You might have to look in the archives – the post was fairly recent – maybe August or September? Maybe even early October? She has a neat little picture of it in the column. If I decide to switch over to the Dex when my MM warranty runs out in March, I’m definitely going to use her tip. I’m just having trouble making the decision, because neither one is a perfect match for what I need and want!
Jodi I had the same understanding as you. From everything patients have told me Medtronic will not help with the cost of the pump. They will set you up on payment plans but will not reduce the price of the pump. The only companies I know for sure that are willing to even consider financial situations and reducing the overall cost of the pump is Animas and Accu-Chek. I haven’t checked into it for a while but last time I heard they do not offer to lower the cost. If someone has gotten assistance from Medtronic for lowering the cost of a pump (not just a payment plan) I would love to hear about it. I am not looking for financial details just that they did reduce the cost of the pump.
Medtronic:
POSITIVE:I have a MM inulin pump and like it very much! The 24/7 support is excellent no matter what questions I have had or parts of pumping I did not fully understand at firstl. They are generous with supplies as needed with quick delivery.
NEGATIVE::The menu screen is a bit small but readable with a back light. . .
OmniPod:
I used an OmniPod on a trial basis, and liked it (so small) but the support was not the same high average that Medtronics gave, at the time (1.5 years ago).
Yes, CGM’s are perfect for that, especially during the night. Make sure you monitor for at least a week, just to make sure the reading are consistent, before you make any changes to your pump.
Yogi
I have used Minimed, Cosmo, and Omnipod. I prefer Omnipod because of the tubeless character. Though it did not happen often, there were times when my pumps with tubes would hook on door knobs and cabinet pulls, and at least once when I dropped the pump and yanked the infusion set out (ouch).
I would not switch back to Medtronic (in part due to my unhappiness with their customer service when I did use them). If another tubeless system comes out, I would certainly examine it. I find the current pods to be a bit bulky, and there are some quirky elements about the software (like not tracking the amount of insulin in the pod until it drops below 50 units).
Losing track of the controller? Once, it happened–left it at work. I learned, and adapted my behavior.
I chose Minimed Real Time Revel. I demo’d the Omnipod, and while being tubeless WAS a great feature, I found it bulky, and I didn’t like the idea of having to keep up with an additional piece of equipment. My main reason other than stable blood sugar for why I want to be on the pump, is to make life more flexible, not having to remember to grab a remote everytime I walk out the door, or worrying about my cats jumping up and knocking it off and it going into that mysterious black hole that things go into when you have cats. Plus the number of pod failures people seem to report really concerned me a lot too.
Overall I have been extremely happy with Medtronic, their customer service has been wonderful, and the whole process of getting my pump was SUPER fast and easy. I should be getting it on Tues, it was a week yesterday that I started the process and by Fri their insurance rep was calling me telling me I had approval and when did I want it, lol. It was amazing I was really expecting it to be a bit more difficult.
Just wanted to add I really found MM to be super easy to use when inquiring about them at my Dr’s office. Think they seem pretty user friendly.
Good luck.