Hey!
so ive decided to go back on the pump, but i have no idea which one? any suggestions, I had a medtronic about 8 years ago.
I've got the MM Revel 523 with CGM and I love mine.
yep. Revel 723 as well. with CGM, but don't like the sensor. It looks nasty going in.
The sensor IS kinda scary looking, but surprisingly it didnt hurt like I THOUGHT it would. Looks worse than it is.
If you wear a lot of dresses, the Animas Ping is very handy. You can bolus with the remote...no need to fish out the pump to do so. It is has some similarities to the Medtronic pumps, yet it has its own wonderful features.
When I went back on the pump this year, my endo recommended either the Animas Ping or the Minimed Revel. She said both were comparable in terms of features. The Ping is waterproof (although I don't trust anything that expensive in water) and has a nice screen. However, in my opinion, the MM Revel is a more reliable pump and Medtronic has much more experience with pumps. Both the Ping and Revel are able to bolus very small quantities of insulin (0.025 units at a time), both have remotes (although I think the Ping's remote is better), and both have the same variety of basic features. The Revel requires fewer button pushes to do stuff.
The biggest advantage at this time is that the Revel has the integrated CGM. Now, the Revel's CGM is not as accurate as the Dexcom, but the fact that it is all integrated into one means you have one less thing to carry around. I don't use the CGM feature at the moment, but will slap on a sensor sometimes if I want to try and see trends. For me, however, the CGMs just aren't accurate and they cause me to be really lazy (for some reason, I am better with finger pricks...they keep me honest and on top of things).
For me personally, Careline, Medtronic's online data collection system, has been the biggest plus of using a Revel. I am able to upload all my data from my pump and my endo's office accesses my account and can give me pointers/advice between appointments if necessary. I have also found that I can easily use the data output to make adjustments (which I do frequently).
Overall, my recommendation would be the Revel. The other nice thing about the Revel is that it comes in two sizes - 180 unit reservoir and 300 unit reservoir. I think the Ping only comes with a 200 unit reservoir. You can choose the Revel that best meets your daily insulin needs, which decreases the amount of insulin wasted.
I also think Minimed has the best selection of infusion sets.
I've had my Revel for almost a year now and I've been really happy with it. Had to call Medtronic a couple of times for customer support and had no issues. They were also extremely helpful when I purchased the pump. They handled everything and the process was virtually painless.
I would recommend staying away from the Omnipod. I know a lot of people like them, and if tubing is a huge issue for you, then it's worth considering, but I just read about too many issues on here. My endo won't even work with Omnipods. She said that she saw too many problems with them.
Oh, one thing I like about the Revel is that it's pretty easy to conceal under clothing. When I saw the Ping, it seemed a little thicker/bulkier to me. With a little creativity, I have no trouble hiding my Revel under my clothing, tubing and all. I got a sample pod from Omnipod and found that it was just too large to easily conceal under my clothes.
I LOVE my omnipod! I was on a tubed pump in college (about 10 years ago) and never liked it. I'm a big fan of the pod! I understand that it is not for everyone, but take care before writing it off due to some of the negative publicity it gets. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, if you know what I mean :)
I hope that you are able to get your hands on good info about each pump to make the best decision for you. Good luck!
You do need to make the best decision for you, and your own needs.
Look at all of them.
The pod, btw, is not paid for by every insurance plan in the same way.
That said, I love the Minimed.
Had it thirty days, replacement for my Ping.
I like this pump and the customer service better, especially the local service
I agree with MBP about the reliability of the MiniMed pumps. I still have the older model 722 and am on my second as #1 blew up after a long, *really* sweaty run last summer, although they never let me know if it "leaked" or otherwise was trashed by me, they sent me a new one. The customer service has been very handy, they do just about everything re getting supplies, etc. I prefer the "one unit" thing as my "batman utility belt" is pretty much full between jelly beans and iPods and another gizmo would annoy me.
The other perhaps wierd thing about the pump failure I had was that I got home with a "button error" message which the MM rep (on the Saturday of 4th of July weekend, nonetheless...) had said "we will send you a new pump...on Tuesday" as FedEx not delivering Sunday/ Monday. So, once I calmed down and had a shot or three to get things back in order, I figured I should dry the pump out and see if it worked. I put it out in the sun. No dice. I put it in the freezer, some friends came to visit for the weekend, we partied and I forgot about it for a while and took it out, stuck in the battery and it seemed to work! I thought about just getting it going but was not sure that was an approved repair method but it impressed me a bit that the gizmo came back to life. I haven't heard of anyone trying that with an Omnipod (which apparently blow up all the time anyway?) or a Ping?
Basically all my reasons for choosing MM Revel too. My CGM has been pretty accurate, but I never dose based on those results, I still fingerstick too. But its a nice feature to see how you are trending.
The CDE from Minimed who trained me on my recent pump said that the Revel is fairly water resistant. They could not market it as "waterproof" because if there are any small cracks in it, the water could damage the internal workings. However, she said in her experience (she is also a T1), it's about as "waterproof" as the Ping. I will admit that I do like the screen on the Ping, but (for me) I went with the Minimed because of their extensive experience with insulin pumps. What scares me the most about pumping is the fact that I'm hooked up to something that, if it malfunctions, could kill me. And I figure that Minimed is probably the most experienced in ensuring their pumps work properly.
My only complaint about the Revel is the screen - it's pretty small. I wish it was a little bigger. That said, the durability of my Revel is outstanding, and I know a few people with Pings who managed to totally break them with just a single drop. I've dropped my pump several times and, so far, it works just fine. If you're someone who is active, the Revel is definitely the way to go.
...but it seems like I've seen reports (unfortunately, I don't keep track or have citations handy...) that people who try to take advantage of the purportedly waterproof Pings end up with problems when they swim with them? Swimming kills my BG so I don't have any problem taking my pump off when I've swum, although I'm always a bit paranoid about someone stealing the $8000 dingus while it's parked by the pool? I've showered w/ my MM, when it was being "fussy" maintaining the link for a new sensor, although I haven't bothered for a while. I have had a couple bike crashes with my pump (including one where I knocked my teeth out and did an important experiment to see if the blood pouring out of my face matched my finger...and it did!!) and also fell on it pretty hard practicing throws as the Tae Kwon Do place we went to also worked with some Hapkido/ Judo style throws for self-defense purposes. And a couple of the more challenging kicks were also probably good for some wipeouts. No problems w/ any of that...