Hi fellow animasites…animasonians…whatevers…I connected to my pump for the first time on Monday 1/3 using the AA Lithium Battery that came in the box. Luckily when I went shopping last week I bought a couple Lithium batteries to have for spares, because this afternoon I got the Low Battery Warning beep! Is eight days a normal life for the pump battery?? (If so I need to load up on a much bigger supply!). if it is meant to last much longer, any idea what I might be doing wrong to have it die so quickly? I have got in the habit of putting my pump on “lock” after I use it as I’m paranoid about me or my cat accidentally dosing me. If I go right to lock without turning it off am I in effect leaving it on continuously? (That doesn’t sound right). Any ideas?
My daughter’s battery usually lasts about that long. We buy big packages of them at a time and she always has a spare with her in her emergency pack. The meter batteries last a longer.
The price of the lithium batteries has gone down by several dollars a package (we get 10 at a time) in the last 2 years as well.
Hope this helps,
Dana
Thanks, Dana. Nice to know I didn’t do anything wrong. Yes, I will definitely be investing in the largest package of lithium batteries next time I go to the store! I’m glad I got my pump without charge because I keep discovering little costs that are more than I knew about…like the strips being $75 for 3 months on my insurance instead of the $25 my Aviva was and now LOTS of Lithium batteries…Ah well…you really don’t get something for nothing!
my batteries always last 4-6 weeks, depending on how often i go back into the history to access info and use the light. maybe it was a bad battery? i have noticed though that when i get a low battery indication, it doesn’t last more than a day or two longer so i need to change it asap. good luck!
Your pump battery or your meter battery? That’s a big difference! Although I have been doing a lot of Setup and Checking things out being brand new to the pump. The manual actually said 30 minutes from the low battery signal so I went into hyperdrive…lol I woner what happens if it goes totally dead? (Other than, of course, no delivery)
Who knows how long it had been sitting in the box? I keep saying I’m going to track how long one lasts. Haven’t done it yet but I know it lasts several weeks. I don’t use vibrate and I think that helps, also.
I think you’ll have better luck with a new battery.
You probably just had an old battery - it might have been sitting in a box someplace forever. Mine were lasting about 8 weeks. The last one only lasted 5 weeks because I have started using the combo bolus so I guess that is what wore it out faster.
I had trouble with the batteries on the remote wearing out fast. I don’t use it alot and don’t use it for testing. I was suspending my pump while I was in the shower & then I would hear the remote beeping downstairs that the pump was suspended. I solved that problem by putting the remote in my purse and my battery isn’t wearing out as fast.
Dana, you posted while I was typing. I guess I am lucky then!
The CDE who trained me said it was okay to NOT suspend while showering unless I was going to be in there for a long time. I just unhook before the shower and plug it back in once dry and with some clothing to hook it to. 
This is all so interesting - My daughter’s battery never lasts more than 2 weeks. However, given what you all have said so far I can see why that might be. She uses combo bolus’ all the time. She definately uses the vibrate rather than an audible alarm and she also uses it as a watch so checks it lots and turns in on frequently. In addition she suspends every time she disconnects and take LONG showers and sometimes takes it off for dance class as well.
I’m watching to see how this progresses.
Thanks everyone - Dana
I know that you don’t have to but if I take it off and leave it sitting in my bedroom, it doesn’t beep. If I suspend it, it beeps so I know I forgot to put it back on. I have already been dressed & downstairs & hear the beeping and know I forgot to put it back on!
Yes, there does seem to be a big range of differences! On the shower/bath thing, my trainer just told me to go ahead and disconnect, but didn’t mention suspending. She only said if it was a long bath (like an hour) I might have to add a bit to my basals. I would guess the purpose of suspending is that if you don’t the insulin just drips out and is wasted if you’re disconnected? I have a relatively low basal (.525) so I guess the trainer figured it didn’t really matter.
HI Zoe, I just got my Ping a few months ago and my first bat. did the same thing I had the same thoughts you did. Wow that didn’t last very long…
It must have been what the others have been saying about it sitting in the box cause I haven’t had that problem again. Mine will last serveral weeks now.
Zoe, I am not worried about the wasted insulin. When you put the pump on suspend, it keeps beeping at your every so often to your remind you that it is suspended. I like to do that so I don’t forget to put it back on! Like I said above, I already made it downstairs once and heard the beeping then realized I forgot to put the pump back on. If I just disconnect, who knows when I would realize I forgot!
Aha - I’ve forgotten it when I’ve changed clothes (left it on the bed…) but I keep it on the bathroom counter during a shower so that makes it a little easier to remember it. Not to say that I won’t forget it one of these days. I usually find a way to goof as soon as I think I’m doing great. Oh well.
Wishful thinking, Kelly?
It’s actually surprising how non-intrusive mine already feels. I couple times I had to tap it to make sure it was still there. And I have a bad habit of leaving without taking the meter remote. (When I was on shots I wouldn’t bother taking my meter or pen if I was going out for just an hour or two.) But I think it will be awhile before I get comfortable enough to forget the pump entirely.
Cool! The old battery sitting in the box thing makes sense.
If your battery only lasted 8 days I would say either the battery that came with your pump wasn’t fresh or there is something wrong with you new pump.
I’ve had my Ping since October and need to replace the battery once a month, usually my first set change each month.
Before October, I had an Animas 2020 pump. With the 2020 I usually got 6-7 weeks from each battery.
I have to assume the shorter battery life with the Ping is due to the addition of the RF module used to communication with the Ping meter.
Thanks for your response, Phil. It does sound like it probably wasn’t too fresh and also I was fiddling with the pump (set up and just learning what everything was) a lot more than I will do down the road. I’ll see what I get out of it next time!
zoe, i find it helps to buy them in bulk. i get about 3 weeks on my 2020 but it has far fewer features than the ping.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NP9WJQ/ref=oss_product
like this
oh and don’t forget if you are counting for taxes or an FSA account, batteries for medical appliances are tax deductible/reimburseable so save those receipts