Hi, I currently use a Minimed pump and have been with Minimed for 8 years. My 4 year warranty is up in October so I need to decide what pump company to go with. I was wondering if anyone was a Minimed user and switched to Animas and why did you switch? I am currently using a Dexcom system so that is why I want to switch Animas so that I can get the Animas/Dexcom combo pump when it comes available. Also does anyone know if Animas lets customers do a trial run on their pump? Im nervous switching if I cant physically wear the pump for a week. Thanks in advance!
I just started using the Ping in June and that was my first pump so I can’t compare to Minimed but I was told by my Animas sales guy that if I wanted to do a one week saline trail that I could so you should be able to do that.
I use a Minimed 722 and the warranty expires this December 2010. I just put in the paperwork to start the process of getting an Animas pump. If it all goes through the insurance then I am going to switch. I want the Animas/Dexcom system. When I got this pump I purchased the Medtronic CGMS but I only got through 1/2 the initial shipment of sensors and gave up because the thing did not work anywhere near reality.
Find out from your endo who the local Animas rep in you neighborhood is. Ask!
Also, call Animas and find out what they say about a pump / remote system with Dexcom integrated. I am hearing January 2011 IF (IF) FDA approves.
j
ive never used minimed, but i do love my animas ping 
I used Minimed’s pumps for 8 years and recently switched to Animas. I love my Ping. I was nervous but it is a good match for me. I was able to do a trial but I also work in healthcare so I know the reps personally and my dr bent over backwards to get me a trial. She also did a trial of the Animas herself which I thought was nice. I agree with the others it’s always worth asking for a trial. At the very least meet with the reps and get your hands on the pump and try programming it bolusing, etc.
Anyway my reasons for switching and what I like about the Animas. Biggest one is the Ping I love the remote. Alarms are louder and I can’t ignore a no delivery type of alarm like I was managing to do with the Minimed. The color screen is nice at night but is difficult to see outdoors in direct sunlight. You can change the Insulin to carb ratio or sensitivity short term right on the bolus screen if a situation requires it. I also really like having the basal rate displayed on the home screen. I use the basal patterns or profiles feature so it’s easy to see if I forgot to switch one over. I too am totally sold on the Dexcom for me it works so much better than Medtronic’s CGMS.
As far as software goes I actually think Carelink has better reports than EZ Manager but I had so many problems getting my pump to download it was pretty much worthless. And since it’s web based you’re kind of stuck no workarounds. EZ manager is much easier for me to download and it’s MAC compatible so I can consistently see my data. And actually the Ping itself has a lot more blood sugar information and data than the Minimed pump does so overall I like the data available better. I love the Dexcom software even if I have to go on the Windows side of my MAC to use it.
So far customer service has been excellent with Animas but Minimed’s was good also for the most part. I don’t have to call the help line very much but so far it’s been much much faster to get through to Animas than Minimed.
I did miss the escape button though especially at first as I was getting used to the Ping. There’s also more button pushes needed to program a bolus on the Animas. It doesn’t bother me but it may others. I do think the feature on the Revel where you can set an insulin to carb ratio of say 7.8 is very nice though. The Animas only has a 200 unit reservoir which could be a drawback for some. The communication between the Ping and the pump is radio frequency so it is a little slow. The Animas also delivers bolus doses lickety split and really really really lickety split compared to Minimed. It’s much faster than the Revel even. For me that’s great occasionally it stings a little bit but that’s rare.
I could probably go on and on but those are some of the key differences for me.
Even though I researched the pumps extensively and did a trial I was still a little nervous about switching. I knew for sure that I did not want Minimed’s Revel and I was done with their CGMS but I had previously been hopeful that their patch pump and comfort sensor would be better. Those are not available yet so I took the plunge and got the Ping and a DEX. I figured nothing ventured nothing gained and the worst case scenario I’d just wait for one of those trade in deals and pay out of pocket if Minimed came out with something better in the future. I am so glad I took the plunge I actually like the Animas and Dex a lot better than I had thought I would.
Hope that helps and wasn’t too wordy. Gee can you tell I think switching was the best thing? Ha ha.
Diana
Thanks so much for all the replies! I will definitely contact the local animas rep in my area to see about a trial.
Diana thanks so much for all the information you provided, I also am very nervous about switching companies. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Good I’m glad you found it helpful. I totally understand being nervous though. 8 years is a long time. I think for me it was also hard in that there are good things about Minimed too so it was really kind of 6 of one and half a dozen of another.
Diana
I’m considering switching from Animas to minimed after my warranty expires. The 2 big reasons are #1- the resivor on the Animas is only 200units and after priming you’re only left with about 180 or so. Minimend goes up to 300 units. # 2 the up and down buttons are covered in a soft rubber. It’s awesome to hold and use but they wear down after about a year. The rubber around mine split open and broke the other day. Is it hard plastic on the mini med around the buttons?
I had a MM but then Animas gave me a free trial. My A1c went down on the Animas, so my Endo helped me switch pumps before four years was up on the MM.
However, that was in the old Pre J and J days and so I dont know about free trials right now.
I love the Ping, and had problems with MM’s finance dept messing up paperwork and asking for more money after I made my final installment. Again, it was years ago but still left a bad taste for MM product.
I replied on your other thread. But to answer your question the buttons on the Minimed are hard plastic. Buttons sticking/not working was the most frequent problem I had with Minimed’s where it required replacement. They wear down after a while too.
I totally understand about the larger reservoir though. I’m doing fine on Animas but my first minimed only started out with 180 units which left you 150 or 160 after priming. I couldn’t wait for my warranty to expire so I could get the larger size. Of course then I ended up getting lazy and going to long in between set changes but overall it was nice to have the option of a little more insulin in there.
Good luck with your decision. Change is scary but I think it’s good to look at all the options available to you.
Diana