Thursday, February 4, 2010

Picking a Pump...

Well 1 week from today is our pump class! They will quiz us on insulin adjustment among other thing and if we pass (I think I'll let the Hubby copy off my paper) we'll get to choose our pump!!! The only problem is that I'm so torn in which one I want. My 3 choices; OmniPod, One Touch Ping and MiniMed Paradigm.
OmniPod got the boot, apparently it doesn't keep track of insulin on board other than correction. in my 1st thoughts I didn't care about that because I couldn't keep track of it with shots anyways so it didn't really matter, but the more I thought about it, it hit me that why even bother switching to the pump if I'm not going to let technology help me gain better control of her numbers (we have enough lows with out over dosing her with insulin)! So I figured for now I'll skip on the awesome tube-less feature to keep my daughter safer, maybe when she can actually tell me she feels low we'll revisit the OmniPod.
So with that I'm only left with the One Touch Ping and MiniMed Paradigm...I can't choose!!! I LOVED the MiniMed one but only because it had the pump, CGM and test meter that were linked together. The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't have a good remote and we'd need to actually have her pump in our hands to do what we needed to do. Most of you guys with young children know getting a 3 year old to stand still while you fiddle around with the pump imputing number and what not is next to impossible!
I haven't actually gotten to see the Ping one yet, the company has yet to call me back after my 3 e-mails about setting up a hands on demo. I've heard tons of good things about it! Those of you that have it, is there anything about it that you don't like or wish you could change? And does it come with good support? The MiniMed one came with a nurse for the first few weeks, you e-mailed over your numbers everyday and they'd help you make changes and once everything was good they'd turn you back over to your endo office, I really liked knowing I wasn't just turned loose with it.


I know there has been a ton of talk about pumps lately but if you're not too burned out on it please, please leave me a comment with any info you think I'll need to make this choice! Thanks!!!

6 comments:

Maelyse Webb said...

My 10 year old son just went on the Ping in late December. He was diagnosed in July of last year, so this is our first pump experience. Animas has the nurse that you work with as well, and ours has been really great. We are still tweaking our son's pump, so that is probably equal with both companies. The meter remote is nice, and I would think it would be great with a 3 year old. Within the year, the Ping is supposed to be coming out with a model that integrates the Dexcom CGM. That is one reason I chose the Ping--so many people seem to like the Dexcom better than Medtronic's CGM. I knew that we weren't going to do a CGM right away. Our Animas rep said that we could upgrade for $300 when it comes out. The pump by itself is enough of an adjustment for now. The other feature that it has that I don't THINK Medtronic has that we have used and like is that if you need to change your basal rates you can put in a percentage to increase or decrease and a time period and it automatically changes all of the rates you have set--you don't have to go in and change each rate. I'm sure Medtronic has some good features as well though. I'd make sure your insurance supports both the same.

Meri said...

Medronic has percentages too. :)

We used Animas and Medronic. We chose to switch all our boys to Medronic. They can bolus themselves, and the site changes are easier. Less button pushing. Changing our Medronic sets went twice as fast as the Animas. And another annoying thing was the animas required a full rewind when you change the battery. UHG! We also were not happy with the service. A pump would break, and Animas generally wouldn't get another to us for a couple days. Medronic would usually get it to us by noon the next day.

Now, we did not use the ping. I hear great things about it. My little ones always wore a pump in a pouch for easy access, but a remote sounds heavenly. I know it sounds like I'm bashing Animas, and to be honest it was fine. It was a million times better than shots, so I shouldn't complain. When you have three pumps to change, little things bother you more. :) The pump you chose won't be forever...a few years down the road and you can change if you want. I hope the Animas reps meet with you so you can make a better informed decision.

Bottom line: you can't go wrong...a pump will make things easier in the long run. :)

Wendy said...

If there's one thing I DON'T like about the PING, it's that I feel like you have to push too many buttons to deliver insulin. In fact, I hate that. It's not complicated -- and I realize that it's all one big safety feature, but I just wish there was a way to streamline the process.

It's not like it takes FOREVER. But...maybe I'm impatient...I don't know. It's all done in less than a minute, but it still bugs me.

I agree about the temp basal -- though I don't know how MM does it. I do like being able to decrease/increase basals by whatever percentage I choose for however long I choose with just one adjustment.

I like the delivery screen because it shows you the active IOB and will automatically subtract from a dose to account for it. (Then again, I just really like IOB!!!)

Yup. Love the remote...but...for some reason I thought MM had one too -- something that could be purchased separately??? Not sure why I think this or thought that, but at some point I thought I heard that. Though I don't hear much talk of it, so maybe it was an old thing.

We really like the Animas Inset infusion sets. MM uses proprietary tubing so you can't shop around if the infusion set/adhesive doesn't work. I wouldn't think this was a big deal, except that when we started Cozmo, the Cleos didn't work and we needed to shop around for another set with an automatic inserter (cuz I didn't want to do a manual insertion!! But that's just me). Glad we had the option!

It was nice when Addy got soaked in the rain (during the ONE downpour I've seen in a year) knowing that her pump was waterproof. I don't worry about it at the pool or in a cooler because it's going to be okay. And I don't panic if it falls in the toilet (which has only happened twice, but when a girls gotta go a girls gotta go!!!)

OH and that little itty bitty increment of dosage...gotta be honest...Cozmo didn't have that and I didn't think it was a big deal. Until I had access to it. LOVE that little bitty dose adjustment -- especially at night.

IOB was my dealbreaker with OmniPod. But the other thing was the fact that I couldn't give insulin from the pod. What if the remote breaks? Gets lost? Left behind when I change purses? Forgotten at home with the D supplies on the counter while I rush off to wherever? Knowing that I can still give Addy's boluses straight from her pump puts my mind at ease.

But...here's the thing...

They all deliver insulin. And that's the most important thing!!! The fact that you're willing to learn about technology and keep your mind open to new ways of thinking means you can't go wrong.

You know what YOUR family's needs are. So, that means that you'll make the right choice. Period :)

It's a win-win for you!

Unknown said...

GO WITH THE PING...My son was diagnosed at 3 years of age and has been on the pump for 3 1/2 years now. I like the Animas Ping for a few reasons...1) you can adjust basal rates by 0.025units per hour...this is HUGE in a young, insulin-sensitive child 2) The remote bolusing feature is AWESOME...especially when you have an active young child that doesn't want to sit still while bolusing..and 3) they just partnered with JDRF for the pseudo closed-loop system (I posted on my blog betabuddies.blogspot.com). I sub as a school nurse and have used both types of pumps...I have to say, I find the Animas Ping more intuitive as well...this is my personal opinion...and may be skewed b/c I have been using it for a few years. I hope this is helpful!

Shamae (Ghost written by Loren her hubby) said...

Interesting about the pod. I didn't know that. I can tell you that we love Syd's MM pump and it does have a remote bolus feature. We've never used it because it's really simple to bolus with the pump but we do have a thing that looks like a key fob and we can use it to give a bolus with. I love the temp basal setting on the pump--I think they all have that though. If Syd is running low I can put in to only give her 50% of her normal basal..it is so slick and easy. Then I say how many hours I want to keep the temp basal on and it's done. I know a couple comments said they weren't sure how MM did it but it's the same...just a percentage of what you want given. It has made nights with lows super neat. I know all the pumps have great features and all that. Just go play with them and find the one that will be the perfect fit for you guys.

Syd can bolus herself. You push the 'b' button. I LOVE that the meter is connected to the pump so her blood sugar pops right up on the pump screen. then you push act. Then you enter the carbs. And push act and act...the pushing act twice is kinda a safety feature so they don't accidently bolus themselves. Anyway it's easy Syd does it herself. She will say, ok I put in 25 carbs. Ok it's giving me 1.5. And we say Ok...and it's done.

You will LOVE the pump...whichever one you choose! If you have specific questions, ask away! I don't know the difference in infusion sets between the 2 types but I know the quickset is really quick and easy to use.

I've never used another pump to have anything negative to say about them. I'm sure they are all great with great features. But I can tell you that I really like the features that the MM has to offer. It is really small. I think the smallest pump out there. It is smaller than my palm if that gives you an idea. The fact that the CGM and meter all link up with the pump is pretty awesome. Less equipment to mess with on a kid is great. But people do the 2 device thing all the time and don't seem to mind so I guess that's really your call.

Any questions, ask away!! TTYL!

Shamae (Ghost written by Loren her hubby) said...

Oh and the MM does have the insulin on board thing. So if I am giving Syd insulin and she is 85. Her goal is 150. She is eating 30 carbs (w/ a 1:15 ratio). Before I would just give her 2 units. But with the pump it will factor inthat she is 70 pts below her goal and subtract off the 2 units to help her meet her goal. It's pretty cool.

You can always find out how much insulin she still has on board and that is great too when tryin to decide if she needs insulin.

It sounds to me like the Ping and the MM paradigm are pretty similar. They both will make your life so much more flexible!! I've never used the remote thing but that's because it is so slick to give insulin with the pump. Plus Syd likes to do it too so it's good that she can be proactive in helping count her carbs and giving herself insulin.

I'm not gonna lie the fact that the MM pump is NOT waterproof kinda sucks. But we make it work. We've gone swimming and boating and all sorts of things with syd's pump and it's still ok but that featuer is pretty cool on the ping.

Anyway either pump you choose will be a great addition to your family. Good luck and let us know what you decide!!