My son Cooper is 7 years old and in 1st. grade. He was diagnosed in July of 2012. We began pumping in October 2012. The pump was not working for us so we took him off in August of 2013. We have been doing shots since August of 2013. I've always wanted a CGM because I feel it would give me a better peace of mind knowing what his sugars were. Now with Nightscout it is so incredible. It would be amazing while he's at school and doing sports. However my husband does not want a CGM for Cooper. The main reason we took him off the Pump was he was kinking and ripping sites off because of how active he is. My husband is concerned he will have the same problem with the CGM. I however don't see it as being a problem since we can put the CGM on the back of his arm and there is no tubing. We have had major disagreements over this. I was wondering if any of you with littler kids have had the problem of ripping the CGM off??? Also does anyone have any advice as yo how I can convince my husband on getting the CGM for Cooper??? Thanks!
Hi Kate! My son does not wear a CGM, but he does wear the OmniPod pump. I would say they are similar in size and approach to attaching to the body. He has worn the OmniPod since he was 7 (now 13) and was very active. I would say he has had less than 10 pods in 6 years that were ripped off by him or an activity he was doing. Many of those were just him doing it to himself...coming up from under a desk and not moving out far enough before getting up, pulling up his pants too hard when it was on his tush, etc. i can only recall two times that he was roughhousing with his friends with his pod on his arm and it got caught up in the roughhousing.
I guess I question what the concern is if it does get knocked off on occasion. I understand it means a new site insertion, but beyond that there is only a bit of short term discomfort. My son does not wear a CGM because he is very thin and has little real estate for the OmniPod to attach, so we had to make a call of which was more important to us. I would love for him to wear one and hope that some day he may build just a little bit more cushion on his body somewhere so we have the option.
Hi, Kate. My son, Caleb, uses OmniPod and Dexcom. He’s used dexcom since he was six. He is now 12.
I believe pump sites and dexcom sites to have similarities and differences. While either site is something foreign stuck to you that could be considered an irritance, the cgm site is more forgiving. Comparatively, it either has no tubing or a flatter profile, and it is not subject to kinking. There’s no risk of delivery failure as it isn’t delivering anything. It can error, but I have found our incidence of error to= be very low with the G4 system.
Your husband’s concerns are valid. However, the benefits you point out are valid as well. Wearing a pump or a cgm has pros and cons that should be weighed. Your son is older now and the differences between a pump and cgm are significant enough that I don’t think it can be assumed that your son will react the same. Could you convince your husband to just try it? What harm is there?
Caleb has been using Nightscout since August. It truly is anazingly helpful, particularly for a child your son’s age. It’s a game changer.
My son Jonathon was 9 when he got his first CGM. He has always worn it on his upper arm and has never had a problem with it ripping off. His first CGM was the Navigator, and it had an even larger transmitter than Dexcom. The only real problem we've had was that he would sweat it off in warm weather. To solve that problem, I bought some spandex fabric, hemmed 2 sides and sewed it together as a band that would fit fairly tightly over the transmitter (kind of like a women's swim suit). That worked well and was fairly inexpensive. I made several in different colors so he could pick what he wanted.
For what it's worth, my husband didn't really want Jonathon to get a CGM either, because he also has a pump, and he thought it was too much equipment for Jonathon to deal with. The CGM gives Jonathon a little more freedom because he can quickly check his numbers and trending and know whether he needs to treat. It gave me peace of mind at night, because if he was dropping, the alarm would wake me up. Jonathon is now 16, and although he sometimes likes a break from the CGM, he appreciates having it, particularly when he's driving. He doesn't mind the extra equipment on his belt, and will often have his cell phone and a knife sheath clipped to him as well.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please ask.
Dawn
Eric had both pump and CGM when he was 3, up until he was 5, when for a variety of reasons (mostly economic but some physiologic) we stopped using the CGM. He has lost pump sites a zillion times, but the CGM came off only once or twice. The lack of tubing is a huge part of that -- nothing to snag, and we always taped the sensor down for greater security.
A CGM is helpful in terms of identifying patterns of blood glucose swings, but don't fall into the trap of thinking it will be a way of "knowing what his BG is 24/7" even if you have Nightscout. The accuracy has improved somewhat in the two years since we last used one, but they do give false readings and should be regarded as a guide toward what direction the blood glucose is going more than a way of monitoring actual values.
Thank you Lorraine. I am going to show him all the responses to this post and hopefully that will help change his mind. I talked to Cooper about it and he is willing to try it. It’s just my husband we need to get on board.
Dear Cooper’s Dad,
When my son started dexcom, it was at a time when its use was not prevailing, insurance often denied coverage, and the systems available were nowhere near as reliable as the G4. It was probably a full year of hemming and hawing and trying to figure out if it was a step worth taking.
There is no doubt that it is one more thing to deal with. One more thing to carry. Another set of supplies to keep track of. It is, however such a hugely important part of Caleb’s diabetes care. Understanding how different foods and activities Impact his blood sugar make it easier to learn and dose better the next time. Seeing a low or high coming on is easier to get in front of. Being able to rely on dexcom alerts at night means we all sleep more peacefully.
Being able to see Caleb’s numbers when we are apart provides me comfort. However, more importantly, it procides Caleb comfort. He is less stressed knowing the weight of diabetes isn’t fully on him. This is somewhat of an illusion, because he manages himself independently. But the peace of mind it provides him is palpable. He is 11. It’s been a very significant part of his growth in self care this year.
I am not trying to convince you. There are people who try it and it’s not for them. It’s annoying, the adhesive itches, the constant information is too much. I totally respect that. The day Caleb started using dexcom though, I knew we were going to keep it. It works for us. I just wanted to share a little of our experience with it. Good luck. 
Thank You so much Lorraine for taking time out of your day to write this. It means a lot to me. I will show this to my husband when he gets home from work in an hour.