# Babies and pump wait time ?



## Amc (Jan 30, 2022)

Hi
My 18 month yr old has a new type 1 diagnosis. I've been told by the local hospital 6 months to a year for a pump. Assuming this is not the same for this age group in London hospitals? Thanks x


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## Thebearcametoo (Jan 30, 2022)

Hi and welcome. I’m so sorry your little one has diabetes. There is a waiting time for a pump partly because it has to get funding approval and then set up so 6 months or so is not unusual. It’s tempting to see a pump as being the Rolls Royce of diabetes management and they certainly have their advantages especially with small children because of the ability to give a small amount of basal. But a pump is only good if there’s good data for the algorithm to work off so especially in the early months of diabetes a lot of management is about data gathering to get the ratios of insulin in the right ballpark. Our team weren’t keen to put my then 9 year old on a pump straight away in part because they wanted us to get the hang of the carb counting etc first. Pumps need quite a lot of fiddling to keep up with all the changes as your little one grows so it can be a lot to manage. Keep chatting to your diabetes team about the pump. If you feel they’re really dragging their heels then you could ask for a referral to another team but that can mean more travelling for routine appointments etc.


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## Inka (Jan 30, 2022)

Amc said:


> Hi
> My 18 month yr old has a new type 1 diagnosis. I've been told by the local hospital 6 months to a year for a pump. Assuming this is not the same for this age group in London hospitals? Thanks x



Welcome @Amc  Sorry to hear about your child’s diagnosis. That must be very hard.

You could look at nearby hospitals to see if they offer better diabetes services, but don’t just look at pumps, look at the whole picture. It depends where you are in the country, of course.

The youngest child I know with Type 1 was diagnosed at 2 and a half. I don’t remember exactly when they got a pump but it would have been closer to 6 months than 12 months.


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## Amc (Jan 31, 2022)

Thebearcametoo said:


> Hi and welcome. I’m so sorry your little one has diabetes. There is a waiting time for a pump partly because it has to get funding approval and then set up so 6 months or so is not unusual. It’s tempting to see a pump as being the Rolls Royce of diabetes management and they certainly have their advantages especially with small children because of the ability to give a small amount of basal. But a pump is only good if there’s good data for the algorithm to work off so especially in the early months of diabetes a lot of management is about data gathering to get the ratios of insulin in the right ballpark. Our team weren’t keen to put my then 9 year old on a pump straight away in part because they wanted us to get the hang of the carb counting etc first. Pumps need quite a lot of fiddling to keep up with all the changes as your little one grows so it can be a lot to manage. Keep chatting to your diabetes team about the pump. If you feel they’re really dragging their heels then you could ask for a referral to another team but that can mean more travelling for routine appointments etc.


Rhan you zo much 


Thebearcametoo said:


> Hi and welcome. I’m so sorry your little one has diabetes. There is a waiting time for a pump partly because it has to get funding approval and then set up so 6 months or so is not unusual. It’s tempting to see a pump as being the Rolls Royce of diabetes management and they certainly have their advantages especially with small children because of the ability to give a small amount of basal. But a pump is only good if there’s good data for the algorithm to work off so especially in the early months of diabetes a lot of management is about data gathering to get the ratios of insulin in the right ballpark. Our team weren’t keen to put my then 9 year old on a pump straight away in part because they wanted us to get the hang of the carb counting etc first. Pumps need quite a lot of fiddling to keep up with all the changes as your little one grows so it can be a lot to manage. Keep chatting to your diabetes team about the pump. If you feel they’re really dragging their heels then you could ask for a referral to another team but that can mean more travelling for routine appointments etc.


Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and helpful reply. I really appreciated it. It made sense to me so thank you xx


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## Amc (Jan 31, 2022)

Inka said:


> Welcome @Amc  Sorry to hear about your child’s diagnosis. That must be very hard.
> 
> You could look at nearby hospitals to see if they offer better diabetes services, but don’t just look at pumps, look at the whole picture. It depends where you are in the country, of course.
> 
> The youngest child I know with Type 1 was diagnosed at 2 and a half. I don’t remember exactly when they got a pump but it would have been closer to 6 months than 12 months.


That's really good advice...which I will take. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.


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