decisions, decisions

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stephknits

stephknits

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I have just been on a pump interest session where you find out about pumps, meet a pump user and then go round all the manufacturers that the hospital team and CCG support in my area. I really didn't realise there would be choice, I presumed the CCG would fund a particular pump for your area. I have a choice of 5 pumps and wondered if anyone had any feedback pros/cons for any of them.
They are:
Medtronic minimed 640g (impressed with the linked CGM system - but would I really self-fund)
mylife OmniPod (excited by the lack of tubing)
Roche Accu-Chek Combo or Insight (currently use an expert meter)
Animas Vibe (not sure it gives me anything one of the others doesn't)

I will have a look through the forum on previous threads too.
Many thanks in advance 🙂
 
I have only tried the one, and we had no choice for our first pump. I was on an Aviva Expert and then given a Combo. It was very easy to transfer over as the facilities for the bolus adviser were the same. I then only had to get used to the different types of Bolus delivery, the cannulas and set changes.

There will be others that have their favourites as well.
 
There are so many complaints about the Insight I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. I have the Vibe and it does all that is needed and would hate to be without it.
 
I am glad that you are asking this Steph as I need to make a decision in the next year, so I shall watch with interest the responses you get.
 
I didn't get any choice. Ive got a Roche accu check combo which is great - I wouldn't want to be without it. There was a choice of ways of inserting the cannula. After trying the various methods, in my group we all chose different ones. I use a Rapid D Link, which I find easy to insert - it's not much different to injecting.
 
Having first had a Roche Combo - and now an Insight - I have not had any mega probs with it so far, almost a year later. There are a number of things it does and can do that others might not, I wouldn't know - and actually to my simplistic mind it might just be trying to be too ruddy clever for its own good. It's a lot daintier than the Combo - but the insight clip to attach it to waistbands etc is crap (totally different from the Cobo hard plastic clip which worked fine but is ENORMOUS, bright blue, juts out half a mile from wherever you've clipped it to, and is singularly unattractive. However they do latex 'skins' for the Combo, which have a lovely flat secure clip on their backs. The Combo is totally bullet-proof and can also be concealed in the inner recesses of eg underwear (well endowed women can wear them inside a bra cup!) (I can't LOL) since both the pumps meter/ dose calculator communicates with El Pumpo almost wherever you've stashed it, to deliver your dose ! You don't need to touch the pump itself to bolus or correct - all done from the remote via Bluetooth. The Insight one does the same - but it's slower! The Combo is actually damn good as a first pump. It does more than enough for most things and people and stands up well to dropping and clunking - it's robust. But other than the insight, you have to fill ALL the pumps reservoirs yourself - like filling an oversized syringe - and I've always LOATHED having to do that one thing!

Neither is waterproof. Only the Animas Vibe is that. But none of the others have a remote as far as I know? And the bolus wizard is on the pump, so you have to test your blood, remember what it is, enter that on the pump together with the other info, carbs, health adjustments, exercise - for it to calculate the bolus or correction, and deliver it.

I think the Omnipod actually does have a remote - but it isn't 'just' a cannula - the pod with the insulin in it is a cannula - so if you hit a wrong spot with it - a blood vessel or a lousy absorption site for instance - you have to sling the lot, insulin and all, and the pod sticks out from you a way instead of being almost flat against your skin.

I'm interested to see what others say about other makes and other comments about the Roches of course - because what I like or hate, will be different for other people!

I think there's a Medisense one - the all singing all dancing one that you can pair with a Dexcom, dunno what the model is - that might have a remote, but not sure.
 
Thanks all, I really appreciate the time you have taken, so interesting getting people's take on the different pumps. I am wearing a trial OmniPod to see how it feels, will try to add a photo later, am currently on train to London. You send back your used OmniPods and they recycle then, which I quite like. As far as I understood it, the omniPod, and the Medtronic both work remotely, but use radio waves instead of Bluetooth. I guess this would have an advantage on aeroplane? Not that I do a lot of international travel... The Medtronic and Vibe both link with CGMs but not yet funded by NHS. Hummmm, food for thought.
 
I've used the Medtronic 640g for nearly a year now and it is a great pump. Easy to navigate menus, clear to see screen with colour icons, lots of choice in cannulas. It does have a very basic remote function on the Contour usb 2.4 glucose meter that allows you to deliver a pre set bolus but in order to use the Wizard calculator to input carbs etc you need to put the info into the pump.
I've used cgm with my Medtronic pump for 5 years now and haven't had any issues accuracy wise. I usually manage to extend the sensor length from 6 to 12 days without any drop in accuracy so that reduces the sensor cost by 50%. I know the Dexcom cgm users get longer use from their sensors so Medtronic cgm would be more expensive to fund. My last transmitter lasted for 3.5 years.

The customer service is great with Medtronic as are the reps plus I've not had any issues with deliveries of all the stuff you need to keep a pump running.

What a lot of choices to be offered Steph, I wasn't given a choice but I'm exceedingly happy with the 640g. Good luck 🙂
 
Oh, right, Hobie - didn't know you'd had any others? Which ones have you tried then?
 
I apologise for the hideous stomach and scar, but I thought you might like to see the OmniPod. 😱


1461099077842.jpg
 
We love the Combo, I'd highly recommend it but you'll be lucky to get one of those now, we can't get another :(
Am a little put off by all the problems I've read about with the Insight (our consultant doesn't recommend it either!) and are probably going for the Medtronic next. Will miss having full remote control, but I guess we'll get used to it! Won't be using it with sensors though :( , I would love to have tried that but daughter decided she'd rather have a Libre!
Have always had good support from Roche, and I'm not bothered much about all the refilling malarkey; all the other pumps seem to have such small cartridges though, Combo has 315 units which just about lasts us 5-6 days; all the others seem to have less than 200 so we'll be refilling at every cannula change, which might become slightly more irritating. Although I've read that the Medtronic is available with 300 unit cartridge as well, am going to investigate this! Have heard that Medtronic support is also excellent so that's a good thing.
 
Great that you're able to trial some pumps before choosing! The INPUT website has some good info about the different pumps. Any pump will be better than injections!

My son has the Medtronic, which we're happy with. One thing to consider is the insulin reservoir size - I believe the Omnipod and the Vibe have smaller reservoirs which may not contain enough insulin for some people's needs to last a full 3 days. The Insight has had so many problems that several hospitals (paed diabetes) are not offering it until Roche sorts out the issues - the Combo was very well regarded though.

You may fear that you'll hate being "attached" to something, and reject the tubed pumps for that reason, but the vast majority of pumpers find after a day or two that this is not an issue at all, so don't be put off a tubed pump 🙂
 
Yes I had that same thought about reservoir sizes too. Just worth checking your TDD (basal and bolus) multiplying by three and then imagining that you are on holiday/Christmas and add a bit on to see whether or not 200u/300u capacity is more suitable for you.

Another thing to bear in mind about Omnipod, is that they have been shown to be a little less precise than tubed pumps. May not make a difference to you, but it might be worth bearing in mind (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23911184). I know tubes are a real dealbreaker for some people, and others *love* Omnipod for other reasons, but personally I have always preferred the freedom to site my infusion set wherever I like. A tubed set sits so close to the skin you can have it on abdomen, sides, back, thighs etc etc in places where a pod might be uncomfortable to sit/lie on.

Incidentally, the MM640G is also now rated waterproof to IPX8 (25 feet for 60 minutes or 12 feet for 24 hours) the same as the Vibe.

Using sensors full time on the MM640G was absolutely revolutionary for me (http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2015/09/64-days-with-minimed-640g-ep-9-review.html), but self-funding is likely to set you back at least £1,800-2,000 a year - and that's IF you can get most of the sensors to run twice their official lifespan.

Good luck with your choice! There isn't a 'wrong' one - I'm sure you'll love (and only occasionally loathe) whichever you pick. Just go with youe gut instinct 🙂
 
I had trouble with the Insight meter, I only charged it when it got really low whereas the battery isn't designed to do that - it's the opposite of how rechargeable batts used to be - you HAVE to keep it topped up even though you've only used it one day. That really is a bit of a PITA. And the slowness of it doing its calculations - even just a blood test. Been 35 years since I had a meter this slow.

But there again if I had another make I'd have to test and remember the result whilst I unearthed the pump, went to that screen, put the answer in, then the carbs or health or exercise adjustments before I could even press the button to tell it to calculate. So it's probably no slower than having to do that. I'd happily go back to the Combo TBH but I don't have to worry about what to change it to till I'm 70 ! and for all I know, my Carer might have to choose it, not me!
 
trophywench said:
But there again if I had another make I'd have to test and remember the result whilst I unearthed the pump, went to that screen, put the answer in, then the carbs or health or exercise adjustments before I could even press the button to tell it to calculate.
Click to expand...

Medtronic pumps have paired to a meter by Bluetooth (or somesuch) for years now - the BG just wafts over the airwaves to your pump which is then ready and waiting for you to fire up the Bolus Wizard almist instantaneously. It's a tiny thing, but having always had that functionality I was slightly put off the Vibe (which doesn't)
 
Bluetoothing, or other remote system, from test kit to pump is a real bonus. I have the Combo and find it great but as has been said it will no longer be available soon as Accu Chek have gone to the Insight.

Happy decision making Steph.
 
Yeah but you still have to handle two machines to do one job - just like MDI ! LOL But at least the Medtronic 'very ordinary' meter at least speaks to the pump, that's better than not at all !

I hope 'my' lot go over to them and not Animas.
 
When I first went on my pump I could not believe it. I had down loaded info of pump to D Nurse the night before. I was off to work in my van nxt morning which has Bluetooth & the nurse rang me. When I had parked up she told me to adjust basal rate with pump. That was on the way to work 😱. No hosp appointment. Done in about 3/4 mins. Well chuffed & back on way to work. That's Medtronic for you. Tech is getting better 😎
 
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