I currently have the minimed with cgm and I am considering the animas ping. The animas rep is coming tomorrow for a demo. Any insight? Pros? Cons?
I had minimed before the cmg was introduced and switched to animas. Pros- delivers insulin fast, meter works as remote, smaller increments in units for basal settings and bolus cons- battery changes you have to reload cartridge, smaller cartridge, its rounds remaining insulin in cartridge down ( if you use 1.5 looks like 2 units) When I "empty" a reservoir I still have about 5-10 units left in it.
Personally I preferred minimed. But they all have pro and cons.
I’ve been pumping 13 years mostly with MM. I switched to animas last year and had cozmo for a short while before it went away. My opinion is that a pump is a pump is a pump and at their core, they are basically all the same. Having said that though, one thing you’ll notice with the animas is a lot more button pushing. The menu is not as streamlined.
Hi,
My daughter has Animas and I have MM. Personally, I like the MM better. The MM reports are better for me. I am unable to write, so I appreciate the fact that I can add more specific information into MM's Carelink software. I also find the customer support a bit more "together." I am quite interested, however, in the Animas Vibe.
I switched to Animas 20 months ago because of my hope that the combined Animas/Dexcom pump would be released soon. I’m still waiting, but still hopeful. After using Medtronic for 8 years, I am very frustrated with the clunky menu system of the Animas pump. I can push the buttons fast, but it drives me crazy to have no back (Esc) button and to not have a computed bolus self-populate. That means once your bolus is recommended, you have to start from zero to enter it. With Medtronic the recommended bolus is entered and you can adjust it from there.
I don’t use the meter remote because it is so slow. I take small amounts of insulin and really struggled with the scrolling of the remote. The pump scrolling is a little smoother for me. The meter also uses the blue One Touch strips that require huge drops of blood. I’m much happier using a Freestyle meter and would definitely use the Verio meter if I went back to Lifescan.
I do like the looks of the Ping and I like that it is waterproof. The color screen is nice except when you are in bright sunlight and can’t read the screen. I also like the fast insulin delivery although it takes getting used to after Medtronic.
I most likely will never go back to Medtronic because I believe that their CGM is inferior to Dexcom. However, I personally prefer their pump to Animas. As I increasingly consider the idea that maybe I should be happy having my CGM separate from my pump, I may look at the Asante Snap. I will also more seriously consider the Tandem t:slim which is also on track to combine with Dexcom. It is unlikely that I will stay with Animas unless the Vibe has a much better menu. I know that the Vibe does self-populate the bolus so that will be a definite improvement.
Hi Pmichel! I recently switched from Medtronic to Animas and am sooooooooo glad I did!!! I made a list of pros and cons of each on my blog so I'm copying and pasting that here.
Visit: http://www.myladalife.blogspot.com to learn more.
Medtronic Pros -
-The company has been around for a long time.
-They put out a good product.
- Larger pumps holds 300 units of insulin
-If you have a pump problem....they will have a new one to you the next day in most cases.
-Bolusing is easy and just takes a few button clicks.
Cons -
-For every phone call you make to customer care....expect to hold for at least 45 minutes...every single time.
-The alarms are too soft. You can't always hear them.
-Expect the casing to crack either around the reservoir or battery cap. Guarantee it WILL happen. It happened to all three of mine and I never ever dropped them!
-Pump is water resistant, but not water proof
-In my opinion....the pump itself just looks archaic.
-You have to push a separate button to get to the backlight screen. I hate this in the middle of the night.
-I used the Mio Infusion sets and they are terrible for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis...too difficult to disconnect.
-Mio infusion sets hurt and the auto-injector is loud.
-Bolusing takes FOREVER!!!!
-It weighs a ton!
Animas Pros
Animas-
Pros-
-Excellent customer service and short wait times.
-Quality product.
-Pump holds up to 180 units.
-Colorful and up-to-date design
-Lighted and colorful display
-Scratch cover on pump screen that can be easily replaced
-Meter that acts as a remote which is a huge plus if you don't want to dig out your pump
-Loud alarms that are easily heard.
-WATERPROOF!!!
-Easy to disconnect insets
-Color options on the insets
-Insets are more comfortable and less painful in my opinion.
-Insets aren't loud when injecting.
-You can upgrade to the new VIBE pump for just $99 when it comes out.
-The new VIBE will be integrated with the Dexcom CGM which is AMAZING!! (I use the Dexcom G-4 now).
-Bolusing is FAST!
-It's light-weight.
Cons -
-Had a hard time thinking of any.
- you have to push more buttons to bolus.
So, there you have it. It's pretty clear that I am totally in favor of the Animas insulin pump. My Endo pushed me into the Medtronic pump when I was first diagnosed. I wish I had explored my options. For me, the Animas just fits my lifestyle better. Choosing a pump is, of course, a personal decision. I don't work for Animas and no one has paid me or encouraged me to write a favorable review of the Animas pump. This is just my opinion from personal use.
I know that a lot of people complain about more button pushing on the Animas, but I hardly even notice it. Also, the Medtronic delivers insulin so S-L-O-W-L-Y..... and the Animas delivers it quickly....so honestly the amount of time it takes to push the extra buttons on Animas is likely cancelled out because of the amount of time the Medtronic takes to actually deliver the insulin. I appreciate getting the insulin quickly. Sometimes, I just need a quick bolus before a shower, working out, or whatever and then I disconnect. That's one thing that I despised about the MM...if I needed, say, 6 units before water aerobics I would have to wait forever for it to go in!
I switched from MM to a Vibe in November 2013, basically so that I could use it with the Dexcom G4 sensors.
I would agree with most of the points by other posters. The Animas menu system is a significant PITA. Bolusing takes about three times as many button pushes as with the MM and requires full concentration. With the MM I could bolus at a restaurant whilst keeping up a conversation with the person opposite - with the Animas I have to stop and look at what I am doing. Also, the lack of an ESC button means that if you make an error, you have to navigate all the way back to the beginning and start again - again time consuming.
I don't find the faster bolus to be either a plus or minus point. With the MM I just used to let the pump get on with the bolus. With the MM when using the CGM the menu used to let you send your meter reading as a calibration at the START of the bolus process. With the VIBE you have to wait until after the bolus is delivered, which is one more thing to think about.
The colour screen on the Animas is a bit clearer, as long as there isn't bright sunshine, in which case it is completely unreadable. This is not usually a big problem in Scotland, but I recently found myself in the French Alps, standing on a 3 foot wide ridge with a 300 foot drop on both sides and with the Dexcom Lo BG alarm going off. Not being able to read the CGM number was SLIGHTLY disconcerting. In the end I had to stick the pump up my T-shirt and peer through the neck opening to read it.
If it weren't for the CGM, I would certainly pick the MM. However, the Dexcom is vastly superior to the MM Enlite and if you are going to use CGM that might tip the balance in favour of the Animas. I know the Vibe is still not approved for use in the USA but this has to be coming shortly.
Joel
Laddie, like you I have the Animas. I don't like the remote meter, it is too slow during the fingerstick process, harder to read (the brightness button does illuminate as well s I'd like), and the meter is bulky. I got used to manually entering the reading into my pump, so I use the Ultra Mini meter most of the time. And that way I have meters wherever I usually am. DOn't always have to remember to pop a meter into by bag(s). I was going to go with the Vibe, but I am thinking that I like the separate devices. Don't know though.
Just to give the opposite point of view for the OP: I LOVE my meter remote. While I understand what people are saying about having to start from 0 instead of having the recommended dose auto-populated, I couldn't imagine having to pick up a meter, test, put it down, then pick up the pump and manually add in the blood sugar. I also love the convenience of having my meter/remote in my purse while the pump may be under my clothes. The only time I've used the pump itself was when I forgot the meter at home one time.
New Pumpers who start with Animas and have never used another pump seem to be happier with Animas than those of us who previously used other pumps. I call it the “traffic light test”. With Medtronic I could test my BG when stopped at a traffic light, get the recommended bolus, press Enter, and have the bolus started before the light turned green. With Animas, I test, get the recommended bolus. Because I have to scroll in the recommended bolus starting at zero, the light turns green before I can start the bolus. So Animas fails the traffic light test.
My Ping is a very reliable pump and I have only called customer service once in 20 months. So I can’t say that it is a bad pump. It is a good pump. As far as I know, I am the only person to have conducted the traffic light test…
I like that "traffic light" test. I guess I will never be satisfied with any pump unless it is my Cozmore 1800. That pump had so many wonderful and useful features. I especially like the hypo manager that helped me to know exactly how many carbs I needed based on my body and my bg. And the fact that I could set titrated correction factors.
Well, it sounds like the Ping saves you from Distracted Driving which is the leading cause of accidents!
The Vibe, even with the single-press bolus population, would also fail the "traffic light test" miserably. There is still a lot of faffing around scrolling up and down, particularly if you are giving a combo bolus!
Also, with the MM, when you entered a meter reading for a bolus,it would ask you next if you wanted to use this to calibrate the CGM. With the Vibe, you get the option to use the reading as a calibration only AFTER the bolus has been delivered. Even with the rapid bolus delivery, that's another 10 secs sitting at the lights (whilst the cars behind honk at you) waiting for the bolus to be delivered before you can enter the calibration.
Perhaps even more relevant is that the Vibe fails the "restaurant conversation test" - see my earlier post below.
Joel
Laddie - I like your traffic light test because it illustrates well the real world settings that we PWD face every day. Instead of a traffic light, it could be trying to finish your pump settings as the bus or rapid transit vehicle pulls up to your stop. Or any of myriad situations where we try to shoehorn our diabetes treatment into our typical day.
I’ve often thought that the engineering/management/regulatory mindset dominates insulin pump design decisions. It appears to me that actual user experiences are borought into the process at a much later stage of the design process when the pump design is much less malleable.
I’ve never seen an observation or a question like this posed to pump design decision makers. In fact we PWD usually only get to interact with company peesonnel that are removed from this process. People like customer service reps, PR spokespeople, sales people, or even higher up management people like CEO’s.
User Input - that's why I so loved my Cozmore pump. John Walsh was involved in the design and features. As a CDE and pumper himself his input really made that pump something that worked for PWD's rather than engineers and/or MD's
I am opposite to you. I have the animas ping and the rep came over with the minimed with CGM. I love the Animas Ping with stand alone Dexcom. The only reason I am shopping around for another CGM is that my son is allergic to the DexCom glue. My son is actually wearing both CGMs right now and I am comparing the results this week. I will be posting them on the Continous Glucose Group. Everything good to say about Animas Ping. Have no complaints after 4 years of pumping. Acknowledge that the insulin is not self populated but man oh man am I fast at scrolling through the screens. I have them all memorized, takes no time at all. If you press the up button, the amount of insulin scrolls up slow at first then faster so it is not a concern to me of how long it takes to program in the insulin it recommends.
As for the remote. Invaluable to bolus through son's snowpants, while on roadtrips while son eating in back of the car. I find that the ping remote has to be fairly close to the pump though or it may complain (beep) that the bolus was not delivered.