Gordonm

I have been a type 1 Diabetic now for 32 years. I got it for my 11th birthday. Nice gift huh. I have been in excellent control with no complications and an A1C of 5.8 to 6.2 for the last few years. I have also been on multiple injections and would like to move up a little in technology. I have been looking at pumps for years but finally decided it was time to do it. I have had 2 reps come by from 2 of the leading companies showing me the latest in pumps. They have come a long way in the last few years. I do excercise a lot and ride a lot, most of the time for 20 to 40+ miles. I'm working up for longer rides but it is tough with injections. The pump seems much better at controlling the overall levels and you have infinite adjustments. Just wondering what are the opinions and pluses or any minuses about the pumps. I have pretty much convinced myself I'm going to do it and have been to a few classes on it already. Thanks for any info.

Nermal

Wish I could help. I've type II, and so far, it's under control with exercise and diet.

skiahh

My wife is a T1 of 25 years. She went on the pump last year and we did a lot of research before deciding on the Deltec Cozmo. It seemed the best for an active lifestyle. Waterproof. Integrated blood glucose monitor (uses Freestyle strips), logs everything. Uses the standard Luer lock infusion sites vs a proprietary one. Largest resevoir for insulin. IR interface to download stuff to your computer, though it's a bit finicky.

It works wonders... one side effect of the pump is our perfectly healthy, happy 7 month old daughter. No one told her that the pump works so well it removes huge amounts of stress from your body allowing normal things to happen.

One downside: she doesn't like being reminded of her disease by having something permanently attached to her, but also recognizes the benefit of having the pump so is going to stick with it. That's a strictly personal thing, however.

Here's a link for you to start with: https://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_...6fdaed605de40a

One thing... they aren't cheap and insurance typically doesn't pay for the whole cost. Even at 20% co-pay, you're looking at over a grand out of pocket. I'm very fortunate in that military insurance pays 100% of the cost, but knowing what we know now, I'd gladly fork over the grand for the thing.

Recently learned of a continuous BGM that you wear on on your stomach. You need 10 sensor sets/month and they're $40 each. And not covered by any insurance so far. So... that one's not ready for prime time yet if you ask me.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask and if I don't know the answer, I'll ask her.

Gordonm

Nice to hear a good result of going on the pump. Most pumpers have been very satisfied with it and it frees them up a lot. My concern is also being tethered to something all the time and have it hanging on. My insurance does pay 80% but it will be worth it for me. I figured about a grand also and then the supplies will be more.
I have done some research and the constant monitering and Medtronics has one tha tis 1000 and the strips are quite expensive. It interacts with their pump also. Descan has one that is about 400 and the strips are cheaper and the ytypically last about 5 to 7 days so it is cheaper yet. It does not interface with anything yet but can be downloaded. Freestyle Navigator is coming out with a much better unit. It is supposed to come in around 300+ dollars and the strips are about 5 to 10 dollars. This info was from an educator that I talked to. It is supposed to come out this month or next. She told me to wait on this as it is a better system. I am personally looking at the Medtroics or the Animas pumps. Both are about the same with some minor differences. The Animas is also waterproof.

I might have some other questions once I get on, so thanks for the offer and I might take you up on it. Does your wife also ride?

skiahh

She does, but not for the past year. She had to work really hard to control her blood sugars and now with a newborn, she's just tired all the time. She's not hard core, but she does want to get back on a bike soon.

Good luck with your choice. I think the constant monitoring systems will come down pretty quickly. At least I hope so.

betes

I'm 21 and have been diabetic for 10 years now. I got a pump after having been diabetic for 2 years. I use a Minimed Paradigm and I've been very happy with it. The customer service is second to none. The pump gives me a lot of flexibility and control. The only reason my sugar is anything less than stellar is because I'm busy and lazy. It sounds like you have excellent control, so you'd probably do well on the pump. I know I do better the more I check. I try to check at least 6 times a day. Here are just a couple quick pros and cons off the top of my head:

Pros
flexibility
basal rate adjustment for exercise, sickness
convenience
not having to do injections every day


Cons
battery troubles
infusion set problems

My biggest negative for the pump would have to be that occasionally, I will get an infusion set that doesn't work for whatever reason. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that I'm very thin and don't have too much fat for the cannula to go into. Anyway, I'll put in an infusion set and think everything is fine, but then 2 hours later I'm high and I don't know why. I haven't had this problem for a while, however. Also I now keep a close watch on my sugar after changing the infusion set so I can catch it before it goes too high.

Alright that's about all I can think of for now. If you have any more questions, ask away.

Gordonm

Thanks for the info. Always good to hear some success stories using the pump. Right now it is between the Animas and the Paradigm. I don't think I'll go wrong with either one.

betes

Yeah I was going to say the only other pump that looked interesting to me was the Animas. Minimed just brought out the Paradigm with continuous glucose monitoring too. Looks good. One thing the Animas has over the Paradigm is that it's waterproof (IIRC), but I take mine off to swim and I prefer it that way.

skiahh

The Cozmo is waterproof, too, though they only say it's "watertight". My wife showers with hers and we figured if she fell in a mud puddle with a pump, that one was the way to go. When we were looking at them, the Cozmo was the only one that said you could immerse it. That's with the integrated BGM removed.

Just for reference... not trying to convince you either way.

betes

So does she hold it in her hand while she showers? I kinda wanted a waterproof one, but I realized I'm a lot more comfortable taking it off anyway. And 90% of the time when I swim, the infusion set loosens to the point where I feel more comfortable changing it than leaving it in and hoping it still works.

I think most pumps are like watches - they say water resistant because it can't be submersed to great depths for long periods of time, but for all practical purposes they are decent enough.

skiahh

She has me put a stick on soap dish on the shower wall for her strategically so she can set the pump there, have her hands free and move around a bit.

Oh, and sine most seem to be solid trays (I've never figured that one out) I drll small drain holes in it so the water doesn't collect and get grodie.

Gordonm

I was wondering how people took a shower with it on. Knowing me I'd knock it off and rip out the infusion set. I'm sure I'll try it sometime myself.

edzo

just disconnect the thing, cap the infusion set, and shower normally except of course don't
disturb the infusion set. dry off, reconnect pump, done. 10 minutes off
the pump never hurt anyone

betes

That's what I do. And then when I change my infusion set I usually try and do it when I shower so I can clean the area where it used to be.