Insulin pumps

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My next appointment is the 16th of February
 
Inka said:
The soft Teflon cannulas use an introducer needle. You insert them then withdraw the needle and it leaves behind the tiny Teflon cannula tube.
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That seems better than using a steel cannula
 
Lily123 said:
That seems better than using a steel cannula
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It is. I prefer the Teflon ones personally. But for some body areas, I do need the steel needle to get good absorption so I put up with the needle to get better numbers 🙂 It doesn’t hurt.

The cannulas come in different lengths eg my steel cannulas are 6mm, so it’s only a short needle. My Teflon ones are 6mm too. The angled ones I use are Teflon but are longer because they’re going in at an angle.
 
Inka said:
It is. I prefer the Teflon ones personally. But for some body areas, I do need the steel needle to get good absorption so I put up with the needle to get better numbers 🙂

The cannulas come in different lengths eg my steel cannulas are 6mm, so it’s only a short needle. My Teflon ones are 6mm too. The angled ones I use are Teflon but are longer because they’re going in at an angle.
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So the cannulas are only slightly bigger than a needle? (the needles I use are 4mm)
 
Inka said:
Yes 🙂
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Now I know much more about cannulas - now when I’m looking at cannulas for different pumps I will know what the words mean. I will be back if I have any more questions. Thanks @Inka
 
Pumper_Sue said:
I used to have an Animas pump and a Cozmo before that and never any problems. Medtronic is a different matter though, putting it politely their consumables leave a lot to be desired.
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And these things are specific to each pump (or pump manufacturer)? So it's not like pen needles (where a pen user can choose from a bunch of needle manufacturers)? Is there some technical reason why that's so, or is it just that nobody's standardised the interface (because manufacturers rather like this kind of incompatibility, typically)?
 
Bruce Stephens said:
And these things are specific to each pump (or pump manufacturer)? So it's not like pen needles (where a pen user can choose from a bunch of needle manufacturers)? Is there some technical reason why that's so, or is it just that nobody's standardised the interface (because manufacturers rather like this kind of incompatibility, typically)?
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Maybe it depends on certain cannulas that are able to work with certain pumps? Or maybe it’s that if you have say a DANA RS pump and are using Tandem cannulas and they don’t work then who would you complain to?
 
Bruce Stephens said:
And these things are specific to each pump (or pump manufacturer)? So it's not like pen needles (where a pen user can choose from a bunch of needle manufacturers)? Is there some technical reason why that's so, or is it just that nobody's standardised the interface (because manufacturers rather like this kind of incompatibility, typically)?
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i thought there were some crossovers.
My tubey pump was an Animas which could use Medtronic cannulas. Animas is no longer available and I use a patch (tubeless, more discrete) pump so not familiar with the options for tubes.
 
And I had strong hopes that by adjusting the dinner insulin to carb ratio I had fixed the issue with spikes at night
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I did a correction at about 22:15 (I did the correction from the BG meter)
 
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I found the list of insulin pumps for the CCG - I believe it’s up to date. The appointment is next Tuesday so that’s when I’ll be asking about the possibility of a pump

The pumps are:
Ypsopump
Dana RS
Tandem Tslim
Medtronic
Omnipod Dash.
(I wouldn’t go for the Omnipod)

I’ve done my research on all these pumps and there cannulas but can anyone tell me the positives and negatives of any of these pumps?
 
I have a Dana RS pump and I’m very happy with it @Lily123 It holds 300 units but is tiny (at the time I got it, I believe it was the smallest/lightest 300 unit pump). Importantly for me, it can also be controlled by my phone, meaning I can bolus, adjust basal rates, etc, all without getting my pump out. It also has a very good selection of high quality cannulas and sets, including a nifty rotating one. I’d also say it’s really important to have good and reliable customer service. People often forget that. Dana has excellent customer service.

The Dana RS can be looped with an official app, or can be used with Open APS for a DIY loop. It was developed with looping in mind, but is excellent as a standalone pump. I haven’t found any negatives with it.

Your pros and cons might be different. Narrow it down to two or three pumps, then to two. Once you’ve got two, do a comparison and you should have a good idea of which feels right. For me, I’d never have a patch or pod pump so I ruled those out. I was left with 3, but was able to eliminate one immediately, and then spent lots of time deciding which was best.
 
Oh, and if you’re as sad as me, the DANA comes in different colours :D
 
Inka said:
I have a Dana RS pump and I’m very happy with it @Lily123 It holds 300 units but is tiny (at the time I got it, I believe it was the smallest/lightest 300 unit pump). Importantly for me, it can also be controlled by my phone, meaning I can bolus, adjust basal rates, etc, all without getting my pump out. It also has a very good selection of high quality cannulas and sets, including a nifty rotating one. I’d also say it’s really important to have good and reliable customer service. People often forget that. Dana has excellent customer service.

The Dana RS can be looped with an official app, or can be used with Open APS for a DIY loop. It was developed with looping in mind, but is excellent as a standalone pump. I haven’t found any negatives with it.

Your pros and cons might be different. Narrow it down to two or three pumps, then to two. Once you’ve got two, do a comparison and you should have a good idea of which feels right. For me, I’d never have a patch or pod pump so I ruled those out. I was left with 3, but was able to eliminate one immediately, and then spent lots of time deciding which was best.
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This is extremely helpful to know! 300 units would definitely be more than enough for 3 days for me. I wouldn’t want a patch or pod pump as they look a bit on the bulky side
 
Inka said:
Oh, and if you’re as sad as me, the DANA comes in different colours :D
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That’s not sad. I will go for black if I choose the DANA. I haven’t even asked my team about fuding for a pump yet 😱
 
My daughter has the Tandem T-slim. Nice neat little pump, it will link with Dexcom G6 sensors and automatically make basal adjustments to try to keep your blood sugar in range. Doesn’t work perfectly (if you are dropping fast for example it won’t be able to react quickly enough to stop you going hypo) but it definitely helps! Very few people get Dexcom sensors on the NHS though and they aren’t cheap. I personally think the refill procedure is a bit fiddly, although we only have the Accu-Chek Combo to compare with which isn’t even available any more, and daughter seems happy with it. It isn’t remote control though, you have to do everything on the pump itself, nice colour touch screen but you need the pump to be accessible not hidden under your clothes. You can download an emulator for the t-slim software and play with it on your phone to see how it works! It will also work as a standalone pump if you don’t want or can’t get the sensors.
 
Sally71 said:
My daughter has the Tandem T-slim. Nice neat little pump, it will link with Dexcom G6 sensors and automatically make basal adjustments to try to keep your blood sugar in range. Doesn’t work perfectly (if you are dropping fast for example it won’t be able to react quickly enough to stop you going hypo) but it definitely helps! Very few people get Dexcom sensors on the NHS though and they aren’t cheap. I personally think the refill procedure is a bit fiddly, although we only have the Accu-Chek Combo to compare with which isn’t even available any more, and daughter seems happy with it. It isn’t remote control though, you have to do everything on the pump itself, nice colour touch screen but you need the pump to be accessible not hidden under your clothes. You can download an emulator for the t-slim software and play with it on your phone to see how it works! It will also work as a standalone pump if you don’t want or can’t get the sensors.
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I don’t think I’d meet the criteria for Dexcom and my parents couldn’t fund them for me as they are really expensive. I’ll have a look at the simulator app. I’m asking about an insulin pump on either Tuesday or Wednesday - although there’s every chance that the diabetes team will say no
 
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Inka said:
I have a Dana RS pump and I’m very happy with it @Lily123 It holds 300 units but is tiny (at the time I got it, I believe it was the smallest/lightest 300 unit pump). Importantly for me, it can also be controlled by my phone, meaning I can bolus, adjust basal rates, etc, all without getting my pump out. It also has a very good selection of high quality cannulas and sets, including a nifty rotating one. I’d also say it’s really important to have good and reliable customer service. People often forget that. Dana has excellent customer service.

The Dana RS can be looped with an official app, or can be used with Open APS for a DIY loop. It was developed with looping in mind, but is excellent as a standalone pump. I haven’t found any negatives with it.

Your pros and cons might be different. Narrow it down to two or three pumps, then to two. Once you’ve got two, do a comparison and you should have a good idea of which feels right. For me, I’d never have a patch or pod pump so I ruled those out. I was left with 3, but was able to eliminate one immediately, and then spent lots of time deciding which was best.
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@Inka is the DANA waterproof? I haven’t been able to find out if it is or not
 
Lily123 said:
@Inka is the DANA waterproof? I haven’t been able to find out if it is or not
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I believe it is, yes. I’ve never used in in water so I can’t swear 100% it is, but I’m pretty sure I was told it was at my training, and online sites say it is too.

I use the rotating O sets and it’s so easy to click off for a shower (the cannula has a self-seal membrane so you don’t have to worry about putting a cap on it when it’s in your body). When I swim, I just take it off as I don’t need insulin then and often have some carbs.

Because I control it from my phone, I never have to take it out apart from changes so I wear it in a Hid-In soft belt round my waist under my clothes. It’s safe, dry and I don’t even notice it. It weighs 62g with a full 300 units of insulin in so is very light. It’s light but robust, which is something that appealed to me. I’ve had it almost 3 years and it looks the same as the day I had it. A previous pump was more plasticky and looked quite worn by this stage.
 
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