At our last check-up the doctor suggested an insulin pump for our son. My husband and I are all for it, and while our seven and a half year old son was unsure at first, he has decided to go for it after seeing a classmate using hers and hearing what she has to say about it. The doctor gave us three current brochures, for the Animas, Disetronic, and MiniMed pumps. His classmate has a MiniMed but got that three years ago.

Is there one pump that seems to work the best with kids? With the number of kids out there now on pumps what is the “best”? Are they all about the same? I am looking for an answer form those who live with it daily, not just the information put out by brochures. Any help you can give me would be great.

I would add the Deltec Cozmo to your list of insulin pump manufacturers since they also appear to have an excellent product. All the pumps have advantages and disadvantages. Some have a child block feature, some can do basal rates in very small amounts, and some are more “user friendly” than others as well.

I would recommend perusing the websites for all the different manufacturers and then sitting down with a diabetes pump educator (or at least a representative from the companies you’re interested in) to have a “hands on” session with the various pumps so you can get a sense of which pumps you’d be most comfortable with. It’s also critical to make sure that your insurance company will cover whichever pump you decide upon.

In addition, as always, learn carbohydrate-insulin ratios and corrective doses before going on a pump. It’ll make the pump therapy more effective and your transition over easier. Also, with a seven and a half year old, it is critical that you identify school personnel who are willing and able to help with insulin dosing for meals and snacks and with troubleshooting in the event of a pump problem.

LAD

[Editor’s comment: There are also other pump companies. For a complete list, see Makers of Pumps and Pump Supplies.

WWQ]

[Editor’s comment: Disetronic is not currently distributing pumps to new users as of June 2003. See Disetronic Pump Starts Stopped in US.

SS]