I went and saw my endocrinologist today, and he asked me if I would switch pumps in January. I have used a minimed since January of 2000, and he said t:slim came to him and gave him all the info about. He said minimed hasn’t come by for a long time. Now if you have used minimed for so long, would you switch?
I think that’s a lame reason to switch. Switch because you like the t slim.
It’s your pump and should be completely your decision. Who cares what company comes to visit your doctor—all they’re doing is marketing, anyway.
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That I know. My real question should be… do you think the t:slim is worth switching to?
If you finance your pump like most in the US, you will have to live with the choice you make for at least 4 years. See if you can get a trial or at least a 30-day return option, for any reason.
I wouldn’t weigh heavily any doctor’s opinion unless s/he wears one of these devices for a few years. I’m very interested in access to data, especially if it’s not held captive in a proprietary pen. I’m a data nerd, that may not be your interest.
Why does your doctor want you to switch exactly? I have a tslim which I like quite a lot. It has very small dose capacity which is good for me. The alarms aren’t loud enough to wake me and it beeps a bit too much but I set the after bolus alarms. The only thing I would like is for it to shut off when bg goes to 50 but it would need to be connected to dexcom for that and dexcom isn’t always accurate for me. I asked if I could try it out but Tandem said they don’t do that. They have a good helpline available 24 hrs a day.
Companies come by and “detail” doctors all the time. If the doctor is receptive to these overtures the companies will spend significant effort and dollars trying to get the doctor to preferentially prescribe their products. The fact that Tandem came by to visit your doctor and Medtronic didn’t should be irrelevant to your decision. This is your decision, it shouldn’t be affect by whether one company bought the support of your health care provider. I know it seems harsh, but this is your decision.
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Using an insurance payment, that is. Sorry I was not clearer.
Acually, I keep typing before fully thinking. I am so used to minimed, it is just getting a new pump, any brand, I know because of my insurance, I will get the same minimed (723) because my insurance doesn’t cover cgm. I know is my decision, and I can pick up on anything, I do research and found I like the t:slim in many ways, but there are others, that I don’t like so much. So my question I should have asked which do you think is better, and why? Just so I can get another’s viewpoint on insulin pumps, except my doctors.
One of the reasons is that minimed is actually medtronic, and they have changed it a lot. you call for assistance, I have been on hold for 10 minutes, the medtronic company really is not so worried about minimed. more focused on a lot of their other items. (more expensive and used by more people)
Personally, I would never get a pump without seeing it in person first. I’d call each company and ask if someone can come out and show you the pump you’re interested in, and ask about the features that interest you, and then decide from there. Everyone is so individual that one person could say the t:slim is awesome and someone else could say the t:slim sucks, since we each look for different features in pumps.
That’s too bad, I’m not sure why they would choose to support one device over another. I would definitely want good support / phone help.
T Slim has a micro delivery system so it’s harder, maybe impossible to overdose yourself with it, for that reason it may take longer to bolus than other pumps. This is my first pump and my only experience with them. Another draw back of the micro delivery system is that the insulin reservoir is a plastic bag of some sort and the insulin can degrade more quickly in that so it’s recommended to change the cartridge every 3 days. So far I haven’t had a problem but the other day I was high for over 12 hours maybe, I couldn’t get myself below 140’s and bg kept going to 200’s when I ate.
I pulled out the inset and moved it to a new site, then the whole inset and the whole cartridge eventually, it still took 3 hours or so to normalize, but I’m wondering if the summer heat and not changing the cartridge and insulin had anything to do with it.
I also had an occlusion alert at some point when I bolused, I’ve just switched to metal needle inset/contact detach. Since then I’ve only had two occlusion alerts which I think were caused by the tubing.
Anway, I plan to change the cartridge every 3 days now. It’s hard with the metal insets to get everything changed at the same time because they’re supposed to be changed every 2 days.
I looked at the t slim and tried doing boluses etc. when I met with my cde before purchasing it but I was told they don’t do trials before buying it. Just make sure you have an extended return policy if you end up getting it and you don’t like it.
My two cents worth: It’s your decision so research. That being said I don’t agree with the other posters who say that it doesn’t make a difference if the reps stop by your physician’s office or not. I think it SHOWS quite a bit about the company’s values. We can’t just go out and buys these pumps on our own. Our Endo. is a HUGE piece of our diabetes management. I’ve been happy with my Medtronic pump, but the fact that it is extremely hard to get ahold of my medtronic rep is irritating and I’m considering switching when my warranty is up. At our pump support group we had the reps of all major brands come and set up tables and we could walk around the view their products. It spoke volumes to me that T:Slim and Dexcom are one-pony product companies. Their devices is ALL their company does! They have a lot at stake. They are passionate about their products and that’s all they do. The medtronic guy was just kind of standing around, oh and he was happy to tell me that Medtronic also makes pace makers, etc. LIKE I CARE!!! Sure T:Slim is shiny and new, but I love that it is watertight and small. Why can’t medtronic understand these are things people like?! Why arey they still making bulky products??? Why can’t they make a better sensor? All that to stay I AM happy with my Medtronic pump, but there are some serious issues that are considering me to branch out when it is time and consider other brands. Don’t discount what your doctor says. Talk to him. Physicians, for the most part, are smart, educated and have reasons for their advice. Maybe spend a little more time asking him exactly WHY he wants you to switch.
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My doctor didn’t push me to one brand or the other. He had all major brands there in the CDE’s office and I was allowed to wear each one for 3 days with saline. As far as the medtronic rep not being available. Mine calls me every two weeks or so and it’s really easy to get the help line on the phone. I called a lot because I have to take blood thinners for a clot in my heart, and I have had occlusion in the infusion set from blood. They have replaced every sensor that didn’t last six days, and every infusion set that I’ve had a problem with. They even sent me an entire box of enlite sensors perfectly free. So I really don’t have any grips with them.
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Thank you all, I have decided to stick with minimed. thank you for your answers, and I have pumped for 15 years, (with minimed) never had a problem, I just was curious about which one others like. I didn’t want to switch without some comments. Oh and I decided not to go for the t-slim, because it doesn’t talk to the meter. I don’t want to punch in the number manually. (don’t I sound Lazy???)
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When I went on the pump my doctor prescribed the pump but had nothing to do with the product I chose. He recommended Medtronic but admitted that was only becasue that’s the only pump he knew about. I ended up contacting each pump company myself and looking at the products and then deciding which one I wanted. And, although it’s the reps that showed me the products, once I got my pump or CGM I have pretty much no contact with the reps. If I have a problem I contact customer service or technical support.
When I started pumping in January 2000, Minimed was about it. The month before it was the 507c, I got the 508. I can still picture it, and how different it and the infusion set was.
I have never had a problem with the contact number, but you usually get put on hold for a few minutes. But you still get through.