My 15 year old daughter is getting a pump for the first time, Medtronic with tubing. She will most likely disconnect for tumbling and stunting, but is concerned about the best place to put the pods on. Any gymnants or cheerleaders out there with advice as to the best placement for the pods so there is minimal contact with them during stunting and tumbling? Also, any great accessories she should know about to help keep her pods in place?
Thanks so much!!
Mandy
hi @tmcconahay Mandy,
forgive me I am not a cheerleader. I think you could get a good idea of the equipment your daughter will wear on the medtronic web site. There are no pods with a medtronic pump system. a pod is a hockey-puck sized pump associated with the Omnipod pump system.
the pump in the medtronic system is a bit like an old-fashioned pager. it even has a belt clip. girls tend to put the medtronic into their pockets but I bet there are ingenious ways to hide the pump if something doesn’t have practical pockets.
the thing you wear on your skin is typically very small. here is a cartoon regarding one of the more populat infusion systems, the “quickset” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lu2Z8mYyzc
I tend to use my back-side for these and hitting it or making contact is never an issue. popular infusion sites include belly and back of arm. They stay in place like a “bandaid” with little or no extra effort. there are “IV prep” and adhesive tapes you can wear for reinforcement but to be honest, the adhesives make me break out and so I never wear them. I have only managed to “sweat” a few sites off in the last 12 years, and when that happens I just replace the infusion set. good luck with the pump.
Well, I’m old now, but I did cheer while wearing a pump in high school. I was never a tumbler and mostly served as a back in stunt groups (if she’s a flyer it might be slightly more difficult), but I just clipped my pump to the waistband of my shorts and went about my life. Always make sure the tubing is tucked into your shorts though–you don’t want the tubing to snag on someone else and have your site ripped out. Perhaps get into the habit of keeping extra infusion sets on hand just in case one comes off–she should keep some in her locker or the school’s nursing office just in case anyway.
As for placing infusion sets and sensors, I don’t think tumbling will make much difference and she can put them wherever is most comfortable. If she’s a back or a base in stunt groups, she may want to keep her sites off of her arms so that they aren’t getting knocked off by the flyers coming down. If she’s a flyer, that may get a little trickier–her abdomen and butt are probably safe bets, but it may take some trial and error (like everything else in diabetes management). Good Luck!