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At what age could you (or your child) set up a new infusion site independently without help?
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Igave myself my 1st shot in doctor’s office when diagnosed. 1962, age 12.
I got my first insulin pump in 1998, when I was 45 years old. Prior to that, I took insulin shots 3+ times per day for 21 years.
I began giving my own shots at age 6, when BS testing was still done with urine in a test tube. This was long before the consumer version of insulin pumps hit the market.
No insulin pump as child. First learners to shots on own to be able to go to sleepovers around age 9.
Started diabetes treatment at 35 years old and no issues with setting up infusion sites.
This question relates to pumps. There should be an answer that says I don’t use an insulin pump, regardless of age.
I started giving and preparing my own injections around age 8. My son did not get a pump until he was 16 and my granddaughter with T1D is only 5.
More like, there were no insulin pumps when I was a child.
I didn’t get a pump until 60 years after dx. At the age of 68 I did need extensive assistance with the infusion set because I lacked the reach and strength to insert it correctly. I’m only 4’8.5″ tall . My hands weren’t large enough to reach the injector button on the first type of infusion set that had been sent with the pump. Once I tried different types of sets I found one I could comfortably use.
I didn’t start using insulin until I was an adult.
I didn’t start using an insulin pump until well into my adulthood, so I could do it from the beginning. I did receive pump training.
When I was a child there were no insulin pumps
My son just turned eleven. He has filled the cartridge a few times, and loaded it, but finds it tedious. He has, however, been putting in his own sites for about three months which includes removing old one, removing all adhesive residue, and conditioning skin with Aquaphor.
There was no such thing as an insulin pump until I was 43. Been on one ever since going on 34 years.
Ha! I was 15 or 16 when I got my first pump… that was in 1982! I went to Joslin Clinic DTU and the put me on one of the first wearable pumps. They made sure I could change it myself. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember how often I had to change out! Those metal needles were killer though. I still have the scars from them!
What a ridiculous question! Surely this question should have been worded differently. i.e. how long had you (or your child) been suffering with diabetes before being able to set up a new infusion site independently without help? OR how long had you (or your child) been using a CSII (Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion, or pump) before you were able to set up a new infusion site independently without help?
I was dx in 1954 and I gave myself a shot two years later at the age of 9. At age of 59, I got my first insulin pump and learned how to change the infusion set. Period.