Check out the Dexcom G4, it is currently not integrated with any pump but is more accurate than the other CGMs out there. If you wind up needing to out of pocket, the sensors can for many be restarted and run for 2-3 weeks and for some it can go longer. Check out the Dexcom group, plenty of interesting discussions there. They do have partnership agreements with several pump manufacturers so it will eventually become one with the pump.
I started out with the dex first and went through a complete diet redo because I could see what was going on with the foods I ate. Amazing what you miss with only testing pre and two hours post. You miss a lot of spikes that have started to drop by the time you test after your meals.
And please ask your endo for a test strip script for 10-12 strips per day. They will write you one - and you insurance should fill it. Your endo can provide medical necessity letter if they give you grief.
I can't help with the medtronic but I can tell you about the T:slim. It's small, looks like a pager, uses touch screen, can micro bolus. Has good on pump tracking of carbs and BGs.
I like that it has a micro delivery system since I'm very insulin sensitive and use very small amounts. Don't want the full cartridge to be able to dispense due to either pump error or operator error.
You can rapid bolus with a few button presses while its in a pocket if you set it up that way or you can enter carbs and or BG and have it calculator you.
You can have multiple pump programs set up and change from one to the other as needed. Like a sick day program or a TOM program.
It lets you do temp basal rates if you want and can do extended blouses where you set the dose now/later and the time frame for the extended delivery.
What I do not like but can live with and have found work arounds for ----
The bolus calculator does not currently subtract from your dose until you are
below 70. You can always over ride and shave some of the dose down before it dispenses. If your good with MDI then the skills you learned for that comes into play.
And a big one that has developed for me is the fact that while it can increment basal rates to 0.001 you need a base rate of 0.1 to start with.
My basal rate was not even close to 0.1/ hour when I started but is now below that for most of the day. My work around is to use novolog diluted to U50 with the diluting media that NovoNordisk can provide to your endo and pump team.
If I had chose between pump and cgm I would keep the cgm, hands down. The info it provides is invaluable.
I hope this doesn't sound sassy, thanks for the input , but I really want to know about the Minimed 530g not the tslim or the dexcom right now.
No problem, just things to think about and to compare to the medtronic when you get someone to chime in about it.
Deciding on a pump can be hard, hearing about other pumps details can trigger questions about the one your looking at that you might not have known to ask.
Hope a medtronic user drops in soon.
Yeah it's really hard to decide, mostly because I feel like the ping would be covered as far as strips go on my insurance, but when I mentioned my insurance my endo mentioned the medtronic would be a great option so I'm thinking they'll cover it but I'm not quite sure what to do about the strips as I know bayer strips are not on my insurance and I have a bayer meter already and I don't like it , so I'd probably see about using my one touch with it even though it wouldn't talk to the pump. The only thing kinda keeping me from the medtronic though besides that is the cgm is apparently inaccurate compared to a dexcom , but I've heard you can turn it off with the medtronic and I really just want the pump more than anything else . A CGM seems very nice though and if it works for me , so be it, but I really just want a pump.
Have you contacted the pump companies of the ones your interested in yet? I would not rely on docs office to know if your covered or not. The pump co will check with your insurance and see if they are covered. And they will do it with a hope of a sale - you do not need to make a commitment. You don't actually get the pump with out the MD's half of the paperwork. Once you know for sure what's covered then you tell your doc which one fits your lifestyle best.
Well I have a pre-pump meeting in March so I don't know if I should do anything before that, I'm really on the fence. I've debated trying to request more info from both Medtronic and Animas since those are my more reasonable options. If there's no commitments I see it as an aw hell, why not? I figure I'm gonna wait for my a1c results this week and for it to be a week day though.
For me the pre pump meetings were all about being sure I had my MDI basal rate honed in, who good was my carb counting and how well my I:C and CF worked, my practice had a step wise program they wanted you to go through to obtain all this so the transition to pumping was easier. While that was ongoing I got to meet with the pump nurse who demo'ed all the available pumps and gave me the manufactures info and brochures. It was up to me to look at all the features and see what fit me, and how i deal in life. I hit all the online sites for all of the pumps, and then got more info from the two that I was interested in. Both companies ran my insurance numbers and were able to tell me how much i would be out of pocket based on my insurance. Also was able to talk to pump infusion set suppliers and get info on what they would cost, finally checked in with insurance to see about insulin cost.
It can be a lot to do but it is worth it to know you are getting the most bang for your buck, and a pulp that fits you. Things to look at are reservoir size and how small/large both the basal and bolus rates can be, what kinds of extended bolus does it do and how does the bolus calculator actually work. It the bolus calculator doing it differently than you are now and will that matter.
Most pumps have manual entry for you BG readings, so if you need to use a different one due to insurance issues then it will be ok.
