Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike S. on February 3, 2012 at 4:29pm

Sorry.........I don't have $3000US

Permalink Reply by Kate's Mom on February 3, 2012 at 4:34pm

Medtronic does have a payment plan for $50 per month.

Permalink Reply by Tom Goffe on February 22, 2012 at 5:30am

Neither do I. Being a veteran who relies on medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs - and very thankful for it - they won't cover it for years until the concept has been proven, until after Medicare reimburses for it AND a cost/benefit study has been favorably determined.

I can't help but wonder/hope if after Minimed has recovered the development costs that the price won't drop, i.e.: I-Phones.

Permalink Reply by Kate's Mom on February 22, 2012 at 7:32am

I had that discussion with my Medtronic rep (I even used the same example as you did)....will take a long time to cover the costs as the potential pool of users is very small. I am filing an insurance claim and plan to fight to the end. I made the commitment to buy this so I don't expect reimbursement, but I hope that by fighting for it to be covered now will make it easier for others. And, to be clear, the $2400 cost isn't easy for us, but there is nothing in the world I want more (other than a cure for T1) so we've made this purchase our priority...very hard to do in this economy with food and gas prices so high.

Good luck to you, Tom. If I find out about any way to get this wonderful tool for a better price I will let you know.

Permalink Reply by Tom Goffe on February 24, 2012 at 7:37am

Thanks! I can totally understand your commitment. I'll never thought Medtronic for their R&D investment - on the order of $100,000,000 annually. Geven that the JDRF estimates there are 400,000 pumpers in the US, that is a chunk of change.That works out to $250 per pumper per year.

I'm like you - I think I'll start saving up for it. It might mean many things are done without but if it helps me to be healthier then it is worth every dime.

Permalink Reply by Kate's Mom on February 24, 2012 at 7:54am

And we are seeing better nights (and thus mornings for my daughter). And the more people who are willing to fight for it now, will greatly benefit others.

Have a great weekend!

Permalink Reply by Kate's Mom on February 3, 2012 at 4:33pm

Got one for my daughter on Jan. 13...love it. Not without some issues...remember that you must clear alerts from your pump or the mySentry will keep alerting you. Also, on site change days the CGM sometimes has trouble catching up. My daughter has gone low, we treated the low and she's gotten back to normal and it has taken hours for the CGM/mySentry to stop alerting. Read more at http://kcandcompany.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/oh-mysentry/

I'll post more after the first month is over. Good luck and sleep well!

Permalink Reply by Jenn Caouette LeBlanc on February 4, 2012 at 9:00am

I have one for the same reason. What an amazing peice of technology!

Permalink Reply by Mark on July 27, 2012 at 10:11am

Is it just me or is this sort of the biggest P.O.S. ever marketed? There are so many features that a really lacking that makes it not quite ready for prime-time. We just hooked up the CGM and MySentry this week. CGM works great; not so with the MySentry.

Range. It works if the pump/cgm is within a 6' cell. Since the outlet is located on a wall, means it's a 6' diameter semi-circle or approximately 16 sq ft., which barely covers most of the bed When it was marketed to us the rep said it would work through out the house. Technically, I can see where the statement is true; just a bit misleading and not quite expected.

Light-dimming -- There is no means to turn off the light on the Outpost. Teenagers don't like night lights, and, thus throw towels over the device, further shortening the diameter of the cell. It would be really nice to be able optionally turn this light off, or, maybe replace it with a tiny green LED.

Ditto for the MySentry dashboard, itself. It's a pretty brightly lit, even dimmed all the way to minimum, on my nightstand. A really handy feature would be to allow the display to time-out/go black and then wake up if you push a button or to wake up when an alarm goes off.

The out-of-range alarm is really annoying, too. With the limited range, this goes off frequently. It would be nice to be able to customize as to which alarms to respond to.

Overall, I am not pleased, especially given the cost of this device. I am really strongly considering calling Minimed to ask for a refund on this device.

Permalink Reply by Kate's Mom on July 27, 2012 at 11:25am

yes, it has quirks. My pet peeve is that the Outpost should be on a bedside table but has no cord (thank you extension cord for solving that problem!) I am able to read my daughter on the dashboard throughout most of our house (3 stories--if she's in the family room/kitchen then she's under her bedroom where the outpost is; if she's in the playroom or driveway then the dashboard next to my bed picks her up.) Rarely do we experience a failure to find pump when she is actually in the house.

Yes the light is too bright on the dashboard--I put a piece of cardstock in front of it.

Could the design/engineering team have used more input from the end consumer? Definitely, But to call it a POS is not accurate...in the 7 months since we have been using it, it has prevented devastating lows and allowed us to aggressively treat stubborn highs. Thus, saving at the least my daughter's health, and perhaps even her life. Would I rather wait for the perfect machine? No, thanks. Much like the Revel cgm has it's problems and the Enlite is a much improved version, I'm sure later versions of the mySentry will address our concerns. Fortunately, some people are early adapters to technology and are willing to live with the kinks and find ways around them. Other people are better off waiting for later versions. It is a personal choice.