump for 25, cgm fur 10.

Yes definitely, push, ask. ASAP.

If you want to ask anything else about any other aspect of diabetes please do so cause there are some very nice knowledgeable posters on Mn, who know about it.

Thank you we’re getting there has been very scary and stressful time his diagnosis came after going into a&e in dka unfortunately the day before a dr diagnosed him with dehydration was very touch and go for a couple of days (we was in Egypt at the time) thankfully under the nhs now and the help and support has been amazing we have a lot to learn but my son has been amazing throughout couldn’t be prouder of him. I like the idea of a pump and think it would suit him better but he’s unsure at the moment but he has time to think as they want him to get used to the pens at the moment. One of question does it become less scary with time and not feeling like I’m running in a hamster wheel of fear

The problem with pumps is that if it doesnt work (they can & do go wrong) its easy to go into DKA as you literally have no insulin running at all whereas the pens you do have background insulin & sometimes you still need to do a manual correction with a pen.
That is the only real downside other than that when they do work, they are great!

My child is on the Medtronic 780 and it’s amazing how much it’s improved things. Most recent HBA1C was 42 and I think it will go down again.

Go for it as soon as you can if he’s willing.

Hello! My DS was diagnosed at a similar age and is now 28. He is still on MDI and to reassure you, he does just fine and is happy and thriving. That said, if you can access tech in due course, it's the gold standard so I hope he'll want to give it a try. I remember that 'rabbit in the headlights' feeling - it's all very overwhelming and worrying at first, but you will soon become old hands 🤗

2 of mine were diagnosed as small children, now in their 20s and on pumps for 10+ years each. They would fall into the camp of 'you'd have to prise their cold dead hands off their pumps before they'd give them up.'

It's very sensible to take your time, though, and not rush into decisions while everything is still so new. Your DS should get the opportunity to trial a pump before deciding whe ther it's for him or not.

Yes the team mentioned trailing a pump at some point, we/he is in no rush and I’ve told him I’ll support him with his decision, very deer in the headlights at the moment jumping between I’m doing my best and oh my god how did I let this happen at first not knowing anything and being in a foreign country with very strange ways of dealing with things I thought he was going to be so limited to things but with the lovely help of his nurse I’m realising he can still eat so many things as long as we count for it which than in it’s self is a lot to take in but we are getting there one day at a time and slowly getting back to a new normal kind of routine hopefully getting him back into school this week which I find absolutely terrifying but I know it will be good for him just need to persuade him of that

My friends dd went straight onto a pump and monitoring system on diagnosis as part of a trial for dc under 10, she’s never looked back, she can be a bit rebellious too so it takes part of the worry out. As it was a trial they did test her blood manually at first in addition but she never has had issues even through necessary equipment upgrades

How did I let this happen?

Can’t help but blame myself for not picking up on it sooner but I put it down to him being a teenager and growing and having sleepovers and then when the doctor said he was dehydrated and less than 12 hours later he was in icu in a critical condition.
everything just snowballed so quickly and I missed the early signs 😔

My DGD was 14 months when diagnosed, she’s now just over 2. She was on injections for 3 months so mum/ dad and other family members got the hang of it. Shes got a pump now and it’s amazing. When she was on the injections the insulin could only be given in increments of 0.5 mls but it was too much, now she’s on the pump it gives smaller amounts. If your in facebook join T1 for parents and family members uk, interesting stuff on there, sending love to you

Thank you will have a look for the group

Sorry I’ve given you the wrong one, it’s parents of children with type 1 diabetes uk

@mumoftwoboys321 that's right, T1s don't need to have dietary restrictions, they just have to learn how to cover what they eat with insulin. Need to.figure out how different forms of carbs and proteins affect their sugars (along with stress, exercise and other things). Both of mine have played sport at a high level (one coaches and competes in europe), one has high academic qualifications, one has had a baby of her own without any issues, both have travelled (including long haul), and generally live their lives pretty normally. The advances in knowledge and tech over the past decade have been phenomenal.

Dka happens so quickly, please do not beat yourself up most medical professionals miss it too! My son was in DKA and sent home from a&e despite showing clear signs of it, they ran no tests. I knew something was off so went to his GP instead who tested his ketones & saved his life - thank god.

He can eat anything he likes, just be careful with juice & full fat coke etc unless in a hypo.
Look up the juicebox podcast too! :)

Please don't ever blame yourself, T1D is a sneaky bastard of an illness, I was exactly the same with my son, he was drinking 24/7, put it down to hot summer, peeing through the night, put it down to the excessive drinking and the weight loss down to a growth spurt-no one wants to ever think it might be T1D so it's easy to miss-main thing now is to support your son (and yourself) through the next few weeks whilst you get used to your new normal

Hi I've been type 1 since I was 2 (now 27), I would say 100% go for a pump. I've been on a pump since I was 4 and my mum was so grateful as it was SO much easier. Also much less traumatic for me as the cannula only has to be changed every 3/4 days rather than numerous injections with the pen every single day.

I now have a 'closed loop system', which means that my blood sugar sensor and pump communicate with each other (you also need a smartphone to be able to see blood glucose readings and bolus insulin yourself only for meals, but the system does everything else such as correct hypos and background insulin). It's available for under 18s so I would definitely tell them if it's something you would be interested in. I've had it for a month and it's really so much better than normal pumps, let alone insulin pens. I forget that I actually have diabetes most of the time!

Also yes I've always eaten whatever I want x

Absolutely. 100%. It’s a game changer for management. Take time, trial and see what fits with his lifestyle. How does he feel about that? Change is scary when your used to MDI and not keen on having anything attached. My daughter saw other T1s with a pump and asked questions and decided on that. She would never want to go back to pens now. The pumps are small and have phone apps and link to CGM. They will pause insulin delivery, correct etc. My daughter is away at uni and I sleep well at night knowing her tech keeps her safe. Honestly, yes and don’t look back x

Getting a pump is the best thing I ever did!