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Accu chek spirit combo

J

Jessd

Well-Known Member
Messages
261
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi
I have just received an Accu chek spirit combo, had a spirit before, unfortunately the screen went & they have sent me the updated version
Please can anyone advise me whether it is worth getting the meter to go with, I nkow I have to have training to use it & getting it costs about £120
Is anyone using it & how have you found it?

Thanks
 
Hi jessd

I have an accu-chek combo and i would recommend the blood monitor as it acts as a remote for the pump. So you can bolus when the pump is hidden and no-one need know what you are doing. It also acts as a bolus adviser so you put in how many carbs you are having and it tells you how many units to have. You programme in your ratios of carbs and correction units and it lets you know how many grams of carbs to have if you are having a hypo. You can review all your results and it lets you programme a % if say you are exercirsing or are ill.

Hope this is helpful

josie
 
Hi Jess

I got my Combo upgrade due to having my spirit replaced..

The handset is very worth while indeed I had already good tight contol using the spirit on it's own, so surprised to find that with using the handset I could tighten up even more...

Before you start paying for it,

I would see if you can persude your team to get one for you it worth given them a bit of a nagg about it, saying that with the wizards you would be able to achieve better control etc etc..

I was pretty lucky has I managed to get mine without paying for it, took a bit of whinging I must admit :lol:
 
Jessd said:
Hi
I have just received an Accu chek spirit combo, had a spirit before, unfortunately the screen went & they have sent me the updated version
Please can anyone advise me whether it is worth getting the meter to go with, I nkow I have to have training to use it & getting it costs about £120
Is anyone using it & how have you found it?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi,

I started off with the combo back in Feb, and i got the remote with it automatically.

I know no difference to pumping without the remote, but i can imagine i would indeed miss it if i were all of a sudden not to have one.

It allows you to keep your pump tucked away, bolus very quickly and easily.

the only downside i would say is you get used to the remote doing the work, but every now and then i test my brain and work my dose out first then compare to make sure that if my remote stopped working it wouldn't impair me greatly.

I also note down any changes in ratios in my diary so if it stops working i can still bolus accurately as there is no calculator on the pump.

Personally i think it really is worth it, if mine were to break and i couldnt get it replaced for no cost, i would definately buy a new one if i had to.

Hope this helps and i hope you like the combo :)
 
Thanks for the replies.
Spoke to my nurse yesterday & she knows i like to know whats what with my pump & diabetes, she said she may be a bit worried for me, thought I might get a bit obsessed about it
She said to think about it & speak to her in a month & obviously I will need training
It does sound really good, my control is pretty good most of the time, sometimes have trouble with site issues
 
Not sure really, whether she thinks it may be a bit much to get my head around.
If it is a benefit, I would definately like to try it
 
There's not really a lot to get one's head around as such..

As you would already have been using your spirit pump for over a year since the spirit was discontinued last year!

So you should already know what your corrections and carb/insulin ratios are for meals as well as exercise etc.. So it's only really being shown how to put this infortmation into the meter..

Then vertually all the pump menu is contained on the pump with the exception that you can't prime using the pump you can only do this after you go into this after you've turned the pump off!

As for the reports/data well nothing too hard here really, and if you used their smartpix software or the compass software then it's far better than this..

And as with using the pump you dont have to use all aspects to start off with and gruadually increase which parts you use as you get used to it..

Tip is, when you change your infusion set and have to prime the cannular, is to do a food bulous, enter carb amount so it match's the deliver need to prime the cannular, the bolus without eating the carbs, this keeps your bolus wizard in check... otherwise it will say that the prime was a correction bolus, and deduct this from it's calculations of any the next correction/food bolus..

But I would say to your nurse thought about it and I want one hehehe
 
Agree with above...

With the addition of having a remote that is all singing and dancing-and enables the pump user to get on with their lif'es without carrying around a differnent blood testing machine-this one is all in tune with the pump, and is fantastic.....you don't have to take the pump off except for changeovers with sets or cartridges.

I wasn't given a choice of pump, I was given the accuchek combo and it is brilliant.....I would NEVER change to one that you had to do everything on the pump....no way.....I keep saying that I don't love it, but I wouldn't change it, and I certainly wouldn't go without the remote control.

I had a gentleman around pre pump....and he saw mine with the remote....he was given a veo as a loan one until he got funding.....he is adamant that he wants the remote and the combo...he saw me wearing it on my arm, and wants to be able to do the same---but he can't because he keeps having to take the current veo off to adjust everything.......

Don't know the reasons for your DSN's wording....and I am 100% sure that the pre pump person I have met up with won't mid me saying that he was told by his DSN that " he would be dangerous with a pump"----his consultant over-rode the DSN and he got one within 2 weeks...and he is doing fantastic...a few hiccups to start off with...but honestly....he is doing fantastic.....

Get the additional remote...you won't regret it....and techncially and legally speaking,,,your DSN can't say different..........

Go for it!!!!
 
Technically the DSN/Consultant can say no, as you won't get a meter without clearance from them as you got to be trained to use it!

After a bit of debating to who was going to pay for the pump me, my clinic or rouche! took a couple of weeks over christmas, due to I didn't want to spend any more money, as when I had my spirit pump I paid out almost £200 for a PDA to run their pocket compass plus software that linked with that pump, and the Combo isn't compatable with the pda or the software! Not sure who paid for it, but I didn't :mrgreen: I degress..

The handset was sent to me at home, as long as I did not use it until I met up with the rep and my pump nurse at the hospital to be trained using it..

Great training session, I had read and played with the pump so not much to train me on, about 10 mnutes worth :lol: Then we spent the next hour or so discussing pump therapy etc
 
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