What is the best insulin pump for infants ? And in general from your experience?

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
1

my little girl (1.9 years old ) is going to get an insulin pump.

please inform me what you , the experience pump user ,thinks is the best pump in their own opinion.

I'm trying to decide what one is best for her as she is small & in kindergarten so it should be robust.

So if anyone has any suggestions or comments please help me out .

Thanks In Advance,
Avi

2

Avi,
I can not tell you what pump you should get for your daughter, but i can give you some inputs.
First of all, i wanna tell you that most of the pumps are built pretty robust, i can personally tell you that for my MM754 (medtronic), which has been thrown around several times and is still alive. same goes for sure with the akku check spirit combo. i know these 2 pumps quite well, with the other pumps i can not guarantee it.
i have guided some swiss diabetes camps for kids between 6 and 16 years, and i have noticed there that especially small kids are often given the akku check spirit combo.
here is why: first of all, we have a limited offer of insulin pumps, so that already makes up some of the reasons.
but i also think that akku check is a very child-friendly pump, it is easy to manage and also you can do everything (bolus, basal corrections, and so on) from a bg meter which functions as a remote. this way, you dont need to disturb your child while it is playing if you want to do something. also, they offer quite a cute pump belt which looks like a tiger :



I also think that the reservoirs of akku check or animas pumps are better secured and can therefore not be taken out that easily than for example a medtronic pump.
After all, there is not THAT kids pump, make sure to try out as many pumps as you can, to see which one is the easiest for her to carry around all the time and for you to use and program.
I personally have been using a medtronic minimed pump for 8 years, i am happy with it, no complaints.

wishing you good luck with your choice
SC

3

Thanks for your detailed replay SC .

We didn't start testing any pump yet but currently our favorite is omnipod as it does not require tubes & looks small ,relatively simple .

from your experience with little kids ,
how much hassle is the tube issue for little ones compared omnipod?
Is this a factor in the choice or is this overrated?

4

For an infant the obvious is MINI MED!!! Haha no?

I suggest being careful with the pods they require special care and extra attention.
You can’t check to see if they are inserted properly and you won’t be able to ask a 2 year old really.

What does your paediatrician think? Whatever you get,tour kid will have to learn not to mess with it. All the pumps have drawbacks. You can try them out. Most companies will loan you trial pumps. You may be surprised which ones you like better.

5

Avi
I personally would not go with omnipod because:

  • for a 2year old it is still extremely big, i would not know any comfortable spots, as after 6 rotations of pod changes you are done with tummy and butt, and kids are usually that skinny that you cant put it anywhere else.
  • omnipod has a relativeli big failure rate, which sucks extremely, especially with small kids.
  • tubed pumps have different options for cannulas. With small kids you usually use steel cannulas ( the one where the needle stays in the body- no panic, you dont feel it) as they dont kink as often. Omnipod does not have an option like that.

I personally think that people overrate that whole tubeless stuff. The younger you are, the better you get used to things. I know kids who have been on a tubed pump as long as they can remember, and it has become a part of their body. Kids know extremely well that the pump is a medical device and that they cant play with it. Best thing is to attach pump to kid with a belt like shown above, that way they dont lose it. Pumps are extremely robust, so it wont get damaged.
After all, of course your daughter can “reject” the pum, but that can happen to any pump, be it tubed or not.

Why i wouldn take minimed, although i personally use it, is because they have an extremely bad remote and with a kid i would definitely want one. I know that akku check has a good one and think animas does too.
At the end, you still need to know what pumps are covered by your insurance, otherwise youll be bankrupt within weeks;)
Take care
SC

6

Avi,

As other posters have mentioned, it is difficult to recommend the right pump for your daughter as everyone is different. I suggest trying to get samples from the different manufacturers so that you can hold them in your hand and get a feel for the different features. I know that Omnipod will send you a sample pod (non-working) so that it can be worn to see how you like it. I think the Omnipod might be a good fit because none of the controls are on the pump, and would therefore be out of reach of your daughter.

Check out this group for parents of children using Omnipod:

http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/momnipodsandpopnipods

I know that Lorraine's (one of the admins) son has been using Omnipod for many years with great success. He started at a pretty young age. She would probably be a great resource for you. In addition, there are several parents of children using Omnipod in the Omnipod users group (http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/omnipodusers)

7

I would seriously recommend talking to a Medtronic rep. There are several babies at our office that have the Medtronic. Our rep has 3 kids that are all type 1 on medtronic, and her son had tried to destroy it by putting it under a car tire and throwing it in the toilet. Although you won’t find this in the pamplet lol. Another plus is when you call the help line you speak to someone who is on the pump. This company and their reps have been fantastic to us and I think this pump is going to save my husbands life. I wish you all the best!