Hi,
I’m hoping to be on an insulin pump by December. After studying the available pumps, I’ve narrowed it down to MiniMed and Animas. I really like the sound of both, and I can’t make up my mind! So could you fill me in with some pros/cons of each? Particularly recurring cons – I’ve noticed, reading through the posts on here, that Animas pumps seem to die often. Are there any other similar, recurring traits of which I should be aware?
Thank you all so much for your help!
Pat
I haven’t had too many technical issues with my Animas in the 4+ years I’ve been pumping. The issues I have had were relted to the screen, and that’s been redesigned. Once it was a crack in the screen that I didn’t realize I had until I went swimming with it. I’ve been swimming with it lots of times and I shower with it, so I’m regularly taking advantage of the waterproof feature.
I’m also a fan of Animas because they give free loaners for vacations. I’ve taken advantage of that several times, and have been happy with it. I’ve never had to use the loaner, but if traveling outside the country, it gives me peace of mind to know I have it. My understanding is MM doesn’t have a free loaner program, although maybe that’s changed. I don’t need the free loaner program since I’ve upgraded to the 2020. I still have my 1200 and it works fine so I’ll just bring that with me next time I travel.
I also have a MM Guardian, so I have experience with the customer service of both companies. I can tell you my experience with Animas customer service and support has been much better than with MM. MM customer service hasn’t been consistently bad, but it’s been consistently inconsistent.
When it comes down to it though, I’ve probably heard a comparable number of gripes from both MM and Animas owners. It’s electronic equipment and it’s fallible. My experience is that it’s the customer service and support programs that make or break the overall experience because both pumps are pretty comparable otherwise - just depends on your preferences and what you’re looking for in features.
Animas is way better than minimed!
minimed i am a minimed user and i have been through 5 pumps already i would concider animas
cause they hardly ever die
my friend has animas 2020 she started last year i believe she absolutely loves it!
im starting soon i hope!
i love my 2020. my md steered me toward animas because of the training program and customer support. the support has been great. if i have a middle-of-the-night issue, the response is quick, friendly and helpful. i have to admit that i’m really intrigued by the mm paradigm with the cgms having met someone recently who is using it. since i can’t get a new pump due to insurance for several years, i’m hoping that animas will introduce its own pump with cgms. when i was studying the pump issue, i came to your conclusion: very similar. as i said, i went with animas because of the support and customer service. good luck!
First pump MM then Animas because of it’s ability to deliver smaller basel increments, now back on MM.
Both pumps worked fine except for the battery issue (caused death of a few pumps) I had with my old Animas. My choice to change was because of customer service. I did not have the good experience others have had with Animas in 5 years I was with them. As well as some questionable billing. The people are nice don’t get me wrong but it seemed there was some stuff going on that made me uncomfortable in dealing with them. I would say the issue for me was with the admins not the trainers or people who answer the phone. I also did not like the lack of training regarding insurance.
Many people have Animas and have good relations with them so because I didn’t does not mean you won’t, just like I get great customer service with MM and some don’t, you need to talk to both companies if there is no clear pump preference for you.
Remember medical equipment is not a hard sell so neither company should be pushing you in any directions other then telling you the features you want to hear about. They should not comment about each others pumps it is considered unethical. Ask each one who is assigned to working with your insurance carrier and things like that.
Be well and be loved
Am I new to pumping? How about my first pump is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, 12/23/08. I didn’t get to choose which pump. My Endo prescribed the Minimed. Should I be concerned?
I just got my pump and i start training on it jan 5,
my endo says MM is the way to go, we’ll see, I have nothing to compare it too
Go with minimed…they have the largest U S Footprint. The first to invent a continous glucose monitor that your pump interfaces with to get accurate monitoring every 5 minutes. Animas is a youg company about 6-8 years old where Minimed has been in business for 30+ years in inslin pump development
they all work the same. He probably likes the rep that calls on him…all pumps must meet FDA guidlines. MM has a continuos glucose reading attachment that your pump model 722 will interface. I was using Disetronic for 18 years and switched for that reason and that reason only. I want tight control to maintain a low A!c. i HOPE THAT HELPS. Again all pump companies are great but look at the features and support…
has anyone got free training from animas? i was told that they offer free training… i got a new one last month, but my doctor will not let animas train me on the pump. i have to go to their classes and pay the office visits plus $100 a class min 4 classes.
i think there is something wrong here. we spend enough money on medical bills and supplies. animas offers the free training, but cant give it without doctors consent… should i spend the extra cost or fight this? anyone have any ideas.
From the perspective of my online diary project I would prefer a pump that can nearly act as a digital diary. The pump comparison stated for the animas “cannot recall blood glucose or carb history” which clearly disqualifies as a diary. I may be possible to download the data but I am sceptical. The medtronic capabilities are much more advanced in that respect: bolus wizard, logging of bg, carbs, insulin for carbs and insulin for correction.
I’ve had the Animas 2020 for about 3 months. Animas sent two trainers by my house for training. they set the basals according to my MDI log. I spent the first week pumping saline and then i was assigned a company trainer who called daily for the next week and helped me fine tune my basals. I sent her weekly reports of BGs for the next 6 weeks and she gave recommendations. By then i was ready to fly on my own. My experience with them was awesome. I’ve since called their hotline for quesitons about the pump and they’ve been very helpful. I can’t complain. I get about 3 weeks out of a battery. Having the display time out in 30 seconds (you set it) helps with the life. The big color display is a real asset at night when an alarm goes off and you’re half asleep.
The ping does this, although it comes from the meter not the pump.
Hi Stephen, thanks for this clarification. As long as the digital diary capabilites are present I am fine with that. Seems that the cited comparison is a little to reduced to clarify this point. One follow up to the Animas + Ping combination: Is it possible to download the data from these devices and to save it as XML or CSV file?
i just started my animas pump a little while ago, I love it…i don’t know about it dying tho, my only problem is if i suspend it it beeps all the time…other than that…no complaints
I think if you turn off your “alert” or it might be “reminder” sounds in the sound set up, it stops that beeping. It really got on my nerves and wears your battery out much quicker.
I’m satisfied with the Animas software. I’m not sure what the file type is, but the database allows for very customized reports sortable by just about any variable. You can save them as a pdf and send it to your endo. The standard reports are good enough to spot tends, compare various time periods and do averages. I know my endo loves the reports i email her.
I don’t have a pump…but I’m looking into them. Based solely on what you’ve said. I would say get another doctor. When I asked my endo about pumps (on my first visit with her) she said there were several options, but that she is most familiar with Minimed. However, she gave me brochures for Minimed, Animas, and the Pod, as well, as Dexcom. When I asked Navigator, she said that it was relatively new and that she didn’t have any information on it. But, she would look into it. For me, that told me that she wasn’t pushing any one product and would get me the information that I wanted. The kind of doctor that I want. I don’t mind paying for great health care…but don’t try and milk me. But, that’s just me.
Pat - I was lucky in being able to test drive the MM522 for 4 months. I had no issues with how it worked - I just didn’t find the service to be that desirable. I originally went with it because of wanting to be on the CGMS as well.
I then was able to test drive an Animas 2020 - and the silly thing that won me over with it … the beautiful blue colour of the casing (see I told you it was silly) - reminded me of my first car - Honda Civic back in the 80’s. It is also smaller in size - and because of being in the water - that was a bonus. Also, the screen is much easier to read. After 4 months - I decided to plunk down my money for that one (have it paid off now!). I find the customer service to be much better then Medtronic as well.
Both pumps do the same thing - it’s really just a personal thing (e.g. pretty colour!!!) as well as the fact that it’s easy to use. I am still not using my Animas to its full advantage - maybe if I’d had an Animas pump educator I would be using it correctly - but for now - I’m very happy.
NB: I’m just realising now that this was posted over a year ago after typing all this out - so did you ever decide on which pump to purchase ?