Last week I met with the Animas pump rep (AR). I am a nervous nelly when it comes to meeting new people and I freak out every single time. But clearly some things are worth it. And this definitely was. I got to Starbucks, and was low, and there were no empty tables. I got there early, so I got a coffee and freaked out a moment on twitter, until I looked up and saw a table with a laptop and a lonely pump on it. It made me happy to see a pump, just hanging out on a table in Starbucks. I walk over and introduce myself and we start talking about the pump. I had a "you know you're a diabetic when" moment because I was so excited. I was on the edge of my seat learning about this. The thing that amazed me is how fast the animas delivers insulin. We went through all the screens, the differences in temp basals, the different kind of screen and then the meter remote. I left feeling completely excited. I told AR that I wanted to talk to my nurse before making any decisions. She returned my call yesterday saying that they are both equally good and as long as I was willing to go through learning Animas that I would be fine, and the only advantage Minimed has is that it has the CGM synced with it. While I have this job, and this insurance, I know I will not have a CGM (unless I win the lottery), so as much as I say I want one, it is not a concern of mine right now.
- smaller reservoir
- not a lot of information available about pump without CGM
Minimed Pros
- My autopilot thumb knows Minimed
- I haven't had serious issues with it
- I already know insurance will the cover the Revel
Animas Cons
- I would have to re-learn terms (Active Insulin vs. Insulin On Board) and thumbs
- The speed of delivery makes me nervous
Animas Pros
- larger reservoir
- brighter screen, easier to read
- waterproof
- remote
- smaller increments; could help lead to better control
- random people email me just to say that they love animas
If you look at my list, you can see where my decision lies. I know that I have more "bullets" in these lists, but of course I was driving when I was thinking of these lists. When I got the message from my nurse last night, I was ready to start filling out my paperwork from AR, but I was at work, and the paperwork was in my apartment. So now I am starting the process to see if Animas will be approved my insurance. I don't see why it wouldn't, since Minimed already has been, but updates to come as I reach them!
Animas is GREAT for customer service every step of the way, from me just calling for information to me calling them 3months after I started, to return it for my money back. (pumping just isn't the method for me, but I LOVED the ping and will go back if I ever try pumping again).
ReplyDeleteI thought they'd be upset and try to make me keep it, but nope..they had a FedEx driver at my door on Christmas Eve to pick it up and my return was back to my insurance within a couple weeks!
The woman I dealt with was awesome about helping me when my insurance first refused to cover it and my second attempt (about a week later) was a success!
My customer service experience with MM to get CGM only information was horrible. I tried for 7months, before finally having a sales rep get a hold of me! That only lead to me having two very lame options; buy CGM for $2k outright or buy the pump w/ CGM and just not hook up the pump..but use my one lifetime pump coverage from my insurance (so I could never be covered for the Ping again!)
When I compare both experiences, Animas is the shining star for sure.
I'm 100% sure you'll be happy with your choice =)
There's a remote for the minimed too, but I'm addicted to the wizard thingy so I hardly ever used it.
ReplyDeletea couple corrections on your comparision
ReplyDelete1) MiniMed has 2 reservoir options the 523 has a 180u res the 723 had a 300 u res animas only offers 1 option 200u
2) MiniMed offers .025 basal and .025 bolus increments animas offers .025 basal but only .05u bolus
3) MiniMed revel has a bullet in log book to mark things like exercise or food and insulin not registered in the bolus wizard I.e carbs for treating hypo or insulin given via syringe when off the pump or treating hyper all of this Appears in your Carelink downloads for you and your healthcare team to see.
4) about 90% of private health ins companies are now covering CGM 3x what were covering a year and a half ago so chances are you will get coverage sooner rather than later
4) there is a remote available for the MiniMed as an option
I have worn both the ping and the revel, I personally think the revel is much simpler to operate and has a lot less steps to do routine tasks. I did find the animas a little easier to read in low light but impossible to see screen outdoors. I also think the MiniMed software is much better when downloading and reviewing data. especially when they download at the office. not quite the same as the personal version.
as far as waterproof the MiniMed has served me well and has never fizzled out on me when exposed to water or moisture but I would never take a 6000 devise in the water purposely but it has landed in the toilet a few times and I was dumped off the dock last summer with no problems.