Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by faye on August 21, 2010 at 11:52pm

i'm currently on the omnipod and about to make the switch to a ping. while i absolutely love the tubeless freedom of the omnipod, my work's portion of the insurance coverage changed, so my portion of the payments doubled. the start-up cost for the omnipod is cheaper, but over time the costs really do add up. for a traditional pump, the monthly supplies are a LOT cheaper.

i had a few issues with the omnipod a few months ago, and i think it was due to a bad batch. pods kept erroring out for no apparent reason. the company advises not to extract the insulin from a bum pod, but i did it if the error was during priming. there were a few times where blood was backed up in the cannula so i avoided extracting that pod's insulin-- not sure if the insulin was contaminated and i would rather not take the risk.

animas is currently having a trade-in program (ends on 8/25) for pumps that are still on warranty. you trade in your current pump + $200 for a recertified ping, and your current pump's warranty carries over to the ping with a 2-year minimum. i'm still going through the process but Sarah on http://sugabetic.com went through it successfully and seems to be enjoying her new pump! you can call an animas rep and they'll do all the work for you (contacting your endo's office to get the certificate of medical necessity, verifying insurance benefits, etc). they can also send you a demo pump to play with.

the omnipod is my first pump, so i can't really comment on either the ping or a minimed pump, but the reason i wanted to make the switch to the ping was because of the remote. i like being able to stash away my pump and bolus from the remote (very much like the omnipod PDM) and not have to fumble around if i'm out at a restaurant or on the train or something. plus, it's waterproof so i don't have to worry about it. not that i go in the water a lot, but ya never know! ;)

good luck with your decision!

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Ferraro on August 22, 2010 at 9:47am

It depends on each and every person as a individual. I'm sure there are many discussion boards you can find that everyone previously talks about their pumps. I am on a hit and miss with my pod right now. I have had it 2 and a half years and have enjoyed it to this point. Right now it's a little frustrating to me cause I play soccer on a college team and I can't get the pod to stay on (due to sweat or competition or whatever) and there really isn't a good spot for me to wear it. I'm thinking I may go back to shots or back to my cozmo for the season..I don't know. I haven't quite decided. I would say trial the pod if it is something you are interested in. You need to experience it on your arm/leg/stomach wherever you think you would use it. It is a little bulky but is it something you can get used too? Good luck to you for whatever you choose!

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on August 22, 2010 at 3:38pm

I just started using the Ping in June. I originally would like to have gone tubeless, but my insurance won’t cover the Pod. I thought that they were kind of bulky and I am not sure that I would have gone that route even if my insurance would pay for them. And luckily I didn’t because after I started the Ping, I found out I am allergic to Teflon so would have had problems with the Pod.

One of the big reasons I wanted the Ping was because it is waterproof. It is easy enough to pop off but I like being able to leave it on if my BS is on the high side when I want to get my shower. I won’t have to worry if I want to do water rides at an amusement park.

I like having the food database in the remote and being able to add the foods that I eat on a regular basis.

Prior to getting the pump, I wasn’t worried about infusion sets but I really had trouble finding one that I liked and I have more choices with Animas because I can use brands other than theirs.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on August 23, 2010 at 7:59am

I have a MM Revel with CGM and it works for me. I get very good accuracy with the CGM (where others do not). While I looked into the pod when I was looking at pumps, it got eliminated very easy for me because if you don't have your PDM with you, you can't bolus manually on the pod itself. I frequently walk out of the house without a wallet, and was boud to walk out without a PDM (and to have a spare PDM would have cost over $500).

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Steinhart on August 23, 2010 at 8:28am

I love my mm722, but if i was to switch, i would go with the animas since it's waterproof, but you can still disconnect.

with the pod, if you want to do anything in the heat (hot tub, sauna, or just anything in hot weather) you can't take it off to protect the insulin from the heat, or get a pump frio wallet for it either. so even though omnipod says that "tubeless" makes life easier and more convenient, it can be a bigger hassle depending on what you want to do.

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Permalink Reply by faye on August 23, 2010 at 8:30am

agreed. i wanted to try bikram yoga and had to time it in between pod changes. not cool.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on August 23, 2010 at 11:45am

I like my Ping. The remote is very convenient, but i would not rely on it 100%. There have been a few times where it didnt deliver my bolus when it should have. Nothing too dramatic, but it pissed me off to say the least. Its great 99% of the time however. Not to start a flame war or anything, but based on the stuff I have read about minimed quality and customer service, I would go back to shots before I went with one of their products. ok, that was an exaggeration, but you get my point:)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on August 23, 2010 at 11:47am

No war - but I have never had an issue with MM quality or customer service. Some who have had There are also people who have had issues with Animas quality and customer service. It works both ways.Do you always believe everything you read? :)

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Permalink Reply by Chris on August 23, 2010 at 1:33pm

I have read more complaints about Minimed, thus flagging them in my eyes. No I dont believe everything I read, but I put two and two together and come to my own conclusions.

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Permalink Reply by onesaint on August 23, 2010 at 3:51pm

Been on MM pumps for about 8 years now. Had 1 fail once with a new one overnighted to me. Ill happily admit Medtronic has made customer service go down over there, but the product is still sound. Oh, and 1 infusion set recall with replacement. So, no complaints in my book. well ok maybe a few, but its way better than shots. =^)

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Permalink Reply by Kathy on August 23, 2010 at 8:42pm

All the pumps serve the purpose- more freedom & flexibilty than MDI. U just have to choose the features important to u. I was on MM for 5yrs. The first 2 yrs where fine, but I was 1 that experienced a huge decrease in customer service & quality of product. I switched to Animas (2020) 3 yrs ago & have had no where near the pump failures or cust service issues with them. I personally have MM on my only if it is the only alternative list due to my own experiences with the company. In all the discussions I've had over the years, there does seem to be some variation in quality of service among comps that seems to be regional related. Investigate the features, get demos, & check out your insurance then make thae decision that's right for you.

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