OK so I have a minimed paradigm and I replaced the battery 2 days ago and it's already lost a bar. Couple days later I loose 2 but then sometimes it goes back to only missing 1. This has been going on since I got the pump about a month ago. My pump only lasts 2 weeks! The pump I had before used to last me a month. I use the batteries they recommend and I don't have it on vibrate and no sensors hooked up to it. It's also a recertified pump.. I called minimed about it and the lady told me that its normal to only last 2 weeks and that usually its only supposed to last 1 week so me getting 2 weeks out of it is really good...I think shes full of crap... What do you all think??
Sometimes I get a month. Sometimes I get two weeks. I always change batteries when I’m down one or two bars. They’re so cheap that I just don’t see any reason to get a Low Battery alert.
I don’t know whether it’s a difference in batteries or a difference in how I use the pump. Even when I used sensors, I usually got at least two weeks.
I always use Energizer batteries as recommended.
I have MM 523, and my battery last 5-6 weeks. I use vibrate mode, no CGMS, and use the link meter. I either change with 1 bar, or after I get the low battery alarm. I keep a spare battery in my meter case, so let it run pretty low, since a replacement is always near by. Once it shows low battery, the light does not operate, but it still worked another 8-10 hours before I changed it, so there is enough time to spare.
However I do have low TDD, and minimal button presses per day, since I don't use the bolus wizard. In some cases, I have used the daily totals to review and fill out a log, and noticed a much shorter battery life. So I think it depends on how much you use the buttons/menus/light, how often you wind/rewind, etc.
When I used to use MM CGMS, it was closer to 3-4 weeks, but I agree that 1-2 weeks seems a bit low as the average.
sometimes, i just get a bad batch of batteries. throw the package out and start over again. i usually get about a month or two to my batteries. (AAA)
I think it's odd that the battery only lasts two weeks since. Like you, I don't use a lot of the add ons either. Mine last for about a month, and the bar thing from 2 to 1 happens every change...that is when I change mine. I wonder if you could call MM again, and ask for a new battery cap (it should be no charge).
how can you tell if your battery cap is bad though? I mean it fits on there good..I just can't tell..
I don't know the answer to that Shayla, it is just a suggestion. When I was having lots of battery changes on an old pump and called MM, they sent a new one and wah lah! There are lots of posts on the DOC about the MM battery cap. It's worth a shot, it's painless, and it might solve the trouble.