I went to the Dr. a few days ago and they have always told me that the Minimed is easier to use than my Animas. I have used Animas for over 5 years and I love it. Everytime I come in and they check my basal rates, they snatch it from me to “do it themselves” and then harshly criticize it for not being “user friendly.”
After discussing the need for a CGMS, they bring me a brochure of the medtronic guardian glucose monitor and basically say "This is what you will be getting."
Previously, I had already researched the differences between the Dexcom, and Minimed, and had decided on the Dex since I DO NOT like pain and already somewhat struggle with infusion sets in my belly.
I find it very odd that a Dr. office is one sided when there are multiple options that may suit their patients better. Has anyone else experienced this? What are your thoughts?
I’ve never experienced Doctor prejudice either way…however, I have been on the Dex and I have a friend who is on the Minimed, and He HATES his! he tells me woes of incriedible accuracy issues, says it is bulky and uncomfortable, and he is going to switch to the Dex soon…although I have had some horrible accuracy issues with the Dex as well. I have been hearing good things about the Navigator (Freestryle/Abbott), but, when I started a discussion on that a few weeks ago some people told me it can be as moody as the Dex. So, I’m just stayuing put for now. (the one thing I REALLY LIKE about the Dex is they are having discussions with Insulet abouit a CGM/Pump product…way off in the future, but still, I like that!)
My endo’s office is definitely a “Medtronic shop,” if there is such a thing. Medtronic quite routinely offers free classes on carb counting, insulin pump therapy, and the like on-site.
My doctor recommended I go with the Paradigm pump. When it came to the CGM she suggested I do a trial of the Medtronic after I told her I had read online where a lot of folks had discomfort with the Medtronic sensor to the extent that they just stopped using it. She suggested after the trial that if I didn’t like it, I should give Dexcom a try.
From what I can tell, Medtronic seems to have a very strong sales and clinical presence, at least in my area (DC Metro).
Thank you for your response! Yea, I am very excited about the Dex/Animas combo. I probably get on customer service’s nerves because I call every couple of months to see if there is a date on the release. So far, they say not until the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011. But yes, I agree that most people hate the minimed and is more painful than Dexcom. I just couldn’t figure out why the Dr.'s office was acting like Medtronic was the only option. Seem’s weird to me…
My endo did not recommend a specific brand. He had me take an intro to pumping class at a local hospital with a CDE RN who demoed both pumping and CGM. She showed me all the brands and explained the pros and cons of each. Even though she uses a pump and CGM, she did not push a specific model. I ended up picking Dexcom and Insulet (neither of which my CDE uses).
I haven’t seen this at my endo’s office, but at my GP I have seen medical reps come in with tons of samples and also with breakfast or lunch. That makes me wonder about objectivity and independance.
My Endo used to be a medtronic rep. As such she has complete confidence in their products and knows how to use them best. If someone comes in not knowing what they want it is always what she will recommend first. With that said when I came in and said I wanted an Omnipod and let me get it and then when I said I wanted a Dexcom she actually ran a couple trials with the local Rep. and when I loved mine she wrote out the prescription. We all come with biases and I can understand doctors wanting patients to use what they believe is best. But if you go in with a different option clearly in mind then it’s your life, your body, and if you have a doctor that doesn’t let it be your (informed) decision then that’s a problem.
No bias at my Endo’s office. When talking about going on the pump and CGM they showed me all the options. I had already done my own research and said I wanted to use a Dexcom and OmniPod. They contacted the Reps to get the process started.
My CDE had never even heard of the other brands of CGMs; she only knew about the Minimed brand. (She also told me she thought CGMs were horrible and people shouldn’t have them, but she’s the only diabetic educator in town, so I’m stuck with her.)
Update: My Dr. just called and wanted to know why I wanted to use Dexcom instead of Minimed. I told her what I’ve read and what my concerns are.
1.) Comfort, bleeding, pain of the sensor.
2.) 3 days vs. 7 days wearing the sensor.
3.) The fact that I already use Animas and would like to become familiar with the Dexcom since they are partnering up to make a pump and cgms in one.
I guess these reasons weren’t enough. She tells me that she hasn’t had any complaints or has never heard of anyone being bothered by the pain of the minimed cgms…
I had to basically stand on trial to finally say “ok, I will order you the Dexcom.”
But, good news is that the paperwork is being put in for my DEXCOM!!! Super excited now.
Medtronics is basically one of the largest vendors, and unfortunately they seem to have a lot of push/pull with doctors… At the practice I go to, there is a BIG Deal made out of NOT pushing you towards a brand of pump or CGMS… If you ask questions, they will tell you pros and cons, but the decision is up to you… I was actually in a bind… tend to be a bit insulin resistant, so I needed a larger capacity pump… And there were two options… and it was suggested those TWO pumps were what i should be looking at otherwise id have to set change more frequent… I went with the black sheep… Due to my bad experience with regeonal sales rep for the major pump manufacturer…Some of the pump class people werent as experienced with my pump but the CDE i had knew it, and was trained on it in the past so we worked through the manual together… A medtronics rep is expected to sell at least 40 pumps a month, as some of the other manufacturers have severely less… This is when id say. Go with what YOU feel is right… and dont let your endo/practice push you around… the Medtronic IS more painful… Ideally youd be able to see and try all of them… Check on the return period for the unused sensors on the Medtronic, … If i recall Dexcom allows you to send it all back (minus the sensor you used) in 30 days and get most (not the sensor you used) back… Also i wish you were able to try a Freestyle Navigator but right now is not a good time to be trying them… You should also consider finding a new endo who will deal with what you have, not chastitise you for what you chose… I bet your pump rep might be interested in what happened with your endo, and may also know of endos in your local area that dont have a problem…
Thank you Jake. I knew it had to be something for the Dr. office to be pushing me to use a particular brand and not even letting me know that I had options. I just got off the phone with the Dr. office and had to convince her why the Dexcom was better for me. She said not to trust the blogs… Ummmm, no. I’d rather trust other diabetics and blogs than someone who has only probably tried some of the products to say they’ve done it, if that. So, she is putting in paperwork for my Dexcom as we speak.
Thank you for the advice and all of the great information. It has really been helpful.
The main advantage of the Minimed is that its all in a tidy package… Pretty much one software and you can pull from the pump, the meter, and the CGM… yes the Dex has its own reciever box and software… Slightly annoying. but I usually put it in my pocket on the side with the sensor…
I liked the sensor insert on the Dex… Hurt a little more than an infusion set, but iv not had a bloody sensor like trying the Medtronic. The other gotcha with the Dex is it doesnt like Tylenol/Acetaminophen… It will go mad high if you take tylenol till it wears off.
Realize NO CGM is dead on accurate all the time, but they are good at keeping you from crashing or cruising too high… think of them as “bumpers” vs something you can ALWAYS rely on… Actually with a CGM i found i was crashing at night and didnt even know it,…
CGMS arent an exact science. think of em as “bumpers” to keep you out of trouble vs a replacement for your BG meter… that is why the companies all emphasize 'TRENDS" vs individual readings…
You can see if your heading towards or coming from a “problem”… But then again realize a BG reading is up to 20% off as well… Its all a matter of averages…
My insurance (and doctor… I have kaiser permanente, so it’s all one and the same) is pretty much minimed or bust. I’m trying to get an Omnipod, and there are so many hoops to jump through! But minimed is the only pump company that they are directly contracted with. so i’m sure kp & medtronic have some kind of sweet deal going on. grrrr.
i would also like to get the dexcom (one battle at a time…) but I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be difficult too. and i didn’t like the 3 day trial of the medtronic cgms that i tried. 1) it kept getting errors, so i had to change it twice @ the drs office, 2) it bled, and 3) it really hurt. so i’m with ya on the dexcom
