I am looking for a new pump and will be making a choice within a year. Right now, I don't have any idea which to choose but I do know it will be based on my personal needs.
If you could choose the best pump either now or within a year which one would it be and why? I am really in the dark about which pumps have which features although I have sent for a couple of demo kits. I think that it would be very valuable information to me to hear from actual pump users....thx
I just recently started using the Animas Ping. Although I like the idea of not having tubes, the tubes really don’t bother me. My insurance company won’t pay for the pod, so that kind of made that decision easy! I really don’t like the size of the current pods so even if my insurance would pay, I don’t think I would have picked the pod.
There are two big things I really like about the Ping. The first is that it is waterproof. Most mornings, I pop it off when I get in the shower but there are some mornings my BS is running higher and I leave it on. I like having the option. I don’t have to worry if I get caught out in a bad rain storm of if I want to ride water rides at an amusement park.
The other thing is the food database on the remote. You can customize it to have foods you want and if something is not in the database, you can add it. It is nice to hit the foods that you are eating and have it do all the calculations - not that other pumps don’t calculate from the total carbs you enter. The remote makes it nice if you want to get dressed up to go out to dinner and you don’t have to worry about pulling the pump out from someplace under your clothes to bolus.
One thing that I didn’t consider before starting to use the pump, but I have had a lot of trouble finding the right infusion set. It is nice that I am able to use sets made by other companies than Animas.
A bad thing about the Animas if you use a lot of insulin is that the cartridges only hold 200 units. I don’t have a problem with that but I know other people have complained about that.
i dont know i had the MM 522 and it was good but i hated the tubing! im about to get the omnipod so i will know how that works… i will keep you posted if you’d like…
Thanks and please do…any information would be very helpful.
My Endo’s office only supports MM so I got a MM722 and am quite happy with it. It makes life a lot easier.
I also have the ping for the same reason Kelly is saying . But for me you get more for the money .My endo also likes the MM but I prefer the ping its more Durable for my sports and active life. Being in the honeymoon stage the food database helps a lot.
I’ve been on the Accu Chek Combo (Roche) and really recommend it! It’s also waterproof though they don’t make such a fuss of this feature as maybe they should?
It lets you wear it under your clothes and choose for yourself if you advertise you’re a pumper, cos you just operate it via the handset which also functions as a blood glucose device, diary, data manager, bolus calculator etc etc. It’s so easy to use and has changed my life. The service from the company is first class too, which is very important, as you’ll find out once you start!!
I’d be happy to help if you have any questions, Good luck!!
I use the MM Revel 723 with the integrated CGM. I like it and it works very well for me. It is easy peasy, lemon squeezy. The CGM works well for me, even though some people don’t have much luck with it at all. The Dex was off the table for me because I use Tylenol at least once a week and the MM is not affected by the Tylenol whereas the Dex is.
My endo recommended the Animas for all the reasons already mentioned. I was torn between the Animas and the Omnipod. I like the idea of a tubeless system, but with a traditional pump like the Animas, the ability to just disconnect every once in a while and not have to lose an entire pod plus insulin was very appealing as well. Since my insurance only covers 80% of durable goods, I went with the Omnipod. Although if will cost more down the road, it’s up front costs are much lower than the Animas. The up front costs for the Animas make it almost unobtainable for me until next year.
There are a lot of develoments down the pipe in the next couple of years for pumps in general. Tubeless seems to be a big trend. Omnipod will be going to a smaller pod soon enough. As other companies come on board and work through their own bugs, it will nice to already be there and be ready to take advantage of any new developments whether they come from Omnipod or other companies.
I did look at the Omni pod when I first was deciding on a pump and liked the tubeless factor, but didn’t like that you couldn’t bolus manually on the pod if you left your PDM at home or there was a problem with your PDM. I walk out of the house frequently without my wallet, so leaving the PDM behind was going to happen, and then I wouldn’t be able to bolus, nor retreive insulin to bolus with (as with using a syringe to get "emergency insulin out of a cartridge). The PDM’s are too expensive to have a spare lying around.
Iam about the get the accu check combo tommorow.Will let you know what I think.
All of this is completely new to me. So please be patient. and I hope I’m not butting in here.
Doy you use a port for the pump? How many thingys are there? One, two, three? I had a port in during my quad bypass surgery. It had three thingys. One for pain meds, one for antibiotics and one for blood products is necessary, It’s the only thing I can relate to.
Do you wear it and it pumps insulin 24/7? Is it easily cared for to avoid infections? Is flushing it problematic? I’d really appreciate an input. Thank you. Thom
Not the port you are thinking of. What you are thinking of is a central line. It is placed within a vein.
An insulin pump is a device to infuse insulin 24/7. It gets infused into the subcutaneous tissue or the fatty tissue where you would normally inject your insulin. It gets infused through an infusion set or cannula that the pumper changes yourself every two to three days.
There is no flushing like with a venous catheter. Infection can mostly be avoided by good insertion technique. If there is an infection it is usually localized to the soft tissue of the insertion site unlike with a central line where the infection goes right into the blood stream. if there is an infection it usually responds to antibiotic ointment or oral antibiotics.
Thomas what you are talking about is completely different than an insulin pump. Your catheter was a temporary IV access used after surgery, chemotherapy etc.
Insulin pumps deliver insulin subcutaneously through a catheter the same size as an insulin syringe. There is a constant infusion that maintains blood sugar between meals and over night and you push buttons to tell the pump to deliver a “bolus” which is insulin for food or high blood sugar. As it’s connected all the time you don’t have to flush the line like you would an IV line. You change the sets yourself every 3 days. And it’s a single infusion catheter there are not multiple lines. You’re not mixing insulins in pumping it’s all done with one insulin (usually a rapid one like Humalog or Novolog) so you only need the one line.
As far as preventing infections goes it’s not as rigorous as the IV ports are but still not a bad idea to be careful. Before changing your set you clean the skin with a prep wipe. I also think it’s important to wash your hands. The reservoirs and sets are sterile when you open them.
Hope that helps.
Diana
Everybody seems to have a different idea about what the best pump is for them. At their root they all do the same thing but each company has somewhat different methods of calculating bolus dosages and features. What is important to one will be trivial to someone else.
I’ve been on the pump for 8 years. Right now I’m using Animas Ping and I love it pretty much for the same reasons listed above by Kelly and DMurray. Prior to this I used Minimed. That was a good pump too but I was having too many skin problems with the CGMS and I did not find Minimed’s remote to be helpful at all so started looking elsewhere. I’ve wanted something like the Ping for about 8 years now. It’s truly awesome.
If you’re thinking about Omnipod make sure you get a demo pod and try out the adhesive. I had a horrible reaction to it so there’s no way I could use the Omnipod. It’s also bigger on the body. I’m sure this is something I’d get used or would learn better areas for placement but my two samples also didn’t go well in terms of I kept banging it into doorways with a pod on my arm and it was uncomfortable to sleep on. On my tummy/side I kept smacking into it with a barbell during weight training. That situation has never come up with traditional tubed pumping for me in that if the pump gets in the way I just move it no biggie. And the infusion sets are small so I don’t even feel it when I lay on them or if I smack into it with a weight or a door jam.
Good luck with your decision. I would suggest you get packets from your endo about the pumps you’re thinking about. Also ask to meet with the reps and get your hands on them. I also researched stuff to death on the internet. I love places like tudiabetes here as people are really helpful sharing their real life experiences.
Diana
I’m one month into the OmniPod now, which is totally new for me after being T1 Diabetic for 15 years now. My friend swears by it and it helps with my active (and stressful :)) lifestyle. I’ve been on the fence about the pump/pod in general and so I’m open to how this is going. We are still adjusting. It’s easy to figure out and I enjoy the freedom of not having 7 shots a day. I hear it will have GCM and will be smaller at some point. My introduction/training hasn’t been great so thanks to TuDiabetes I’m able to get the tips and knowledge I need. It’s been good for me so far and I enjoy the smallness and simplicity.
do you use the accu chek spirit
did you use your pump on the first day of training
I decided to go with the Animas ping after debating between it and the minimed. I like my choice but I’ve found that the rubber on the up and down buttons of this pump wear out very quick. The minimed has a harder plastic over the buttons that i think is more durable. The rubber around mine broke 2 days ago (after 1.5 years of use) and animas sent me a new one. minimed also hold more insulin. The tubing isnt fun but it’s not that bad either. I tried a sample/demo omnipod on my arm and it ripped off within an hour when I got too close to the wall while walking up the stairs. I’m NOT a far of omnipod. The outer case is just to bulky for my tastes and buldges out. At least the tube pumps just look like cellphones. My pump gets mistaken for a cell at least twice a day. Good luck and happy pumping!
I had t1 for 15 years too before getting on the pump. Old habits are hard to break, heheh.