Has anyone bought an insulin pump recently?

I second the Omnipod idea. I used Medtronic for years until I became the first Omnipod patient. I would never go back to any tubed pump. The Omnipod is just so easy and convenient. Did I mention the painless auto inserting

Andy

I began reading about the different pumps several months ago and at first, I thought Omnipod sounded more appealing, but then I read that the new Tandem had the ability to stop delivering basal insulin when blood sugar was low, (when used in conjunction with Dexcom). That is probably the most important feature because my brother doesnā€™t always know when heā€™s going low. I was going to get him Dexcom in Sept also. He hasnā€™t used Dexcom yet. I have concerns about him going low in the middle of the night. In regards to Medicare, I was going to choose a supplement where he doesnā€™t have co-pays. He wouldnā€™t have to pay anything at all for the pump or pump supplies.

You have your prescriber write for a box of insulin pens for 1) long acting, & 2) rapid acting insulins. You will also need a box of pen needles.

Most prescribers will write for the same insulin in the rapid pens as is in the pump so you only need to learn one rapid insulin. As the rapid comes close to expiration, use it in your pump.

As far as the long acting, there are options, but keep in mind it is a violation of USA Federal Law to transfer a prescription drug to someone else.

Oh, Iā€™m a big proponent of Tandemā€™s T:slim X2. Itā€™s currently the best pump on the market, hands down, though Insuletā€™s Omnipod and Medtronic are making strides to close the gap.

I mentioned Omnipod because it can be used temporarily. Youā€™re basically throwing most of the pump away every three days, and the co-pay on the PDA would be WAY less than paying the co-pay on a Medtronic or Tandem pump, which I imagine you could upgrade to as soon heā€™s signed up on Medicare.

With Tandemā€™s Control IQ software and the Dexcom G6 it also increases the bolus if BG is trending up. Iā€™ve used it for the past three months and it has been spectacular! Incidentally, been a pumper for 20 years and never had a pump failure. (Medtronic for 15 years; Tandem for the past 5.)

I was wondering about that. My brother had his Tandem pump 4 yrs & it had to be replaced 3 times. I thought that surely theyā€™ve finally worked out the kinks. This last one completely shut down & heā€™s had it less than a year. I thought it would last longer. Geo256, 20 yrs is a long time. Which pumps have you used?

Iā€™ve used all kinds of pumps for the past 20+ years. Since there are really only three left on the US market, thereā€™s very little choice. My current one is the t:slim X2, which Iā€™ve had since Nov. 2019. I like it as much as you can like something that you sleep with, eat with, swim with, and generally live with your whole life. Hmmm, I bet my wife would take that last sentence the wrong way.

Anyway, Iā€™ve only been using Control-IQ for about two months, but Iā€™ve already gotten to a point where Iā€™m not sure how I would get along without it. It has almost (emphasize ā€œalmostā€) eliminated nighttime lows, which used to happen about 3-5 nights/week.

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Wow. Thatā€™s great what it has done for night-time lows.

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Such a tough question! Which pump is best?! I listen to Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms. She does a weekly podcast. And she had a great one on July 20 called ā€œCan I just get the pink one? How to choose an insulin pump. She talks with Melissa Lee who is a blogger and patient advocate and tech advisor and currently works with Tidepool.
It is really I think the best way to look at buying a pump. You really need to know what you want. What are things you love about what you are currently using and what are the draw backs. The reality is there is no ā€œbadā€ pump just pumps that do things differently and have different features. Knowing what you really want and need versus what you really hate can help narrow the unfortunately small amount of choices out there. Good luck with your hunting. And I would agree, there isnā€™t a bad pump out there. I have used Minimed/Medtronic for almost 24 years, Tandem for 6 and Omnipod for a few clinical trials. Each has good point and bad points. Just gotta figure out what is a deal breaker. Good luck!

Thanks @Sally7! I did a search for Diabetes Connection and found the episode you mentioned. Iā€™m looking forward to listening to it. The website looks nice; hereā€™s the link:

https://diabetes-connections.com/can-i-just-get-the-pink-one-how-to-choose-an-insulin-pump/

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