Hi
@Sibyl I have been pumping for about 4 years and wish I had done it sooner.
My specific pump experience has been slightly different to most that are on offer now and I have not heard about the Kaleido.
However, I have experience of tubey and tubeless pumps.
What do you mean by the Kaleido can be worn on the arm? Any pump cannula (tubey or tubeless) can be inserted into the upper arm, provided you have enough fat there. Would you wear the Kaleido on the arm too or would you plan to stuff it into your bra, for example?
A short tube may sound like a great idea. Unless you need to get the pump out to give yourself a bolus (something else to consider when you are thinking about where to keep it) - then you may wish for a longer tube. Some pumps now have a remote control although these do not always have the full range of options that are available on the pump itself (e.g. I believe the Medtronic has a remote which allows manual bolus but does not include the bolus calculator which I use most of the time).
I am quite small so definitely favour a small pump. One of the things I disliked by my first pump (Animas Vibe which is no longer available) is that it was difficult to hide on my body (there was no way I could store it in my bra without being lopsided) so I felt my body was always on display.
I never found the tube a problem per se - it was easy to tuck into my clothing and never caught it on anything.
With a tubey pump, at night, I wore a pump belt, wrapped around my upper thigh like a garter and it didn't disturb me in my sleep. I was told I could let it "roam free" but whenever I tried this, it always ended up under my boney hip and woke me. But, provided it was under control in a belt, it did not add to any restless sleep.
Earlier this year, I changed to a tubeless pump. The main motivation was size and ease of hiding it. My CCG do not offer OmniPod (because it is much more expensive than other pumps) so I went for a Medtrum. These guys are small in the UK and I knew this was a risk with regard to support, supplies, etc. As I had 3 years pumping experience, I was willing to take this risk. But I would have been nervous about using a lesser known pump with little presence in the UK if it was my first pump.
Regarding tubey vs tubeless. The tubeless is easier to manage when on and working. However, given the amount of the pump which has to be stuck to my body (all of it rather than just a cannula), the placement options are significantly reduced. And, if there is a problem, it is more of a pain to resolve. For example, an occlusion alarm on a tubey pump would just require a change to the cannula whereas it requires a full set change on a tubeless pump, or if there was a problem with the insulin, on a tubey pump, I could just change the cartridge whereas a tubeless pump requires a full set change. Whilst this doesnot happen often, it is something to bear in mind.
I realise I have rambled on quite a bit and that's without any comment about Kaleido. But if you have any generic pump questions, feel free to ask.
[If you want specific Kaleido feedback, I would recommend asking the moderators to put "Kaleido" in the subject as it may be more likely to attract the attention of someone using one.]
