Pump approval - YES! but which one?

lilymoon

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Hi all, I am hoping that you're knowledge and experience will help me with this.

I have been type 1 for 10 1/2 years now and have been approved for a pump. I am over the moon as I understand it is a game changer. I am very excited to get going with it and start living again.

I have been offered a choice of 3 pumps but I think only two out of the three are suitable for me.

Accu-chek Insight
Ypsomed which I believe is the MyLife.

I have done some research but haven't found too much information, so am I still a bit confused as to which pump to choose.

As it is my first pump I would like to know what those of you who are on pump therapy think I should be looking for in a pump, the most vital points of the pump therapy to ensure the pump offers this capability, what you find useful, essential, not helpful, easy, hard.

Any help and advice, to be honest, will be greatly appreciated.
 
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porl69

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Congrats on getting pump approval @lilymoon. What was your 3rd choice pump??
 

porl69

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After 48 years of T1D I got my pump in February. Recently had my lowest A1C in 30 odd years :). Love my pump
 
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lilymoon

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After 48 years of T1D I got my pump in February. Recently had my lowest A1C in 30 odd years :). Love my pump
ooooh that's wonderful!!!! I am so excited. Literally on a high since they told me yesterday. So pleased for you! You're literally flying at life
 

porl69

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BTW which pump do you have?

Medtronic 640G. I was offered the Omnipod and the AccuCheck Combo.
I was torn between the Omnipod and the 640G. But went for the 640G (it looked better :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:)
 

lilymoon

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Medtronic 640G. I was offered the Omnipod and the AccuCheck Combo.
I was torn between the Omnipod and the 640G. But went for the 640G (it looked better :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:)

haha all about the looks nevermind the functionality...
I am leaning towards the accuchek insight as this seems to have more positive reviews from pumpers.... even though i think its a close call between the two. i know i could get the ypsomed mylife sooner than the insight so i won't rule it out. all the reviews on youtube are from foreign users so i can't understand what they think of it. shame. anyway, i'll let you know what i go for.

happy pumping!
 

porl69

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haha all about the looks nevermind the functionality...
I am leaning towards the accuchek insight as this seems to have more positive reviews from pumpers.... even though i think its a close call between the two. i know i could get the ypsomed mylife sooner than the insight so i won't rule it out. all the reviews on youtube are from foreign users so i can't understand what they think of it. shame. anyway, i'll let you know what i go for.

happy pumping!

:hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: functionality did come into it as well (HONESTLY).

I will tag @Juicyj to ask her to move this to the pump part of the forum if thats ok with you...
 
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Juicyj

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Capt-Slog

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Hi lilymoon, I too have been approved for a pump and I am waiting to hear if I can have the pump I want.

I too had the choice of your three pumps, as well as the 640G, the 670G and the Omnipod.
At first I thought I was very lucky to have such a large choice as many CCG's only offer 1.

After simply loads of research, I went back to my team and asked if I could be considered for the Tandem T:Slim X2 pump.
After an initial blank state, and the obvious statement of "But we don't DO that one" they have decided to support my request locally, but it still has to be approved at the AREA meeting.

I know this doesn't directly answer your question, and I don't even have a pump to say "mine is really good" but I thought I would just try to show that if you like the look of another pump, then it is at least worth asking your DSN if they would consider adding it to their choices.

Bear in mind that you will probably be stuck with your choice of pump for about 4 years, so it is worth doing everything you can to get the one that is right for you.

I know a LOT of people like the Omnipod (which is another one not on your list ).

If it is any help. There was a lady who posted very recently, who had an Ypsomed and was very unhappy with it, to the point of being really distressed.

I rejected the Ypsomed because I simply couldn't find anyone who was talking about it online. Literally nobody. That is a bad sign.

Another thing that a lot of people miss when looking for a pump is what is happening to the market share value of the parent company in the news.
Ypsomed shares are going down quite a lot and that is usually a sign of bad sales.

Roche has always been a reliable company and I know a lot of people that have both the Insight and the Combo. I have a good friend who has recently changed from the Insight to the Combo and seems very happy, but everyone has different feelings and your pump is exactly that.. YOUR pump.

Good luck with your choice and keep us informed about how you get on, which one you choose and why.
 

megan

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Hi all, I am hoping that you're knowledge and experience will help me with this.

I have been type 1 for 10 1/2 years now and have been approved for a pump. I am over the moon as I understand it is a game changer. I am very excited to get going with it and start living again.

I have been offered a choice of 3 pumps but I think only two out of the three are suitable for me.

Accu-chek Insight
Ypsomed which I believe is the MyLife.

I have done some research but haven't found too much information, so am I still a bit confused as to which pump to choose.

As it is my first pump I would like to know what those of you who are on pump therapy think I should be looking for in a pump, the most vital points of the pump therapy to ensure the pump offers this capability, what you find useful, essential, not helpful, easy, hard.

Any help and advice, to be honest, will be greatly appreciated.
Hi I've been on the Roche insight for 3 years. It's been fine. Blood test in one hand held device that then figures out your bolus and administers it. Can be a bit slow but I've always been ok with that.
Recently I was offered the ypsomed on a trial. It was stated a good idea as my updated insight replacement was due very soon so if ypsomed didn't work out I could change back to insight.
Worst thing I ever did.
Awful experience with the ypsomed and worst still is I'm unable to go back to my insight!
So being constructive... the ypsomed blood test machine wouldn't connect at the diabetic clinic in day one. Should have taken that as a sign.
Two more goes and tech help at home and got it done.
You test on one machine.
You type in info to an app on your phone (Mylife)
Then you dial it directly into your pump
( do you handle 3 machines to do test and bonus)
As opposed to the insight which you do it all in one hand set. It may buffer a bit but that's nothing compared to the ypsomed Mylife when it malfunctions. Which happened more often than not for me.

So in my first week my ypsomed crashed. Panic as it's night time but don't worry they have night time in the phone help. But no they didn't because that line went down too!
I got hold of them eventually but I'd had huge struggles trying to re set the ypsomed pump.
Over the next few weeks the Mylife app was just hell.
I tried to get tech support and was told they'd get back to me
They didn't
After another couple of weeks I mentioned difficulties to another team member and they told my nurse who then tried to help and phone ypsomed support who had no record of my call.
Some of the problems were ironed out here but the app continued to malfunction.
When it does work it doesn't like to stack doses so if you dose for dinner then have something else with in maybe a couple of hours it counts in your last insulin dose which is not helpful.
That dose you've given was allocated for another purpose. Not to be counted in with the next dose. If these instructions were followed then the results are high sugars.
I knew that but to prove a point to myself I followed the machines instructions once and got a blood of 22!!!
Felt awful
After all that.... the way ypsomed displays its info is in a long list. Not helpful in viewing your results to make good informed decisions on any dose changes.
Insight is much better equipped for this with various graphs and data info nicely displayed.
Separate to that are personal choices... ypsomed has a 360 rotating cannula... insight does not
Personally i thought this might be helpful but it was a hindrance. The ypsomed cannula stood too proud of my skin and made too easy to pull out.
After that they package cannula and tubing together so when you have to replace the pulled out cannula you waste the new tubing.
Insight packages them separately
Now I'm told I can't go back to insight. I am gutted. I have the choice of ypsomed or insulin pens again
You may have a better experience than me. This is just my experience and my opinion. Sadly not a good one.
I hope you get in really well with what ever choice you make and that it improves daily quality of life, which is what they're meant for. Good luck
 
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Capt-Slog

Well-Known Member
Messages
174
Type of diabetes
LADA
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Hi I've been on the Roche insight for 3 years. It's been fine. Blood test in one hand held device that then figures out your bolus and administers it. Can be a bit slow but I've always been ok with that.
Recently I was offered the ypsomed on a trial. It was stated a good idea as my updated insight replacement was due very soon so if ypsomed didn't work out I could change back to insight.
Worst thing I ever did.
Awful experience with the ypsomed and worst still is I'm unable to go back to my insight!
So being constructive... the ypsomed blood test machine wouldn't connect at the diabetic clinic in day one. Should have taken that as a sign.
Two more goes and tech help at home and got it done.
You test on one machine.
You type in info to an app on your phone (Mylife)
Then you dial it directly into your pump
( do you handle 3 machines to do test and bonus)
As opposed to the insight which you do it all in one hand set. It may buffer a bit but that's nothing compared to the ypsomed Mylife when it malfunctions. Which happened more often than not for me.

So in my first week my ypsomed crashed. Panic as it's night time but don't worry they have night time in the phone help. But no they didn't because that line went down too!
I got hold of them eventually but I'd had huge struggles trying to re set the ypsomed pump.
Over the next few weeks the Mylife app was just hell.
I tried to get tech support and was told they'd get back to me
They didn't
After another couple of weeks I mentioned difficulties to another team member and they told my nurse who then tried to help and phone ypsomed support who had no record of my call.
Some of the problems were ironed out here but the app continued to malfunction.
When it does work it doesn't like to stack doses so if you dose for dinner then have something else with in maybe a couple of hours it counts in your last insulin dose which is not helpful.
That dose you've given was allocated for another purpose. Not to be counted in with the next dose. If these instructions were followed then the results are high sugars.
I knew that but to prove a point to myself I followed the machines instructions once and got a blood of 22!!!
Felt awful
After all that.... the way ypsomed displays its info is in a long list. Not helpful in viewing your results to make good informed decisions on any dose changes.
Insight is much better equipped for this with various graphs and data info nicely displayed.
Separate to that are personal choices... ypsomed has a 360 rotating cannula... insight does not
Personally i thought this might be helpful but it was a hindrance. The ypsomed cannula stood too proud of my skin and made too easy to pull out.
After that they package cannula and tubing together so when you have to replace the pulled out cannula you waste the new tubing.
Insight packages them separately
Now I'm told I can't go back to insight. I am gutted. I have the choice of ypsomed or insulin pens again
You may have a better experience than me. This is just my experience and my opinion. Sadly not a good one.
I hope you get in really well with what ever choice you make and that it improves daily quality of life, which is what they're meant for. Good luck
Thanks megan
 

Notorious

Well-Known Member
Messages
104
Type of diabetes
Type 1
You can build a DIY closed-loop with either the Combo or the Insight, if you think this is something that might interest you.

I have a Medtronic 640g and before that an Animas Vibe so sadly can't comment myself on the individual pumps. Any pump is better than no pump though, in my opinion :)