Thanks guys, I’ll keep looking! Marie, so have I! I just went to push mine back onto my waist belt and the clip snapped, was very annoyed! Also a bit confused about why the person who obviously decided on the cases for the combo decided I would want to wear a belt every day for the next 5 years as the cases I got with mine all require a belt!
well I used the new combo clip for a couple of days. it was ok as long as I was not in my pj's in the bathroom in the middle of the night. three times, it just slipped off my pants and crashed to the hard tile floor. the old clip really held. the only advantage to the new one is it's slightly thinner. really you'd think they would have had a focus group or something. maybe they were all guys on the design team.
Did you get the new combo one with your combo? Yeah, could really do with another one! Haha.
Question for all you accu-chek fans. Can you manually add in a test number if you test it on another machine. I always use freestyle test strips and I was told the machine can only use accu chek and you can not manually add a blood reading i have a large amount of test strips. i cant keep wasting all these supplies. Also, the machine can’t get wet not for a second.
shari lynn - sorry, but you cannot add in a test number from another machine, not even another Aviva Combo meter.
As far as moisture goes, any of the current meters are going to be equally sensitive to moisture. The pump is extremely water-resistant.
Nope NO entering of another meters value.. Reason I was given was ...(again) FDAish and afraid people are going to transpose their BG.. if its good enough for dexcom... Have a confirmation window ... This annoys me..
You cant even use a Nano meter to enter readings... into the bolus calculator.. However.... You *CAN* merge other AC meter readings into the 360 report. but can't use them to calculate a bolus...
Thank you jake. I do love my Deltec . But I am not going to find everything in one pump. I just have to decide. Thanks again
It has now been about 1.5 months since I started on the Combo. I am still adjusting to life with a more meter-centered system.
There are definitely hits and misses with this system.
For example, while I like the Bolus Advisor (BA) better than the Compass SW, I still have to apply an awful lot of my own input to what bolus the meter wants to deliver. In part, this is because of my own approach to I:C ratios vs. what my metabolic state is. But, it is also because of the annoying "straight-line" approach that is applied to "Active Insulin/IOB". I need to know when my last bolus was so I can calculate IOB on my own and then adjust the recommended bolus. Since I almost always forget to check the time of my earlier bolus, I end up doing some mental gymnastics in order to take advantage of the BA - not good IMO!
As a result, the biggest change I made after the first two weeks (my BG averages were higher than they have been in years!) was to ALWAYS question the BA, and factor in my own knowledge to the bolus amount. I had been hoping to rely more on the BA ...
Having said that, my averages are looking better and better and the standard deviations are tighter (way less than perfect, though!)
I am also unhappy with the meter case. What happened to the little pocket where I could store extra batteries and spare code keys?
Finally, it would also to be nice to have a BASAL Advisor integrated in with the Bolus Advisor. There are definitely times when it might be nice to have the meter suggest a TBR, or other similar changes.
What about the rest of you Combo users?
Hi mike I am starting the new acc-chek on Tuesday. I have had it for over a month. But with timing and alli had to schedule later. My nutritionist loves this new pump better then any of the machines out on the market. Medtronics is coming out with a new system anyday. I was hoping to hear from more people that are actually on the new pump. It sounds like you are getting settled in with it. I will see what the trainer says. Keep us posted .
Shari Lynn,
Enjoy the training on Tuesday. I got a lot out of meeting with the others in the class and the trainers we had were really first-rate.
I will be interested to hear your impressions after you have gotten started. One of the things that I really like are the reminders that are available, especially the infusion set change reminder.
Mike
How is everyone doing on battery life so far?
I am calling Accu-Chek tomorrow. Started my third set of batteries for the meter yesterday - seems like a lot in just two months.
I also found a little quirk on the pump (also available on the pump screen using the meter).
With the pump in "Run" press the check button once, you get the remaining units of insulin in the cartridge. That part is the same as the original Spirit. Press the check button again and you can see your last bolus. Press the 'down' button and scroll through previous bolus amounts.
Has anyone else seen this and any ideas on how to best utilize?
I've had mine about 2 months. haven't had to change batteries in the meter yet, and changed the pump battery only once.
I seem to get about a month and a half of battery life in the meter itself and about a month or so on the pump. All in all though I really like the new system.
Okay fellow Combo users (Combonites?), here is what the pump support folks told me regarding the batteries -
Expect approximately 4 weeks. While this is WAY shorter than the old Aviva meter, this meter does a LOT more.
The rep mentioned that I can do other things to try and lengthen the battery life like reducing the volume/intensity of the alarms, the key sounds, the brightness of the screen, etc.
Craig, if you are getting a month and a half, you are doing well.
Marie, I am also on my 3rd pump battery, but I think the second one I put in may not have been the freshest. I got the alarm that the battery was low about two weeks after I put it in and decided I would see how long it took before I received the Epmty alarm - 2 weeks!
Not sure which ones you use, but I was told to ask for lithium batteries and not the batteries I used for my Spirit. At first I continued using them, until I aced a other order and got about a month out of those, but so far 6 weeks out of the lithium! Not changed my meter one yet but don’t use it that much (have another one too), but use lithium’s in that too. They said batteries will last shorted periods due to the amount the Bluetooth uses up.
Once I use up the supply of alkaline cells that came with the Combo I'll switch to lithiums.
Abby - do you order your batteries from Accu-Chek Supplies? I never have; I just get them at the store. I'm kind of partial to the Duracell Ultra batteries as they do seem to last a little longer but I've not used those since getting my Combo last November. Has anyone done a price/longevity comparison between alkalines and lithiums?
How often should I expect to see Communication Warning. I've been using the combo for a week and have had this about 5 times and have had to manually set the pump.
Dee,
I would think that you will see the Communication Warning anytime you have been out of range and then turn on the meter, or if you have just turned on the pump screen for any reason.
Whenever I see the bluetooth symbol flashing, I wait until it is solid before trying to test or use the Bolus Advisor. A few times when I know the communication won't work (because I used the pump directly), I have turned the meter on and off, then back on.