Pump lifespan

On accuchek combo
pumps some that were techinally on loan were given a count down date. So when mine was due for renewal last Sept the nurse had to phone me up and check whether my pump had an expiry date before getting the new Insight pump. (Mine didn't).

However this new Insight one has. I've spoken to the Accuchek team as my nurse and the rep when giving it to me both assured me this pump had no day to die.

However when I got home I noticed it is counting down the days to work before expiring....

I contacted accuchek and nurse but no response from either yet. accuchek care team not aware that it had a countdown of days on it...

So still waiting to find out.

Sorry a bit useless there on info.. Just that others going on to Insight pump may wish to ask about the timer set up too.

There's no time out on the pumps these days as far as I know. I have a Cozmo pump as a back up and it must be at least 9 years old now and working just fine. Battery's are removed before you store a pump as it will corrode if left in and ruin the pump.
Pumps have a 4 year warranty now days as well

I've just stored my old pump. It was almost 7 years old,
I took the battery out. There was a cap that came with my new pump covering the reservoir compartment . I used that on my old one (it's basically an older version of the new one). I put the pump back in it's box and put a sachet of silica gel in the box; ( our house is old and draughty and can get damp if we have to leave it in winter)
I hope it's enough, it's my insurance for if I have to move back to the UK. The French authorities no longer buy pumps for patients, they rent them , by the day. As soon as I moved back to the UK they would no longer pay for it.

Must check back with accuchek on this as my insight pump definitely

Has a

pump data;
Pump timer;
Days until expiry: 1387.......

It may be useful for me if it has a dead date as my CCG (nene) is the only one besides NI that aren't giving new pumps unless they go dead....

However, expiry could mean anything...

I have an accu-Chek combo, was told the lifespan of it is 4 yrs x

When I got my Combo pump in 2010, I automatically thought it would be upgraded to a newer model 4yrs later but was told by the dsn and rep that it was up to the PCT to agree or not to continue the funding of a new pump after the warranty had expired, meaning that I could have the pump for about 6yrs or more before it malfunctioned. As it was, my consultant knew that I was interested in having cgm and suggested that I have the Vibe when the 4yr warranty had expired and so that was it.......saw the dsn, saw the Vibe, shoved it in my bra, then chose colour and infusion sets that I wanted and the Vibe was delivered to my home about 2 months before the official expiry date of the Combo.

In the New Year I had a dinner event that I needed to attend with my OH so wore a tight fitting dress and at first I was just going to put the Vibe in my bra and leave it to deliver the basal and use my insulin pen for the bolus but then thought I might as well get out the Combo and use that instead and deliver the bolus using the meter/handset. The Combo worked all ok even though I had not used it for 7 months and as it also connects using luer tubes, I just used the same infusion set and had a short tube on the Combo and a longer one on the Vibe. Left Vibe at home and just changed over pumps when I got home in the early hours.

OH recommended that because pumps have small motors and gears in them, they ideally should be started up every 3 months to ensure that the piston doesnt stick. Before I filled the Combo cartridge with a tiny amount of insulin, I had it running with a cartridge filled with some saline for a day or so to make sure it was all ok still. Saline can be bought cheaply through pharmacies or onlline and although a bit fiddly, a disposable syringe can be used to withdraw the saline from a sachet and transfer into an empty insulin vial or pen cartridge (get a biro and mark)

Yep I was given the combo to keep as back up but told to test it every month just to keep the piston working