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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Deleted Account" data-source="post: 2078913">I have experience of a couple of pumps. They are neither of the ones you have been offered but I think my experience may be relevant.My first pump was an Animas Vibe. This is not available any more but is similar in shape to a Medtronic 640G which is now the one on offer. As I had no previous pumping experience, I took the only one on offer and was reasonably happy. I loved the control and flexibility it offered me. But, I hated the size and clunkiness. I am not what you would call large (5'4" with a BMI of 21) and found it very hard to hide my pump. Some women put their pump in their bra - let's just say I would be very lop sided if I did that. So, most of the time it was clipped on to my belt like an old school pager. If I wore baggy trousers, I could put it in my pocket but, unlike men, I have hips and women't pockets are not huge so this was rare. If I wore a dress, I would wrap it around my upper thigh but this was not good when I needed to bolus. Whilst I complained about the size and clunkiness of Pumpy, I would get very protective towards him if you tried to take him away. Probably a bit like having an ugly dog. Recently, I was offered the chance to trial a Medtrum A6. This is a patch pump, similar to the OmniPod but less well known ,,, and cheaper. Patch (as I call my new pump) and I have been together for a couple of months now. Like Pumpy, he is not perfect but he is hidden away. I still find my slender frame is a problem - with a tube pump, you have a cannula about the size of a 10p to attach to your body and there are plenty of places to put it on your abdomen. With a patch pump, you have to find space to attach the whole pump. I was told it could be attached to my upper arms but, as a climber, this is not appropriate. I was told I could put it on my upper thigh but, like you, I wear trousers a lot and it would show and I run which would effect the absorption. I was told I could put it on the fatty part of my back around the spare tyre but what little spare tyre I have is about trouser waist level. So, Patch usually sits on my abdomen: either below my belly button under my trouser waist or above my belly button above my trouser waist avoiding my ribs. Placement depends on what I plan to do (below the belly button and it gets in the way of my climbing harness) or what I plan to wear (above the belly button and it will show when I am wearing a tighter fitting t-shirt). This requires a bit of planning because Patch is in place for 3 days whereas Pumpy could move around on his tether (tube).So, from my limited experience, if I had a choice of Medtronic or OmniPod, I would choose OmniPod but know it is not perfect. Good luck with your choice and your pumping.</blockquote>

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