Accu-Chek Combo is still available!

[Platinum]

I currently use an Accu-Chek Combo and was worried that when I had to change they would make me take the Insight (I think the Insight is a huge step backwards from the Combo).

I mentioned this to the person at Roche that took my repeat order for cannulas etc. and they said that the Combo will still be available for at least the next two years.

It seems they don’t advertise the fact it is still available, but all you have to do is ask!

 

[donnellysdogs]

Yes it is still available..

Its more widely advertised on their website than the Insight.

 

[Platinum]

I have just looked at the Accu-Chek website & there is some info on the Combo but it is not that obvious..

I clicked on Insulin Pumps - The Insight is listed but not the Combo. The only way I saw the combo was in the comparison section.

Anyway, I am really pleased the Combo is available. When the time comes I plan to ask for another one!

 

[donnellysdogs]

I have just looked at the Accu-Chek website & there is some info on the Combo but it is not that obvious..

I clicked on Insulin Pumps - The Insight is listed but not the Combo. The only way I saw the combo was in the comparison section.

Anyway, I am really pleased the Combo is available. When the time comes I plan to ask for another one!

Got a combo and Insight stuck in a cupboard spare!! Wish I could find a way to give them back!!

Loved them but no longer able to use them..

 

[Saikoudaze]

What makes you think the insight is a step back from the combo?

 

[donnellysdogs]

What makes you think the insight is a step back from the combo?

The small cartridge and the endless time it takes to calculate anything

 

[Saikoudaze]

Ah, I never used a combo so I suppose I don't miss either of those things. I don't mind waiting 10 seconds for it to load. The small cartridges thing is fine for me, I just carry a couple with me in my bag at all times.

 

[Platinum]

What makes you think the insight is a step back from the combo?

Hi Saikoudaze. I think the Insight is a step backward from the Combo because;

My Combo and remote both last at least six weeks until a battery change. The Insight remote battery life is about three days (Or only 8% that of the Combo). The Insight pump battery life is far shorter as well (Why do Accu-Chek quote the Insight pump battery life with the Bluetooth off?).

The Insight does not have the standard Luer Lock connector my Combo has. This means you are tied to Accu-Chek’s accessories.

I do a lot of walking for pleasure. At the moment, when a pump or remote battery gets low, I simply pop-in a replacement. It is difficult to find somewhere to charge the Insight remote halfway up a mountain (I realise you could access the pump directly, but that is awkward when it is buried under layers of cloths and it is raining).

The Combo has a 3.15mL cartridge, the Insight has a 2.0mL cartridge.

I realise the Combo has areas that could be improved, but I still think it is far better than the Insight.

 

[Platinum]

Got a combo and Insight stuck in a cupboard spare!! Wish I could find a way to give them back!!

Loved them but no longer able to use them..

Just being inquisitive here, but why can’t you use them anymore?

 

[donnellysdogs]

Just being inquisitive here, but why can’t you use them anymore?

Getting too many set failures. Due to not enough fat and being too lean and muscly.

 

[Platinum]

A DiaPort would solve the problem.

 

[donnellysdogs]

A DiaPort would solve the problem.

Yes it would. Hugely better though being back on MDI...the freedom I feel from the pump is unbelievable. I will never go back to it.

 

[Platinum]

Quite a lot of pumpers say that they enjoy the freedom from the pump. I am the opposite, I would never go back to MDI – My control is far better & I feel better using the pump. When I was on MDI I was giving six to eight jabs a day and my BM was swinging around from hypos to the low 30’s several times a day.


If you could have a DiaPort, would you consider going back to pumping?

 

[donnellysdogs]

Quite a lot of pumpers say that they enjoy the freedom from the pump. I am the opposite, I would never go back to MDI – My control is far better & I feel better using the pump. When I was on MDI I was giving six to eight jabs a day and my BM was swinging around from hypos to the low 30’s several times a day.


If you could have a DiaPort, would you consider going back to pumping?

No.. I'm getting just as good results without the pump.
I love dashing in and out of the shower or lounging in the bath without thinking of having to reconnect.
I love it that my hubby doesn't have to worry about tubes or where my set is.
I love not having anything permanently attached to me.
I don't eat all day so I only have the 2 jabs when I get up and 2 others all day.

The problems I had with cannulas meant on some occasions I would be changing 5 times a day!! And in the end Accuchek advised me to change them everyday anyway. Thats no fun.. Getting up, new set, priming, every 3 days insulin cartridge etc... Naah.... I will never go back. Life is so much simpler now. I have my life back...

 

[Platinum]

When you put it like that, I can see how MDI can sometimes be better; but my memories of MDI are still raw and pumping is still the way for me.

 

[donnellysdogs]

My initial reaction was the same as yours. I honestly loved my pump for almost 5 years. I honestly dreaded going back to MDI. Hated the thought of doing it again.
However, it has given me my freedom back abnd thankfully I still have excellent control.
Infact on days when I go to the gym it is for me easier. If I go at 3pm I just lower my basal when I get up by 1 unit. It saves faffing around tweaking a TBR etc and I'm so good withlevels at the gym Even amaze myself.

I had a horrendous time with the occlusions and highlevels intermittently and they were getting worse and worse and more frequent.

After 30+ years as well of injecting and cannulas in my bum cheeks itsnice to use my arms.

I will never go to wearing gadgetry again. Never, it was taking over my life. Now its not.

Also it is nice not to feel different. I didn't realise it with my pump, only when off it.. Its lovely for sleeping and for getting close and not bothering where the set is and where the cannula is etc. Never thought aboutthat when I had the pump. Only now I realise how my other half was aware of it and how I was too but never admitted it!!

 

[Hannibal]

Hi Saikoudaze. I think the Insight is a step backward from the Combo because;

My Combo and remote both last at least six weeks until a battery change. The Insight remote battery life is about three days (Or only 8% that of the Combo). The Insight pump battery life is far shorter as well (Why do Accu-Chek quote the Insight pump battery life with the Bluetooth off?).

The Insight does not have the standard Luer Lock connector my Combo has. This means you are tied to Accu-Chek’s accessories.

I do a lot of walking for pleasure. At the moment, when a pump or remote battery gets low, I simply pop-in a replacement. It is difficult to find somewhere to charge the Insight remote halfway up a mountain (I realise you could access the pump directly, but that is awkward when it is buried under layers of cloths and it is raining).

The Combo has a 3.15mL cartridge, the Insight has a 2.0mL cartridge.

I realise the Combo has areas that could be improved, but I still think it is far better than the Insight.

Battery life and cartridge size aren't the only issues. My 8 year old daughter's Insight failed to detect a blockage overnight and she ended up with DKA - the old Combo would warn of an occlusion at the slightest blockage so I don't trust the Insight anymore. My wife and I are getting up in the middle of the night to check she's all right, something we haven't done since she was first put on the pump.

The new cannulas are fiddly with too many safety features and the multiwave defaults to 100% extended which is a real pain.

The Combo wasn't perfect but I agree that the Insight is NOT an upgrade. We want the Combo back.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Battery life and cartridge size aren't the only issues. My 8 year old daughter's Insight failed to detect a blockage overnight and she ended up with DKA - the old Combo would warn of an occlusion at the slightest blockage so I don't trust the Insight anymore. My wife and I are getting up in the middle of the night to check she's all right, something we haven't done since she was first put on the pump.

The new cannulas are fiddly with too many safety features and the multiwave defaults to 100% extended which is a real pain.

The Combo wasn't perfect but I agree that the Insight is NOT an upgrade. We want the Combo back.

Did you report the failure to alarm and DKA to Accuchek and the concerns you have? They do listen.

 

[Hannibal]

I have emailed them but so far have received no response.

We are seeing the rep in a couple of weeks and will bring the matter up with her.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Ok, but unless listed officially to MHRA there is no way that the safety of items will ever be officially recognised.