Confused

[TallGirl]

My DSN and I discussed a pump today and she's said for me to trial one for a couple of weeks....only problem is I don't know what one to try - there's so much to look at and I don't know where to start!

I can choose from:

Animas vibe
Medtronic veo
Accucheck combo
And the omnipod

 

[Riri]

Wow - lucky to get such a choice but that comes with its own set of problems - which one to chose?
I have a medtronic pump. My experience, I'm 47 and I work in an office and live a fairly 'normal' life. Wear tight fitting clothes and my pump fits into my bra. I don't mind wearing Pjs to bed when I clip the pump to the bottoms. I go to Greece every year and my pump comes with me - bit of a pain but this would be the case with all pumps ....removing it to swim, hiding it from full sun and watching that no sand gets near it. I have to say I find the Medtronic pump great and for these top reasons - I never get air bubbles in the reservoir, the set changes are easy once youve got the hang of it, the basal rates are set at 0.25 increments under 1.0 unit, I can set a temporary +\- % basal in increments of 5%, you can set 3 basal rates for different occasions (e.g working week and weekend), you can easily suspend insulin with one button press of a button and you can easily upload full reports of what's been happening on your pump including all your BSs to the PC and e-mail reports to your DSN. It does have a remote but I don't use it.
As you can tell I really like my pump but I'm sure you'll find others who are very happy with their make of pump too. Al the best with choosing and going on the pump.

 

[Faith*]

Could you do a bit of reading on each one and see which takes your fancy more? I wasn't given a choice at the time and I was put onto a Medtronic Paradigm which I love. I don't really know much about the others? I tend to hide mine in my bra or clip it onto my pants. I had a few problems finding the right cannula/sets for me in the beginning but am currently using steel cannulas with no problems.

I believe the omnipod is waterproof - so it depends on your needs I guess, see what everyone else says

 

[JaneC]

I'm on the Omnipod which can be put all over the bod, is waterproof and no wires, also really easy for cannula insertion. The new small pods are great but am having a few problems currently with them alarming but that hopefully is just teething problems and will get sorted. I've been on a pump for a year now after 25 on MDI and do prefer it although my control was as good on MDi as it is on the pump. I play a lot of sport so the Omnipod suits me.
Probably best to have a look and a test of each pump available if you can. Omnipod provide test pods to have a go on.

 

[TallGirl]

Thanks all

I had a look at them all yesterday, but I still dont have a clue.

The DSN gave me an omnipod to try (one of the larger older ones) but I havent put it on yet as I dont know where to put it....I dont want it to catch on clothes like the CGM I had did....

I'm going to scour the interweb today and see what I can find

 

[iHs]

My advice is to ask all the pump manufacturers to send you out their latest brochures.

All pumps have their pros and cons so my advice is to look at all the msgs left on diabetic forums about pumps and pick the pump that appears to have the least problems associated with it.....

Good luck with whatever one you decide to have. It will take you a while to get to grips with knowing when to adjust your basal rates and when to adjust your carb bolus as changes to both will affect your bg levels......

 

[JaneC]

Re the test Omnipod pod, try your thigh, stomach, back of upper arm, bum, lower back, calf, wherever you think fits in with your life style, clothing etc. There are a lots of places to try but maybe for the first, somewhere you are happy injecting, I think I used my stomach for the test pod.

 

[AliceElectra]

I use the Accuchek Combo, previously used the Medtronic Minimed. The Combo is great in a number of ways, you program in your insulin-to-carb ratios and insulin-correction ratios, then the blood glucose meter talks to the pump via bluetooth. If you're high when you test your blood, it calculates how much insulin you need based on your ratios and your optimum glucose level. Similarly you tell it how many grams of carb you're eating and it calculates the insulin again. It makes things much easier. It also means you don't have to take your pump out if it's in an awkward place like your bra or a leg strap thing in order to do a bolus, you do it via the blood glucose machine. Basal rates can be fine-tuned to a greater degree than a lot of other pumps I've seen, and while it shouldn't be immersed in water it is relatively waterproof.

There are obviously a few little things that I find annoying, like the fact that you can't silence any alert beeping or anything, but overall it's really good.

 

[TallGirl]

Thanks for the replies :0)

I'm thinking the omnipod isn't for me, I think it will get caught too much

Not sure i link the look of the Veo...looks a bit complicated with all the buttons and its not a colour screen

I want something that looks nice, has a colour screen and is user friendly

So that leaves me with the Animas Vibe and the Accucheck combo.....

I'm getting there! Lol