Glen & Zoe the remote is important why? What difference does it make if you push the buttons on the pump it self or on the meter. Unless you are hiding your pump where it isn't accessible (vein???) you still have your meter in your hand which requires you to prick your finger at least a minimum of 7-10 times a day (for good control). The Vibe with Dexcom build in only requires you to look at your pump and react accordingly. To me; conclusion forget the remote, I have a Ping and never used the hand meter as I don't like fiddling around with pulling out a strip from a canister inserting it in a meter, pricking my finger with separate lancet and get a reading. For calibration of my CGM I use the AccuChek Compact Plus (no pulling out and inserting strips (17 in the meter) and lancet device atached) I'll take the VIBE with internal CGM over any other pump out there.
Are you saying the Vibe is available here in the US now?
oh yeah it would be good to get it on the NDSS. i guess we have to look forward to the day that we can get it subsidized by them...
As far as I am aware the Vibe is not available for use in the US as yet.
As I said in an earlier post we don't have the Ping available here in Australia and doubt we will. I don't care. I am happy using my pumps without a remote and will continue to be happy using a Vibe without a remote.
We are all different and that is great. Some people use the remote and LOVE it, there is nothing wrong with that. I don't use a remote and I LOVE it, there is nothing wrong with that. Different strokes for different folks.
Some people do prefer to 'hide' their pump but that is no reason to call them vein. They may have very valid reasons for doing so, I for one am certainly not going to sit in judgement of them simply because they do something different to the way I would do it.
We're all different as Glen says and that's why some pump brands are chosen for some options and others for other options. I love my remote because I just test and then bolus without having to take out another device. I don't "hide" my pump because I'm vain. I wear it in different spots for comfort and for what I'm wearing. If it's somewhere inaccessible like my bra (one of my most comfortable spots and one that allows me to wear dresses!) I obviously can't just pull it out in public!
I thought that most people with CGM's still test their blood sugar because the CGM's aren't accurate for in the moment blood sugars but more for trends? I don't have (or want) a CGM though so I'm only going by what I hear people say.
Hi bromaco,
How's it all going for your son's pump or are you still waiting to start?
Like you say they are all very similar and do the same job so what better reason than being his favorite colour. I went blue once I had ummd and ahhhd for while although green was my initial choice.
I would also be eagerly awaiting the Animas Vibe except for one major design flaw. The Vibe system uses the insulin pump to alarm the user to high or low BG conditions. When that alarm is buried beneath layers of blankets for about 1/3 of every day then my chances of hearing and responding to that alarm are low.
I've made this comment on many of these threads yet people seem entranced (distracted?) by the simple reduction in the number of devices. They don't seem to have thought this one through and Animas doesn't appear to want to supply a supplemental night-time alarm unit. I wish them well but I won't purchase the Vibe system until it addresses my nighttime alarm concerns.
Ironically, Terry, that would turn me off for the opposite reason! I'm not interested in a CMG and asked above if you can use the pump function without using the CMG function and someone said yes. Would that mean you would still get alarmed for high or low BG? The alarms are one of the reasons I don't want a CMG. Can you set it to not alarm? (Or only alarm below or above a certain number)
I don't think that using the Vibe without the CGM function would bother you with alarms. While I have not used (or even seen) an Animas Vibe, it would only make sense that the CGM function would remain dormant while it did not receive any signals from a sensor. I would guess that one would have to enable or turn on in some fashion, the CGM function.
I guess, different strokes for different folks! My CGM has solved more problems than it has created. The alarms can sometimes be a nuisance but they also give me more incentive to keep things in range. I am grateful that my insurance coverage supplies CGMs and sensors. I couldn't afford it otherwise.
Thanks for the comment!
Our CGM is dormant - sadly...
Maybe the new Dex Gen 4 will allow the transmitter to be connected to both the Dex unit and the Vibe pump... so you do have a stand alone unit..
Now, there's an idea that could work!
Brilliant!
Hey Glen,
Nah we have just done the paperwork last week now there is a 2-3 month wait unforunately! BUT hopefully the wait time is a little less one of the educators said they are getting through them asap so here is hoping its xmas time-ish :)
He starts Kindy next year so if not xmas b4 then would be great!
i would like to know how Dexcom managed to get the G4 approved in record/short time and Animas is still choking on delivering the Vibe to the US? Both firms had to deal with the FDA and I would imagine that J&J has a little more horsepower than Dexcom. The Vibe a great marketing tool but when is it going to be deliverable? If the FDA is the bottle neck throw some bottle opening responses to their concerns and get it done.
Because the Animas/Dexcom integrated pump in the US will be using Dexcom Gen4 as the CGMS, they waited until the Dexcom part of the device was approved by the FDA before submitting the combined unit. I have been told by my Animas rep that the combined pump/Dex will be submitted to the FDA in January.
Although I expect that the new pump will not use a remote, I do hope that it has a “link” meter. I would love to see the Verio as the link meter since it’s supposed to be more accurate than the One Touch meters that use the blue strips.
We don’t really know if the combined Animas/Dex pump will be called the Vibe in the US. I do hope the approval process is quick.
We had a D & Technology expo here in Melbourne over the weekend and one of the speakers was my DNE. I had a quick chat with her and she said that my claim for a new pump had all been approved by my PHI.
Like a kid waiting for a new toy, I want it and I want it NOW! My Medtronic will be retired to the cupboard and I will be wearing a shiny new blue Vibe.
Was great to hear that the Dexcom CGMS has had TGA approval for use here in Aus but pricing is still the thing holding me back on getting that for the time being.
Prisoner -- Bingo! Your speculation above was confirmed to me today by an Animas manager.
In research for my next insulin pump I talked with an Animas manager today. He told me that the Dex G4 transmitter will be compatible with both the US Animas Vibe and the Dex G4 receiver. When pressed about a US Vibe release timeline, he said it could happen as early as January '13 but more likely during Q1 2013.
He said if I bought a Ping today. I would be eligible for a $99 upgrade pathway to the Vibe, whenever it comes out -- even if a lengthy delay.
I also asked him if Animas had considered the reluctance of third party payers (insurance companies) to pay for both a Dex and a Vibe receiver function. He said that there was internal discussion on that point and that he didn't think there would be any ultimate difficulty with it.
So, in the foreseeable future, when I'm awake, I could use the Vibe to pump and receive/display/alert on CGM data and then add the Dex receiver at night (outside the blankets!) to wake me up when I'm low. That's one less piece of hardware to manage during the day and double the receivers at night.
I like this idea.
So after reading this the "new" Vibe with integrated Dexcom must have the new G4 sensors?
So my Seven+ sensors are worthless and if I just want one unit on my belt for pump and CGM I have to settle for a much bulkier sensor of the G4.
I already have to watch that I don't "rip" my Seven+ sensor off when going through tight spaces or turning around in bed.
I was looking forward to the "one" unit setup but now I have to re-evaluate this as from what I read the G4 Platinum is not any better than the Seven+ in program and except for that the receiver is sleeker looking and colorful they work the same, but the sensor is bulkier.
E-J,
I started on the 7+ three years ago and used it 24/7. I'm now on day 26 of the G4.
The G4 has more improvements than you may appreciate. It's more accurate, especially in the hypo range. It's transmitter, while thicker, transmits further which means very few data drop-outs. The 7+ would sometimes miss a half hour or more while I was sleeping. The G4 misses no night time data and that means it will wake me up when I just start to go low.
That brings me to the alarms. They are more effective and dependable in getting my attention. And they can be programmed to be as quiet and unobtrusive as you'd like.
You're right about the download and analysis software, Studio. It is not a major change from the 7+ software but it does have some improvements. To start with the download process is much faster and has never failed once. Sometimes with the 7+ download I had to make repeated attempts, especially if it had been a while since my last download.
I'm not trying to sell you or anyone else on the G4 system; it just seemed to me that you were not aware of all the benefits of the new system. I'm happy to have it and it's been easy to live with.
If you're interested, you may want to read Wil Dubois' recent blog entries on the G4. Wil is a T1 diabetic and has been reviewing the G4 a bit at a time. He's been writing about it for the last month (November 2012) but not every day. (Scroll down over the past month and look for the G4 reviews.) His style is plain-speaking (if rough language offends, this may not be a good read for you) and often very funny. He pulls no punches in his review. If he doesn't like a feature, he tells it like he sees it.
Good luck.
No d-technology is perfect and it fits some people's needs better than others. I have no relationship with Dexcom other than that of a satisfied customer.