searching for the right pump

[E~Chic]

I am having a hard time with the pumps that are out there, my daughter who was just diagnosed 4 months ago, she is 10 , we have been looking at the videos on the pumps, but can not seem to be able to decide which one to get, any advice on what pump to get? :confused:

[Hollyb]

Hi, we're at about the same stage as you. The rep from Animas is going to come and talk to us in a couple of days. It is a hard decision, eh? And it's complicated by the fact that everyone says the quality of customer service is very important, but that's pretty hard to judge until you're an actual customer!

Anyhow, I don't have any advice from you but I will be watching this thread! I kind of have the impression that people get to know and like the pump they have -- sort of love the one you're with, right? -- so it's hard to get a real comparitive sense.

[BrendaK]

We chose the Cozmo pump for my 5 year old son. He's been on it almost a year and we love it. Though I don't have experience with the other pumps, we chose the Cozmo because it seemed more user friendly, especially for teachers at school. The Cozmo looks and feels much like a cell phone -- it's very user friendly. All of the pumps out there seem to have very similar features, so the thing that sold us on the Cozmo was how user friendly it is, and it also has the universal infusion set connector. With the MiniMed, we were told that you have to use their specific infusion set, but if you have a universal set connector, you can use any one you want. We have also had great customer service with them. Once we had an issue where the battery cap broke off and they sent us a new pump in less than 24 hours. No questions asked. Good luck with your decision. I hope you like pumping!!

[Brensdad]

I am 31 years old, and I use the old Animas IR 1000 pump. It is fine, it gets the job done, but it is pretty barren as far as features go. The new Animas pump is pretty slick as I understand.

We put our baby daughter, Emma (http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/kids/d_02_1rt.htm), on the Minimed Paradigm 512 pump, and we couldn't be happier with it. The accompanying meter "talks" to the pump via radio transmission and tells the pump what her blood glucose level is after a test. Then the bolus wizard handles the rest for you after a few button pushes. The best part is that all of the glucose settings in the pump can be changed on computer, so you don't have to mess with the pump itself a whole lot.

[nantomsuethom]

Thomas has the Animas IR1200. It is a great pump and the customer service people are wonderful. There are 2 things that I would like in a pump that the Animas does not have:
1- blood sugar logged in the history with the boluses - An Animas rep told me that they have had many requests for this and will be a feature on the IR1275 model.
2- the ability to do a combo (duel) bolus with out having to figure out the insulin dose in the carbsmart then going back to main menu to put in it in combo (hopefully that wasn't too confusing)

Good luck!

[wendyc]

I am having a hard time with the pumps that are out there, my daughter who was just diagnosed 4 months ago, she is 10 , we have been looking at the videos on the pumps, but can not seem to be able to decide which one to get, any advice on what pump to get? :confused:

Hi!
Did you try talking with your insurance company case manager? Ours was very helpful (she was also a pumper) because she has dealt with the 3 major pumps and knew many of the ins and outs and gave us an unbiased opinion. All brands out there seem to be great, with each having their own bells and whistles. In my research, I found that all have offered a very high level of customer service. I guess that have to, as this is what is keeping people alive. We chose the Animas 1250 for our 4 year old because it offers the lowest dosing on insulin. Good luck, I've heard great things about all brands.

[Ellen]

Have each rep come to your house and show you the pumps individually. Be careful not to choose the pump because you like the rep the most...you want to like the features of each pump. And for a 10 year old girl, she may want to pick it based on color. Since the pumps are all good, if a certain color thrills her, it may just be the deciding vote.

Each pump has positives and negatives. My son uses the Cozmo. We think it's a bit too thick without the attached meter and much too thick with the meter...but it's been a fantastic pump with great customer service. I love the size of the Animas, but it only holds 200 units of insulin rather than 300 units, so it means changing the cartridge 1/3 more often, therefore 1/3 more supplies if you fill cartridges to 300 units. My son fills it to the max and lets it run almost bone dry ;-). And I resent that MiniMed is so greedy, they opted not to use universal luer lock infusion sets so you must use their proprietary infusion sets leaving you with less options.

There's quite a nice pump comparison chart here:
http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_technology/insulin_pump_models.php

For parents with little ones, you want a pump that has the best lock out feature so little ones with exploring and curious minds don't direct their hands to bolus the insulin.