Pump Approval - It's official

[Hooked]

aaaaarrrrgh!

2 weeks, 2 weeks, 2 weeks.

Spoke to the pump admin person today about timings (which were all inconvenient to me) adn I now have a pump selection day in just under two weeks on 6th May.

Choice of 5 pumps
- Medtronic Veo
- Omnipod
- New Roche one, anyone know what that is?
- Animas - not sure which model
- cellnovo should just be available to me

Off to do a bit of reasearch now.

Exciting! Have fun choosing.

 

[K8tie_x]

Brilliant glad you are getting there with things.. I never had a choice but have the Roche Accucheck Combo and absolutely love it. I find it easy to use and love the Bluetooth feature, sorry can't comment on any other pumps if I was you I'd get searching online and on YouTube to get a feel for them all, good luck!!

 

[Dougal]

Please could someone tell me why the time on saline? Admittedly my pump was an emergency - 2 weeks from seeing consultant to receiving my pump filled with insulin, but I am finding it difficult to understand the benefit. Thanks.


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[Hooked]

Please could someone tell me why the time on saline? Admittedly my pump was an emergency - 2 weeks from seeing consultant to receiving my pump filled with insulin, but I am finding it difficult to understand the benefit. Thanks.


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It's too give the user time to get used to using the pump and it's various functions without the fear of hitting the wrong button or doing something wrong and getting too much or too little insulin. A pause run.

 

[Dougal]

Not trying to be difficult, but if you aren't using insulin, how do you know if you've done the wrong thing or pressed the wrong button? Could it not give the user time to develop bad habits without consequences which would become very obvious as soon as insulin was introduced?

Sorry, still don't see it as a benefit.


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[Hooked]

Not trying to be difficult, but if you aren't using insulin, how do you know if you've done the wrong thing or pressed the wrong button? Could it not give the user time to develop bad habits without consequences which would become very obvious as soon as insulin was introduced?

Sorry, still don't see it as a benefit.


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I'm due to go "live" next week. I've found it good to be able to experiment and figure out how to adjust this and that our just press something to see what it does without fear of it going wrong. I feel more due if myself in using it now. I'd had been cautious over touching any button if I'd gone in feet first to be honest. I guess everyone is different.

 

[Spiker]

Not trying to be difficult, but if you aren't using insulin, how do you know if you've done the wrong thing or pressed the wrong button? Could it not give the user time to develop bad habits without consequences which would become very obvious as soon as insulin was introduced?

Sorry, still don't see it as a benefit.


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Just the mechanics of wearing it, changing it, having something inserted into you, sleeping with it, going to the toilet, shower - to be honest these take more getting used to than the actual operation of the pump (which you also practice during the saline period). These are also major reasons why people give up on pumps, so it's sensible to screen those out or deal with them early. And when you are live on insulin they want you focused on dosing and not distracted by any of the other issues. It's very sensible.

It's like when you learn to drive. You start off in a car park or old airfield or something while you learn to change gears, steer, stop and start. Only when these things are no longer preoccupying you with their difficulties do you venture out into actual traffic.

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[Dougal]

I guess a was just in a different place at the time - I was having 6 to 8 fits a day and more hypos/hypers than I could count, due to incompatibility with any basal insulin. Everyone was concerned and my consultant admitted me into hospital on a bolus insulin drip for the last 3 days before I got my pump because he didn't know what else to do.

In that situation, I guess that having time with saline in my pump was irrelevant. My pump literally saved my life, but I didn't have any issues switching to it at all.

Thanks for explaining it to me, I understand it now.


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[ElyDave]

Brilliant glad you are getting there with things.. I never had a choice but have the Roche Accucheck Combo and absolutely love it. I find it easy to use and love the Bluetooth feature, sorry can't comment on any other pumps if I was you I'd get searching online and on YouTube to get a feel for them all, good luck!!

I've been doing that for the last three months.
Spent most of last night setting out a table of the various pump characteristics and technical features. I may even go as far as giving them scores out of 100 later.

Need to take a look at the Animas Vibe this evening, but I'm leaning towards the cellnovo or Roche pumps. My only issue with teh Roche is the meter, as I have an accucheck mobile which I really did not get on with, but haven't had a chance to call them about yet.

Yes I'm a geek about this stuff.

 

[ElyDave]

I guess a was just in a different place at the time - I was having 6 to 8 fits a day and more hypos/hypers than I could count, due to incompatibility with any basal insulin. Everyone was concerned and my consultant admitted me into hospital on a bolus insulin drip for the last 3 days before I got my pump because he didn't know what else to do.

In that situation, I guess that having time with saline in my pump was irrelevant. My pump literally saved my life, but I didn't have any issues switching to it at all.

Thanks for explaining it to me, I understand it now.


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Sounds like you're doing OK now, which is great.

 

[Hooked]

I've been doing that for the last three months.
Spent most of last night setting out a table of the various pump characteristics and technical features. I may even go as far as giving them scores out of 100 later.

Need to take a look at the Animas Vibe this evening, but I'm leaning towards the cellnovo or Roche pumps. My only issue with teh Roche is the meter, as I have an accucheck mobile which I really did not get on with, but haven't had a chance to call them about yet.

Yes I'm a geek about this stuff.

I'll be interested to see which you pick and why. I would probably be the same, but at the end of the day the choice I made came down to easiest to read screen, which was the Animas Vibe from the choices I was given. (Can't even remember now what the others were!)

 

[Spiker]

I guess a was just in a different place at the time - I was having 6 to 8 fits a day and more hypos/hypers than I could count, due to incompatibility with any basal insulin. Everyone was concerned and my consultant admitted me into hospital on a bolus insulin drip for the last 3 days before I got my pump because he didn't know what else to do.

In that situation, I guess that having time with saline in my pump was irrelevant. My pump literally saved my life, but I didn't have any issues switching to it at all.

Thanks for explaining it to me, I understand it now.


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Wow Dougal that's a really tough experience to have gone through. Your consultant did the right thing getting you on a regular insulin drip and then straight on to a pump. A lifesaver. I didn't realise there were people who can't tolerate any basal insulins. I don't know what you would have done without a pump. Inject a unit or a half unit of regular insulin every hour, something like that?



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[Spiker]

Here's a list of features I would look at (in hindsight)

- does it have a remote
- does the remote operate all the features you need during a normal day
- can you tuck the pump itself away somewhere securely and discreetly
- is it waterproof
- how long will the reservoir last
- does it integrate with a meter you like
- does it integrate with a CGM you like
- does it have a wizard for dose calculation based on carbs and BG
- how many different basal profiles does it support
- what's the finest graduation of dose it can deliver (basal and bolus may be different)
- what is the finest precision of the carb ratio and correction ratio (eg Animas only goes to the nearest whole gram of carb per whole unit of insulin and only one decimal point on correction ratio).
- how well you get on with the infusion sets
- does it have long, short, steel, angled etc infusion sets if required
- how much faff is involved in reservoir changes, set changes, battery changes
- how good is the meter integration (if any)
- how good is the CGM integration (if any)
- customisation of alerts and alarms
- ability to set discreet alarms (eg vibration) for specific events
- ability to set sound "profiles" like on a phone
- audibility of alarms
- visibility of screen detail
- brightness of screen
- ease of use of menu system
- ability to use pump as a complete diary (carbs, sickness)
- ability to review history of events and actions on board the pump (eg Animas can't access its own carb history)
- IOB feature (Insulin on Board) and the usability of this
- ability to set sensible delivery limits
- good on board support for sick day procedures
- good on board support for troubleshooting and possible failures
- highly reliable occlusion alarm
- ease of data upload
- supports a data analysis program that you like
- supports data upload that your health care team can use well



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[ElyDave]

Cheers Spiker, most of those already on my list.

 

[Bebo321]

I've been doing that for the last three months.
Spent most of last night setting out a table of the various pump characteristics and technical features. I may even go as far as giving them scores out of 100 later.

Need to take a look at the Animas Vibe this evening, but I'm leaning towards the cellnovo or Roche pumps. My only issue with teh Roche is the meter, as I have an accucheck mobile which I really did not get on with, but haven't had a chance to call them about yet.

Yes I'm a geek about this stuff.

Just fantastic news!
Feedback from TeamBG HQ for best pump kit at the moment?
Either the new Roche 'Insight' pump, or the Animas vibe.
Happy choosing!!! VERY excited for you.

 

[ElyDave]

I can't find any technical detail anywhere on the Insight, only the accucheck combo, do you have a link?

 

[Spiker]

Cheers Spiker, most of those already on my list.

Np Dave. It would be great to see your matrix when it's done.

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[Dougal]

Wow Dougal that's a really tough experience to have gone through. Your consultant did the right thing getting you on a regular insulin drip and then straight on to a pump. A lifesaver. I didn't realise there were people who can't tolerate any basal insulins. I don't know what you would have done without a pump. Inject a unit or a half unit of regular insulin every hour, something like that?

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It was certainly eye-opening! It had been coming for a number of years/months, with me not being able to tolerate a certain long-acting insulin, being moved to another, then another, then another. We could all see the end of the road approaching, but when I switched to Levemir the decline was the most rapid of all, if I remember correctly, it was only about 3 weeks, whereas I had been on Lantus before that for almost 10 months. My consultant would have admitted me to hospital a lot earlier, if I had let him. The clinic did provide me with CGM for the last 2 1/2 weeks, but my BG was changing far too rapidly for the CGM to be of any use.

The funniest thing I found though, was being asked to investigate and choose a pump that I would be happy with, whilst the funding was being pushed through I had many meetings with reps from all the pump manufacturers, so that I could make my mind up really quickly. The funding was agreed, the pump was chosen and the rep trained me all within 5 days - I was and still am very impressed. I was kept in hospital for another 2 days after receiving my pump, as my husband was away and we all wanted to be sure that everything was ok.

 

[iHs]

Was there a reason for the older insulins not working?

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[Dougal]

There was never any clear answer. My body started having trouble with Monotard about a year after I was diagnosed. I have been through all, and I do mean every single long acting insulin that has been available since I was diagnosed. For the first 5 or 6 times it happened I was taken into hospital put on a short acting insulin drip for 3 days to be sure, then put back on the long acting insulin to see if the problem would reoccur, which it always did within 2 days. So I'd be put on another long acting insulin. In the last 10 years my consultant got smart and after 3 months of problems would change my long acting insulin.


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