Monday, July 5, 2010

One Decision Down, One to Go...

    When I got back from the JDRF Canada AGM a couple weeks ago I let the world know that I had finally been turned.  I was heading in the direction already, but that trip was the last straw, it's on, we're getting Jonathan a pump.  So that pretty much seals the deal on MDIs.  Now on to the other big question: which pump?

    I guess a possible blessing in disguise is that we really only have three options (short of paying 100% out of pocket) Animas, Minimed, or Disetronic... and yes they are listed in their current running order in my head.  Actually, until today, I hadn't even heard of Disetronic (Roche), but they were on the list of three that we reviewed with Jonathan's team at the hospital.

    As with pretty much any big decision in my life (or in this case my son's), I end up walking in with a pretty good idea of what I want and how this is going to go down.  I've already leaked my infatuation with the ping, but in all fairness to the other fine products out there I am going to sit down with their reps and see what they have to offer.  With that being said though, the Spirit is pretty much already out of the running: 1) Apparently the rep doesn't have voice mail (or it's not currently working) and 2) We would be the only Roche family in the city that our clinic is aware of and they know very little about that product so support may be challenging.

    So, barring a brutal disappointment  by either the fine people at Johnson & Johnson or Medtronics, our final decision is to either Ping or go Mini.  I've got call into both reps asking for a meeting to review their products and hopefully within the next few weeks we will have one on order.  In the mean time, I'd love to hear from both camps out there as to why you love your particular pump and what made you got to it, stay with it or if you switched and why.  Please be assured that this is more for personal curiosity and to help generate questions for the reps and not the poll that knocks the runner-up out of the race.

    Some of the reasons I'm leaning towards the Animas are:

Luer lock connection - more options for sets.

Finer basil increment (1/2 that of mini)

Four basil profiles (1 more than mini)

Finer bolus increments (but both WAY smaller than syringe)

CalorieKing in the remote

And the biggies.....

The meter is the remote

It's water-proof (12' for 24 hours) and Jonathan loves to swim

On board calculators



What say you?

6 comments:

  1. Well, you know what I'm going say. We LOVE our Ping! See my blog post about it for all the reasons why...!

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  2. Keep in mind that we have been pumping for exactly 2 weeks today so I am no expert.
    That being said...
    I LOVE the remote!! I have only bolused from the pump like 2 times. I was also excited about the calorie king info, BUT I have yet to use it. To be honest... its kind of a pain. I have found it quicker/easier to use my phone. I guess it is nice to have it just in case. I also need to take the time to sit down and add in some favorites from around town. I will play more with that when I get my software(its on its way).

    I have heard that the mini med is a little easier for the kids to use. But Justin bolused himself from the remote yesterday (with me hovering over of course) and I am sure he would be fine doing it with the pump also. He is probably way more able than I allow him to be :)

    Not sure if this helped.

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  3. I opted for the Ping for many of the reasons you listed. The new MM Revel does have the same micro dosing option of 0.25u now -- that isn't something that was available when I was making this decision. That being said, the micro basal increments offered by Animas are very useful as well.

    Waterproof is a big issue for us...we live in the dessert and summer = water. Sprinklers, splash pads, pools, even misters just sitting on a neighbors back porch...almost any opportunity to cool off if the summer involves water.

    The reason we didn't opt for MM almost 4 years ago was because of the tubing issue. I like options -- heck, I wouldn't even buy a Diaper Genie because it requires proprietary trash bags. If something isn't working, I like the option of shopping around until I find something that will.

    At the end of the day, we're EXTREMELY happy with the Ping. Interestingly, the remote wasn't really something I took into consideration, because Cozmo didn't have one....but, now that we've had it....I WANT IT FOREVER!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE that remote!

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  4. The new minimed pump has the smaller dosing increments, and it is very user friendly...little users too. :) Hallie, Laura and I did blog posts on the same day explaining why we love our pumps. Check it out...it is called the Pump Parade.

    Good luck! You can't go wrong with either, really!

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  5. AHHHH...LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE the PING. I, in addition to being a mother and a pancreas...also sub as a school nurse and find the Ping more "intuitive" than the minimed - my 2 cents. I had originally gone with Animas due to the smaller basal increments...I think Medtronic's next model will also have the smaller incremements. The bonus with Medtronic is the ability to use the pump as the CGM receiver...if you go that route. Although I have to say Joe does not mind wearing the Dexcom receiver in addition to his Animas pump. Animas is working on having the pump be the receiver for the Dexcom Transmitter...don't know when that will be happening though...each company is trying to keep up with the other on all of these little extra perky features that we all love so much. Whatever your choice you will not go wrong... but, I LOVE ANIMAS!!!

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  6. I have no advice. Just wanted to say good luck with your decision!!! I know it's not easy picking a pump. We're still on MDI, but hoping to start pumping at some point in the near future. I'm eager to see which pump you choose.

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