What 1st Pump to choose?
I am an insulin dependent type 2 diabetic that reacts more like a type 1 diabetic. I am going to try the pump but I get concerned when I read about peoples problems. I am a 56 year old Canadian male with a active construction job that has a various activity level day to day. I am not overweight and do not have any weight control problems.
I would like to hear you recommendations on pumps and reliabilities.
Dan
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cody Turner on -
Alot of it depends on how much fat you have and what areas you want to use it on. The more fat the longer the infusion set. I would as you rep what she would recommend for your body type.
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Permalink Reply by Closet-betic on -
As a termite inspector in California my job requires me to "snake" in and out of tight spots under houses and attics, as you know not all crawl spaces are alike.
I decided to go with MM. I have had it know for the last 6 months and like you I really didn't think it would work with my job, truth be told I was really thinking of different employment within my field. Well days turn to weeks and now months. I have to say its the best decision I have ever made going on the pump and has not slowed me down at all.
I bought a sleave from the MM site for added protection, best 10 bucks I spent and with the adhesive on the infusion set has not failed me once. My only problem is when I get out of an attic I need to be a little bit careful cause if I use my body and slide out, then I rip out the site, and it's only happened once.
I hope this helps
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Permalink Reply by Timothy on -
each company lets u try a loaner. I suggest that because they are different and cost so much.
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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on -
I have the Minimed Revel and love it. It comes in 2 different sizes, so you can pick the reservoir that fits your needs (I use the 1.8 ml which holds 180 units of insulin; there is also one that holds 300 units). The Ping only comes in one size, which holds 200 units of insulin.
Overall, the Minimed has exceeded my expectations. I've had my Revel for a year now and it has worked flawlessly. I've gone hiking, camping, backpacking, distance running, cycling, etc -- and this baby has just kept on ticking!! I do put a small screen protector over the screen and I use skins available from SkinIt.com to keep it somewhat scratch-free. Despite all this activity, I have learned how to stash it inside a spibelt and tuck the tubing in my pants to keep it out of the way. Never ripped out a site or damaged my pump.
With pumps, you have to be a little creative. Thankfully, they are pretty small now, but you have to find creative ways sometimes to hide it. I know some people will cut very small holes in their pockets and then run the tubing through the hold and keep the pump in their pocket. This keeps the tubing AND the pump out of the way. Some people completely rely on Spibelts. You have to experiment and find what works right for you.
I would highly recommend getting one. If you're active and have any kind of variable schedule, a pump is really going to help.
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Permalink Reply by LadyD on -
I'd never thought about screen protectors. Do you just use the ones created for cell phones and cut to the size of the pump screen?
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Permalink Reply by Zoe on -
No, one usually comes with the pump and then you can order replacements.
I'm not sure if you meant lens film covers or the "skins". For my Ping, a free skin was offered when I bought it but I had to order it. I ended up not liking the skin - it's very thick and makes the pump bulkier. I believe the medtronic skins are thinnner covers.
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Permalink Reply by LadyD on
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Thanks Zoe. I meant the lens film covers. I have the skin, one of the first things I got to make sure my pump stays pretty like me LOL. I have a minimed/medtronic revel and don't recall getting a lens cover. I'll go back through my things, if not I'll be at the endo tomorrow I'll ask there and then call my medtronic rep if they can't help.
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Permalink Reply by smileandnod on -
Hi Danboy, I use OmniPod and absolutely love it. I agree with those who say that it's a very personal decision and that you should try each one out. I was on MDI for 25 years so was very slow to move to a pump because I found the tubed pumps intimidating and complicated.
My experience with OmniPod has been that it is so super easy to use. There is no insertion set to deal with like there is with tubed pumps. You stick the pod on and press a button...and it's automatically inserted. I've had no pain and no bruising. I honestly forget where I have it placed. I love having the benefits of variable basal rates and the other benefits of a tubed pump without having tubing to tangle with in my clothes or while sleeping.
People often say that there is a big learning curve with pumps but I have not found that to be the case with my OmniPod. Maybe it's because I was on MDI and carb counting for so long that I didn't have to learn that part of it at the same time. As far as the operational aspect of the OmniPod, it's easier to use than my cellphone, that's for sure.
With respect to the earlier comment about BG going through the roof after pod changes, I have not had that experience as a pod user. My experience thus far has been one of ease of use with no pod problems. I have read similar posts about high bg levels after insertion site changes on tubed pumps as well so I think this is one of those your experience may vary kind of things.
Ultimately, you have to decide which one you feel most comfortable with but definitely try them out. The flexibility in making changes to basal rates is worth it.
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Permalink Reply by Danboy on -
I am concerned about reliability and costs but I am leaning towards the Omnipod. I have reps coming in May from Animas and Omni.
Dan
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Permalink Reply by Scott Wilkins on -
I'm a 40 year MDI Type 1 Diabetic. Getting serious about pumps this year (yes, finally...) I'm leaning toward the Omnipod, but barely. I wore a demo unit for one weekend, and that was not too great an experience. After about 24 hours, the unit had completely fallen off my skin due to my clumsy ways. I was wearing it on the back of my arm, which seemed like a good place but turned out not to be. It soon became part of me, and I forgot it was there. Then the trouble started. First whacked on a door frame, followed by a number of other obsticals. It finally tore off, leaving the sticky pad on my skin but no pump from this repeated abuse. That slowed my consideration of a pump quite a bit, but I'm back into research on them and still prefer the Omnipod format to other pumps. Going to try a demo unit again, but in a different body location. Hopefully with better results this time.
I also found this pump: http://www.solo4you.com/ Any one heard of it? It has one single option that the Omnipod doesn't have that interests me. You can bolus from the pod itself, without the remote device. If Omnipod were to get that, I'd be 100% for Omnipod. Though the Solo is not water proof, and seems a bit more work to use. I hear that the Omnipod will be release in a new design this Summer, so I'm hoping to see at least this improvement added. The only news I heard on the new Omnipod is that it's supposed to be smaller in size, but with the same size reservoir or bigger. Here's a pic I found of the new Omnipod.
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Permalink Reply by smileandnod on
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The Solo system is appealing to me (as an OmmniPod user) because of the ability to just snap the pump out of the cradle. Thats why there's no need for it to be waterproof because you just snap it out and snap it back in.
Being able to bolus from the pod itself wouldn't really appeal to me because I'd have to be a contortionist to be able to see to do that with many placement options.
According to the website, it's "FDA-cleared" but not available for sale yet. I wonder how long before it will come out.
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Permalink Reply by FHS on -
Yeah, the Solo looks spiffy. I especially like the sleeker PDM. What I don't like is that it isn't waterproof, which is a huge plus for the Pod.
The biggy though, until they actually put it on the market, it's vaporware. If/when it comes to market, it'll be interesting if/how Insulet responds. I think they already have a leg-up with the newer, smaller, pods that should be out by the end of the year. Insulet also has a CGM integration in the pipeline.
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