My son was diagnosed last March. He is very responsible and takes care of all of his testing and even draws up his own insulin. He does not like shots, so I give him his shots. We have researched the pump and feel this would benefit my son. He has been asking when can he get the pump. His doctor said he did not want him to have the pump until he was out of his honeymoon stage. Well, we are right at the one year mark and I can’t tell if he is truly out of the honeymoon stage or not. His A1c levels have been around 6 and 7. Do we have to wait for the honeymoon stage to be completely over before we get the pump?

There is no right answer for when a pump is prescribed. There is not much absolute benefit to pump use when overall control is excellent, there are no excessive episodes of hypoglycemia or large day to day glucose excursions. This all depends upon you, your child and your diabetes health team. You should go back and talk with them so that you can understand their philosophy, understand the costs, benefits and risks of pump use etc. In the meantime, go on the web sites for Minimed, Animas, Deltec and start reading relevant sections on pumps in Insulin-Dependent Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Adults by Ragnar Hanas, Pumping Insulin by Walsh and Roberts, as well as the book Insulin Pump Therapy Demystified, which are all excellent sources of detailed information which will help you familiarize yourself with these issues and make transition to pump therapy easier.

SB