Information on Pumps for my Son

Hi there @SpencerT welcome to the forum.

there are advantages and disadvantages to all the pumps mentioned above and looking at the choices and deciding which features matter most is important.

examples --- omnipod is tubeless so can be worn in the shower or swimming without removing. it also has a 200u reservoir ( max ) so for people that may use more insulin in a 3 day cycle this might not be too good.

medtronic 780g is a pump capable of hybrid closed looping ( which is sort of the latest thing in commercially available pumps ) but in order to utilise this you also need to use their medtronic CGM sensors ( additional cost ) it has a 300u reservoir and recently have introduced 7 day sets ( cannula that needs changing ) instead of the standard of 3 days for all cannula based systems.

myLife pump also is an HCL ( hybrid closed loop ) pump that requires either the dexcom G6 or freestyle libre 3 to make it work as an HCL system.

I have never worn a tubed pump so can't really comment on the sleeping with it but from reading others it seems most people get along fine.... another thing to think of is sports and where to wear but there are solutions sold in the pump after market for this purpose.


as you are in the midlands you should have a choice of more than 1 hospital in the local geographical area and not all hospitals are equal when it comes to prescribing pumps so that would be worth thinking about as well. some hospitals are more helpful in terms of getting patients on to pumps faster than others.

this might help as regards hospital trusts ..............................
In the Midlands, several hospital trusts likely have insulin pump clinics, including: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust;

i can't answer on the consumables but it would also seem to me to be a bit tricky and i am not 100% sure that all of these pumps are actually available to buy direct with out a DR prescription ( which is what the hospital actually do )

to finish i should add that the time delay for getting a pump varies throughout the UK and is as usual partly the good old postcode lottery combined with the hospital trust attitude along with their Type 1 teams. i am actually in Wales and my wait was 15 months from first discussion with doctor to actually wearing for the first time.

edit -- sorry just one more thing -- if your son is already prescribed the freestyle Libre 2+ ( plus ) that gives him an advantage in going for the Omnipod 5 ( HCL system) as it is compatible with Libre 2+ with no thought of extra cost of CGM ... as sometimes a hospital will prescribe a pump but not the CGM's ( medtronic or Dexcom because of their higher cost )

2nd edit ---- i would recommend getting the book Pumping Insulin as a good basic education on pumping

From many I have spoken to the 780g is the one that offers best control overall

Partly due to its lower targets and the fact it learns your patterns it’s also the only pump which gives 5 minutely corrections.. the downside is its slightly larger than others and its tubed

Sleeping is no issue I just let it roam free and after a few week it’s almost like part of your body that you automatically live around

Omnipod has the disadvantage that you have to carry the controller too

Generally, you do need to enter meal carbs in order to optimise your time in target range.

However, from experience, if you were to forget, the pump would bring you back on target, but it could take hours depending on the number and type of carbs taken (fast or slow release?).

I don’t see any evidence of a new replacement . The new pump would probably be compatible with the new Simplera sensors, but it might be a good idea to ensure you are eligible for this.

(Edited to remove emojis!)

SpencerT said:

Thanks for your replies. Am I correct in thinking the 780g is the only pump on the market that doesn't require you to enter your meal carbs when eating?

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You still need to enter the carbs, I mean it might eventually get you down without doing so and without eating anything else, but it may well take all day to deal with one meal (of course it may depend on the person)
I mean it does its best - but they're not that good yet, but I know if I forget it does beep at me loudly after not too long - I have a high alarm set to 12

SpencerT said:

Also slightly concerned we'll invest the £5.6k in the 780g only to have it superseded by Medtronic in 12 months time with something substantially smaller/faster etc. Is there a second-hand market for these pumps?

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In the UK not as far as I know cos the vast majority (I'd guess 99%+) with them will be getting them on the NHS - in other countries I'm sure there is - though not sure I'd trust something second hand for something like insulin delivery

SpencerT said:

Thanks for your replies. Am I correct in thinking the 780g is the only pump on the market that doesn't require you to enter your meal carbs when eating?

Also slightly concerned we'll invest the £5.6k in the 780g only to have it superseded by Medtronic in 12 months time with something substantially smaller/faster etc. Is there a second-hand market for these pumps?

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No.. you still enter the carbs, the 780 can detect meals and missed doses and deals quite well, but this is done by sensing the rising BG level…. The trouble with this you will still go much higher than if you enter the carbs

SpencerT said:

Thanks for your replies. Am I correct in thinking the 780g is the only pump on the market that doesn't require you to enter your meal carbs when eating?

Also slightly concerned we'll invest the £5.6k in the 780g only to have it superseded by Medtronic in 12 months time with something substantially smaller/faster etc. Is there a second-hand market for these pumps?

Click to expand...

Whilst they may be working in developing new pumps all the time, there doesn’t seem to be any chatter of new models coming and it takes a year or more for them to go through approval

The 780 has only recently been approved in the USA

Even if you waited and got a newer pump, there will always be something better after it.. that doesn’t the one you have suddenly worse it will still give far better control

That's great news @SpencerT Hope it goes well for him. It can take a while to tweak things in the beginning, but it's worth it in the end.