I was just prescribed an insulin pump (the Minimed Paradigm) by my doctor but I can’t find a signle pharmacy that carries pumps. They all keep sending me to other pharmacies where I keep getting the same answer: “We don’t fill pump prescriptions, try going to another pharmacy”. If nobody carries pumps where am I supposed to get it from? I thought about calling Liberty Medical (I saw their ad on television), but they said that they only carry testing supplies and told me to go to a pharmacy.
When I google the pump I can only find info about the pump not how to buy it. I have found several online ‘pharmacies’ that sell the extras (infusion sets and all that) that I need, but nobody sells the pump.
Where do you get yours from?
You get them from the pump company. Pharmacies do not carry them, but all you need is the perscription sent to your pump company, and then your supplies come in the mail- usually 3 months supply at a time. =)
Yea, check out the Minimed Website. You’ll find everything you’ll need right there. Did the doctor happen to give you one of the Minimed info packets? Mine had a business card in it for the local Minimed rep. You might even be able to call the doctor and get the rep’s contact info
Noted.
One of the conditions of approval of these devices by the FDA was that appropriate and adequate training be provided prior to use. The only way to control that is to control distribution. So pumps are purchased from the manufacturer or their representatives and a training plan established for each and every recipient. For me, the system work quite well. Left on my own to fiugre out basal rates, pump settings etc., I could have killed myself.
Now that I am reading your responses I’m even more confused. I appreciate all the feedback, and I definitely better about knowing how to go about getting one, but the way you guys are talking it seems much more of a big deal than my endo made it out be. Apparently he didn’t even write which pump I needed on the Rx, it just has the brand name but not which specific model. Also, he told me that after I got all my blood tests done I should go in with the pump so they can fit me for it and send me home (pretty much his exact words). I told him that I need to schedule babysitters and such so I needed a time frame and he said that once they show me the infusion sites I can go home. After reading up on pumps here and more on the net I’m thinking that it’s not that simple. It almost makes me want to stick with my 5 shots a day, even though he switched me insulins and now I’m either drinking soda to fix my lows or shooting up more units to fix my highs constantly. Since he switched I seriously haven’t seen a BG number between 80 and 300, I’m always under or above those numbers. I would go back to my old system with the 75/25, but that’s how I ended up in the hospital in the first place.
I hope this mess only gets easier. Before all this my biggest worry about the pump was how do I sleep at night hooked up to one, now…I can’t even trust my endo to teach me what to do properly.
Does your doctor have a certified diabetes educator on staff? How pump friendly is he? Does he have any other pump patients? It sounds like he’s either a complete novice to pumps, or maybe he’s done it so much that he just kind of brushes it off. The process is not complicated, but it does take some effort and patience. From what i remember, my doc faxed a prescription over to minimed after I had met with the CDE for a pre-pump visit (basically she answered questions, showed me different pump models, etc). Then I was given a packet that had info and forms to fill out and send to minimed. After approval from insurance, minimed called and I gave them info about which color I wanted, infusion sets, etc. THEN, I had actual training with the CDE (first a saline trial, then a second visit with a pump start date). She was available to me to ask questions day and night during my first few days. If I am not mistaken, minimed has sales reps and pump trainers in different areas (one actually contacted me to see if I needed training) and they can go to your house and also, as I was told, help your doctor if he/she is unfamiliar with pump therapy.
It may be worth a call to minimed to see what the procedure is to get one of these people on board if your doc’s office does not have someone who does this. Your BG #'s sound a lot like mine did pre-pump, and I was on that miserable 75/25 mix, too. Chasing the lows away and trying to correct the highs was a daily thing for me, and it was terrible. I hope you can get to the bottom of this situation.
PS- You may want to look into other pumps, too. I’m happy with my minimed, but there are other options out there, too that people love.
Dave,
I agree that the Walsh book is a great way to go. And I agree that it is not that difficult. But I wouldn’t say pumping is all a matter of capacity:
-Cost can be an issue: depending on your insurance plan, you may find yourself paying an important price for supplies every three months. it is important for you to know how much you are going to be paying out of pocket, so you know if you can afford it.
-Comfort wearing a device 24/7 can be another element: I know enough people who are very capable managing their diabetes with shots, but don’t feel comfortable wearing a device.
If you ask me, I will swear by my pump, but I won’t say it is or it can be for everyone either.
Pavlos,
If those were your endo’s exact words, it sounds like he hasn’t dealt with pumps much. Did he mention perhaps that he wanted you to research options and that is why he didn’t recommend a specific one? I mean, that is a possibility, but it would certainly be the first time I hear about a case like that.
Wow! I can’t believe your Doctor actually gave you the RX for the pump. When I decided on the Omnipod system, this is what happened
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Endo’s office gave me the RX from Insulet. I filled my address, phone etc.
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Endo’s office completed the CMN (certificate of medical necessity), attached medical records and faxed all information to Insulet (Omnipod). Wes explained the pump company will be calling me if they have insurance issue’s or if the pump was denied.
Wes also told me do not touch the settings on the PDM, call him was soon as I rec’d the Omnipod system and we would meet at the office for a 2-4 hour pump class.
Just like everyone else said you can not buy a pump from the local pharmacy. Places one liberty medical only deals with Medicare patients.
Well I called the endo’s office today and told them that I want them to contact the company for me. That part went fine and I even got a call from some guy from Medwhatchamacallem (I can never remember the company’s name) and I will be talking to him again soon to go over the details. I also told the endo that I want to have some training with the pump and the nurse’s actual words were “oh, you’re one of those people” and then she said that they will have consultant speak to me when I get fitted for it. After that I called my doctor and had him refer me to the local hospital specialist for proper training because with that kind of response I don’t feel I can trust them that much. I really want the pump because I want to have the best possible management I can get. The endo was also supposed to help me with a CGM to combine with the pump but I think he has forgotten all about that so I’ll see what I can learn from the local hospital (btw I say local hospital because the endo I see is a two hour drive from where I live).
Have you considered another endo since you have to drive a couple of hours anyways? You need a doc you can rely on and feel comfortable with calling when you have questions or concerns. It doesn’t sound like his office is very pump friendly at all! They are making this process much too hard and it doesn’t have to be. Hang in there!
Those are good points, Dave.
I would ask my doc to refer me to another endo, but after I asked for a referral the first time it took my doctor 6 months of me nagging him about it to actually make the call. As you can tell I don’t have the best luck with doctors.
You can get almost any pump and infusion set from Neighborhood Diabetes. They have about 8 people in their pump dept. . . . all they do is pumps and sets. They are accurate and fast. I get great service from them as they ship a 90 day supplies right to my home. They are especially strong in New England, New York, and Florida. Call 1-800-937-3028
man 3 months? i get mine every 6 months. or wait yeah i get mine every 3 hehe my bad. i got the lid thing to the batteries and the infusion set and cartridge mailings mixed up.
I would have said, “Oh, you’re one of those nurses. Nevermind, I’ll contact someone who actually gives a sh*t.”
Medtronic will have pump trainers they can set you up with. My GP is the one that helped me get the insulin pump and Medtronic set me up with the local CDE they have on staff for my area.
I have been useing an Animas Ping pump since January and I am very please with it. When I knew that I was going to be getting a pump I contacted them. They took care of all the details including making the phone calls for set ups, education, and all supplies, insurance claims and other paper work. My rep even went as far as to go to my endo for orders for me. They have followed-up with me every week to make sure things are going ok. I have not had to contact them yet. They are always on the phone with me asking if there is anything they can do for me. I am very thankful that I contacted them. With their help it has been a very smooth process and I feel very comfortable with my pump. As I look at the date I hope by now you have your answers. If not let me know if I can help. If you haven’t bought one as of yet, I feel like the service and help from your manufacturer is as important as the insulin you take.