Choosing a new pump

At my clinic your pump gets upgraded every 4 years, this basically means you get to choose a new pump. This can be a really hard decision to make though. after you have made the decisions you are stuck with the same pump for 4 years! that is a long time if you don't like the pump you decide. There are so many pump to choose from pumps with no wires, pumps with a wire pumps with cgm's , pumps that can connect to your meter... So I thought it would be a good idea to write this post all about the different pumps that are out there to make it a little bit easier for you when it comes to choosing a new pump.

I have been on a pump for nearly 8 years now and I have had the same pump, Medtronic MiniMed. Now that it is coming up for my pump upgrade in August I really want to try out a different pump, however there are so many the hospital gave me to choose from. There is the Medtronic 640G pump, the Animas Vibe pump, the Roche Insight pump and the Omnipod. So what is the difference between all these pumps?

Medtronic 640G pump
The Medtronic 640G is a waterproof pump which comes in Blue, purple, pink,black and silver. It has a blood glucose meter which can automatically send you levels across to the pump which saves you having to manually enter all of the levels into the pump. Also with this pump you can have a sensors with it. The sensor based on your levels can predict when you are  approaching low levels 30 minutes in advance and automatically stop insulin delivery and after your levels are back to normal the pump will automatically resume insulin delivery.
Here is a link to the Medtronic 640G pump website for more information:
https://www.medtronic-diabetes.co.uk/minimed-system/minimed-640g-insulin-pump 

 

 

Animas Vibe pump

The Animas Vibe is a waterproof pump which comes in silver, black, blue, green and pink. The pump tracks the insulin which is still active in your body to help prevent you taking extra insulin which is unnecessary which reduces the chance of going low. This pump can also connect to a sensor if you have one. The Animas Vibe pump is very similar to the Medtronic MiniMed pump.

Here is a link to the Animas Vibe pump website for more information:

http://animascorp.co.uk/animasvibe 

Roche Insight pump
The Roche Insight pump is a waterproof pump which comes with a separate handset. This means you can put your levels and carbs into your handset without having to take the pump out. This makes giving your insulin a lot more discreet to other people. However the connection time between the handset and the pump can be a bit slow compared to other pumps.  The pumps shape is designed to be more comfortable to wear and there is a choice of small, flat cannulas.
Here is a link to the Roche Insight pump website for more information:
https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/products/insulinpumps/insight.html 

 

Omnipod

The Omnupod has no wire as the 'pod' and handset aren't connected. This means all the insulin is stored in the pod which is attached to you, however this does make the cannula (pod) bigger then the other pumps. It also means you cant disconnect the pod from you, it has to stay in you for 3day until you next change it. The idea of having no wire to your pump is very appealing to people as his is the only pump with no wire at the moment. The only down side to the omnipod is when you bolus or use basal rates the amount of insulin the pod gives you can vary up to 30%.

Here is a link to the Omnipod website for more information:

https://www.myomnipod.com/about-omnipod/system-overview/ 

As you can see there are so many different pumps out there and they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. However there is not a better or worse pump, everyone prefers different pumps because everyone is different. Some people may decide that they really like the Omnipod becase it has no wire whereas some people may not like it because they are sensitive to insulin and that 30% vary in insulin could really effect them.

Out of all of these different pumps I have decided to get  Medtronic 640G pump as I think it will be the pump that will suit me best. The reason I have chosen this pump is because I am not very good at changing my cannulas, it normally takes me about 30mins to change it. It takes me this long because I have a needle phobia. The great thing about the  Medtronic 640G pump is that it has the same cannulas as the pump I already have (Medtronic MiniMed) which will make changing my cannula every 3 days a lot easier because I am used to those cannulas.

Anyway hopefully this post has helped you see the different pump that are out  at the moments and the advantages and disadvantages of them. Hopefully I will be getting my new pump in August! I can then write a post all about it :)

Holiday aboard

Sorry I haven't posted on my blog in a while, it's because I have been on holiday for 2 weeks in Portugal. The weather was so nice there, it was always sunny and hot throughout the day and in the evening there was a lovely cool breeze. The holiday was so relaxing and I loved it, the only bad thing was the only Internet that I was able to connect to was in a restaurant, which was quiet a long walk from our apartment. So I wasn't able to talk to people or write any blog posts or go on Facebook :( 

Whenever I go on holiday abroad I always worry that they won't let my through security because of all of my insulin and my pump and pump supplies that I will need.. Every time I have been on holiday it has been fine when i was going through security it always been fine so I don't really know why I worry about it. The only thing we got told we had to do this time was put my glucoJels in a separate bags to my insulin. 

If you go on holiday abroad I know it can make you worry a bit about getting through security with all your diabetic supplies but try and not worry as it will be fine. All you have to remember to do is get a letter off your diabetic team to say that you can bring liquids on to the plane and put all your liquids and diabetic supplies on clear plastic bags so that the security people can see what it is. Make sure your gluco gels and your insulin are in separate clear bags as one is a liquid and the other is a gel (as we found out when we went through security). Always pack more stuff then you will actually need so that if something went wrong with your pump supplies or your levels were higher so you injected more and used more insulin.  Make sure your insulin is in a cold bag or something so that it keeps cool and doesn't go off because it's too hot. If you are on a pump make sure you bring injections and needles just encase anything happens to your pump.

 

When we got through security we went in to a shop to buy some drinks and food for the plane. While we were in the shop looking at the sweets and chocolate one of the members of staff was stacking the shelf's right next to us. I looked over at her and noticed that she had the OmniPod pump in her arm. As the woman walked away I whispered to my mum that the woman was diabetic and that she had the wireless pump in her arm. The woman then came back and carried on stacking the self, my mum asked her if it was a pump in her arm and the woman said yeah. So I said how I was diabetic and was on a pump. 

 

Me and my mum had a conversation with the woman about the OmniPod as I didn't really know how it worked and had never met someone on it before. The woman said how it had helped her so much and that she preferred it to her old pump that had a wire. She said it made everyday life so much easier as there was no wire which meant she didn't catch the wire on anything and it also meant her line didn't get blocked as much as it used to. Also it made it a lot easier for her to have baths, showers and do exercise as she doesn't have to disconnect her pump as there is no wire. Overall she said she wouldn't know what she would do now if she didn't have the OmniPod pump.    

After thinking for a while about the OmniPod pump for a while I think I would really like to trial the pump as I don't know whether I would like it or not. The thought of not having to have a pump attached to you while you are sleeping and following you around whether you go, is amazing. The thought of not having to worry about catching your line on anything and it ripping out or having to disconnect then having a bath, shower or exercise. The only thing that worries me is because the cannula is a lot bigger then my cannula now I am scared I wouldn't like it because its bigger and I might knock it off or something while I was getting used to it. The OmniPod is so much more advanced for the other insulin pumps and it just shows how much technology has improve over the last couple of years.

Overall I had an amazing holiday but I think it went way too fast but maybe that was because I was staying in bed asleep until 10 or 11am haha. I will soon be starting school and it will be my last year at collage. I hope everyone else has had a good holiday as well and that your levels have been good.