I had thought that my next Animas pump would be the Vibe, but another Ping is on the way. As much as I have hated the menu system of the Ping, it has been a workhorse pump for me and I have never had a problem in the two years that I have been using it. Unfortunately today when I changed the battery, the pump got a significant crack at the battery compartment. So a new Ping will be delivered tomorrow. Fortunately the wait for customer service was only a couple of minutes and the rep was very nice and helpful.
Mine's still hanging in there. How long did you have the one that broke?
Exactly two years.
Two years? I just started pumping a month ago with the Ping and it's supposed to be under warranty for 4 years...I wonder how sturdy these things are.
One of the reasons I chose this pump was because I was under the impression that they can take some abuse (nothing crazy) and still survive. If it craps out on me in 2 years I'm not going to be very happy.
I will be at 4 years in January, and I have had no problems at all with my Ping. It's hit the floor more than a couple times! I plan on getting another Ping in either January 2015 or January 2016 depending on insurance/medicare coverage.
I'm officially pulling my pink ping back out of the box once again. Wondering, have you ever had to get a new meter remote? Do they even sell you one if yours dies?
When I last used the pump all was well, but I have been using the meter as a spare meter and I hope it will last awhile.....
Like Zoe, mine's over 4 years old and has been rock solid which is why Animas is what I'll get as a replacement. Reliability has been amazing. Totally blows by Medtronic on that one critical aspect.
I drop my Ping all the time but I do use a cloth cover...shh! It's an old Medtronic cover. Suspect that cushions the pump when I'm dropping things
Thanks for the reply. I'm going to find time this week to sit down and program the Ping, which shouldnt take too long. Can't wait to be up and running with it once again!
Btw, I have a new HMO since last year, and have not purchased anything Medtronic related. I stockpiled supplies and didnt need to order. So now I am starting up this Ping, and if I order it will be for that pump. Wondering why I was told by another company that my HMO will know I have a Medtronic pump with one year warranty left, and wont let me consider buying another pump right now. How would their records show anything other than what I am going to buy supplies for? Animas said if the meter remote ever goes, sometimes insurance companies will pay for a new one. Confusing, but I would like to think I have that going for me and that's what got me wondering.
No, I've not had to get a new meter remote. The meter remote case though is looking pretty darn raggedy! If I find out in January that I have to wait another year to get a new pump I'll figure out where to order a new case (it wasn't immediately apparent on the website).
Try Lifescan, when the case on my old Ultra Smart meter collapsed they sent me a new one as the meter was still under warranty, they will probably sell you one if no warranty applies.
What is Lifescan? I deal solely with Animas. I'm actually hoping I qualify for a new pump in January and then I will get a new meter and meter case. (wish they came in colors!)
Thanks, Laura. They don't appear to sell the cases separately which makes sense because if they were available you would think Animas would have it! Anyway, I'll see if I get a new pump in January and if not I can look for resources that can be used as this case will not make it another year!
Zoe, I never use my Ping meter and hate it. I would be glad to send you the case (and meter) if you want them. Now that I Think about it, I probably have a couple of cases that went with the old Medtronic One Touch Link meter and they might be the same. I’m not home at the moment and can’t go check.
How nice of you, Laddie, thanks! I'm going to call to place and order soon and will ask Animas if I am eligible for a new pump in January 2015. If not, I'd love to get your unused case.
Just out of curiosity, why do you hate your Ping Meter? I love the meter/remote option. I don't have to worry if my pump is hidden away in my bra when I want to bolus in public and I love just one step of take BG then bolus.
I had to have mine replaced about 3 weeks ago. It developed a MAJOR crack at the battery compartment (well over an inch long and right through so the two edges were separated by at leat a millimetre). The pump is less than a year old. The old one was silver coloured but half of the paint had chipped off already, so I got the new one in black. Animas has given me a free rubber skin - hopefully it will protect it better but it feels WEIRD to sleep with.
I phoned Animas on Saturday morning and spoke to the US 24/7 helpline. Animas UK closed over weekend. Replacement(new - not refurbished) was sent out Monday for delivery to my work, but they left my name off the delivery label, so it took 3 days to get to me.
Joel
Zoe, did you get the case for your meter/remote? I think I have two extras here (unused) and I'd be more than happy to send you one. I replaced my pump a couple of months ago, so I actually have an extra remote if you need that. Animas says that if you want the meter remote, you can call and they can wipe my data off of it for you.
Thanks Meda-Kay! I'm actually going to call soon to see if I'm eligible for a new pump in January. If I am, problem solved, if not I'd love one of your cases. Thanks for the meter-remote offer too; that still works great!
Sorry for waiting so long to reply, Zoe. I actually wrote a reply twice on my tablet computer and it disappeared before I could post it. I used Medtronic pumps for years and their link meter posts the BG number to the pump almost instantaneously. In general I found the Ping meter incredibly slow and the scrolling difficult. I use very small amounts of insulin and I was always scrolling back and forth across the desired number. I do the same thing on the pump, but I still feel that the scrolling on the pump is somewhat smoother than the Ping meter. I keep my pump in my pocket and don't need the remote feature. I also prefer meters that use a smaller blood drop size such as the Freestyle meter I use. For me I also have better accuracy (repeatability) with the Freestyle than with the Ping meter.