I’m meeting with several pump reps to determine the one
that wil suit me best. I know I’m limited because the
need for a larger reservoir. Any ideas?
Well Omnipod would be out as its 200 units on board and non refillable. The AccuCheck Spirit holds 300 I believe, but the whole deal with those is they have a 2-3 year timer in them. When it runs out the pump ceases to function. Bad idea if you plan to keep your pump for longer than expected (more than 5 yrs) but it does come with a backup, so you get 2 pumps with your initial order. The last is the Minimed 7xx (722/723) models.
Here is a link to a good review on all the current makes and models (I don’t think the MM 723 Revel is in there yet though)
http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_technology/insulin_pump_models…
You can click on each model to get info for that model
yea i had the MM 722 and it was great but the wire got on my nerves id rip it out by accident at work and stuff so i decided to go back to needles… but im in the works of getting the omnipod and it sounds great so im really excited i will let you know how it goes!
Yes the Omnipod is a great product. My only issue with it is that its not refillable. On a good run I can burn through 200u of insulin in 1.25 days…Ive done it before. If it were then I would probably have one myself.
Love my MM Revel 723 - 300U reservoir, and refillable if needed. Also I love the integrated CGM. Works well for me. There are lots of discussions about pump choices on the forum, you just have to search.
I have the Accu-chek Spirit, it holds 315 units. when it times out, they send you a new one. you don’t get charged for it. I’ve had their pumps for 20 years now and have nothing bad to say about them or their customer care. when you have a pump malfunction (very rare, but accidents happen) you just switch over to your spare pump, and they send you another one the next day. I haven’t taken a shot in 20 years. other pumps where you only have one machine, forces you to have a back up plan. search the Pumper’s Forum for “A33 error” and you can read stories of how others have dealt with a pump that’s stopped working.
there are hundreds of discussions here on which pump to choose - here’s a link for you
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topic/search?categoryId=583967%3ACategory%3A2625&q=which+pump
good luck with your decision, and let us know about it!
And I know Disetronic/AccuChecks customer service is very good, but what happens if you decide to keep the pump longer and the timers get used up? I know insurance will cover usually every 4-5 years, but what happens if you loose your job in that mean time? Its a what if, but it could happen…
And just so you know Im not trying to bash any products, I know 5 people that use the Spirit and LOVE them. When my renewal came up I did enter them into the running as well. For me it came down to out of pocket expense (copay) versus features.
I am a big fan of minimed. I have had teh 722 now for 3 years, and it has suffered some seirous abuse. I anticipate it will last 5 years no problem, however, I can also say, that after 3 years, my insurance likes ot get a new one. I intend to keep this oen going as long as I can just so I can have a spare.
here’s my experience with Accu-chek. My insurance completely covered my Disetronic HTron I got back in 1990. I had this system until 2007 when Disetronic became Accu-chek. during that time, I had several pumps time-out, and I just sent the old one back, switched to my spare, and in a day or two got a new one. They did not charge me for this. Then in 2007, they discontinued the HTron, and I got the new Spirit. again my insurance covered it 100%, and the trainer came to my house to teach me how to use it. In May 2009, I had a problem with the buttons sticking. I learned from our Spirit Group here at TuDiabetes that they were going to issue a recall about it - I switched to my backup pump, and they sent me a brand new Spirit. I just checked and right now it is going to time out in 1761 days, which is more than 4 years, and I’ve been using it every day since May 2009.
I can only speak to MM but so far I have had no problems and a great pumping experience.
Okay before I say anything I have a MM 722 as does my sis and now my neice has the peds model revel we all love it especially with the all in one cgm/ pump but you don’t have to have the cgm to use the pump it is a feature you can turn on and off. it holds 300 u and is the mot durable thing I have no seriously I have broken more cell phones and mp3 players and heck even coffee pots then my pump. I work for 24 hrs at a time and am a medic/firefighter so you can imagine what that can do to a pump. plus it is fairly easy to hide for nice occasions.
now so far all have mentioned the accu check spirit, Mini med, and omni pod but there is another option it is the animas ping I personally don’t know to much except it is compable to MM minus the CGM all in one feature. they have similar infusion sets and I am not sure about how many units it holds hmmm but I just wanted you to look at all your options.
This is also a good topic for me since I am switching from shots to pumping very soon. Too many choices. Omni or which pump? So keep the opinions coming! Thanks.
=)
There are user forums and reviews on every model available. My link I gave on my first post at the top has some great insight to each model offered, the pro’s and the con’s of each. Check it out, as the info is spot on. It may help round down the choices to a select couple.
and is the most durable thing I have no seriously I have broken more cell phones and mp3 players and heck even coffee pots then my pump.
…and bones Murphy!!! lol
(sorry inside joke/knowledge people…Its not supposed to make sense.)
I have the Accu-Chec Spirit, and they tell me I have to change every 5 years, it does have a timer, but for something like 5.5/6 years, mainly so people don’t carry on with them even if they are slightly faulty as time goes on.
yeah def more bones ha ha ha lol
Like you, I needed a lot of insulin at first so Medtronic had me convinced I had to use their pump so I’d have the larger reservoir. I didn’t understand how a pump worked at first so I didn’t think I had a choice. Luckily, I got it figured out by asking questions during demos and found out all I had to do was change my reservoir more often if I wanted an Animas. I like both pumps but didn’t like Medtronic trying to tell me I could not use Animas due to insulin volume. That is not why I ended up choosing Animas but you need to be aware you can have what you want. Your doctor just has to write your script for the correct reservoir changes. I just had a year on my Animas and my insulin use is down so much on a pump that it is now a moot point. The pump will probably bring your dose way down over time. Get demos of all the pumps and call for a demo Omni Pod too. Look at everything and decide what works for you. It’s a 5-6 yr usage depending on insurance so take the time you need to ask questions and see what they offer. I adore my Animas Ping and it is right for me.
When I had the ping, I didnt change reservoir…I refilled and reused. But, then again, on a good day I used to could burn through 150U in a single day. So a 180U reservoir was at least a single or double refill per site change every 3-4 days. Now I average 90U a day, so much better since I started eating better and all that…