animas vs omnipod

[twodoor2]

I've been reading up on the most popular pumps for children, and it seems that these two are what is most popular.

Questions: Does the animas monitor blood sugar without having to do numerous finger pokes?

It seems that the omnipod requires finger pokes, but has a more discrete insulin injection device. Is that true?

I believe there are insulin pumps that both monitor blood sugar without finger pokes and also deliver insulin. Likewise, there are machines, that constantly monitor blood sugar but do not deliver insulin. Are these true statements?

[Kaylee's Mommy]

no, the animas does not eliminate finger pokes.. infact, for any pump, you need to check more often.. the difference between the omnipod and the other pumps is that the omnipod the insulin reservoir is actually your site.. there is NO tubing with the omnipod.. you get a seperate controller.. looks like a large meter, to control the pump.. and I believe it has a build in meter.. all the pumps are excellent.. just depends on your likes and dislikes..

according to the poll we just did a few days ago.. minimed is the most popular pump. But like I said, it all comes down to what YOU want.. they all have slight differences that make them appealing to certain people.. if you are seriously looking at omnipod.. do some research first.. I think some places are having a hard time getting them because there is no office/service where they are.. and insurance companies give a harder time on coverage for some reason.. just don't want you to get set on the omnipod and then find out for one reason or another that its not available near you..

there is no closed loop system.. that will monitor your blood sugar and give you insulin.. minimed has a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) that sends your blood glucose over to your insulin pump every 5 minutes.. it will tell you if you are staying the same, dropping, dropping rapidly, rising or rising rappidly, all with arrows.. but it won't give insulin.. you need to program that into the pump..

the cozmo pump has a build in meter.. but you physically have to do it.. its just made convenient that the pump and meter are build together, but two different things..

any pump is more descrete than giving an injection for insulin.. I know the Minimed has a remote control to run the pump.. not sure about the other pumps.. the omnipod would be kind of like a remote control since there is no tubing attached..

[Adinsmom]

Kim did a great job of explaining it. While researching pumps for our son I never came across anyone who said do not get the same pump I have. They are all amazing and each has unique features that will fit your family but maybe not anothers. I suggest talking with your Endo about which pump they prefer and why. See if they have the different pumps available to touch and play with. Alot of people just click with one pump over another that way. If that isn't an option (it wasn't for us) I would check out each manufacturers websites and watch their tutorials. Along with asking questions here.

I agonized over our pump decision. Unless you ask my husband who recalls me asking about the Omnipod anytime we talked pumps with the Endo. ;) In retrospect I was holding out for the Omnipod to be available in our area. I think I would have been happy with any pump but the most important feature to me was the tubeless aspect of the Omnipod.

Good Luck.

[twodoor2]

no, the animas does not eliminate finger pokes.. infact, for any pump, you need to check more often.. the difference between the omnipod and the other pumps is that the omnipod the insulin reservoir is actually your site.. there is NO tubing with the omnipod.. you get a seperate controller.. looks like a large meter, to control the pump.. and I believe it has a build in meter.. all the pumps are excellent.. just depends on your likes and dislikes..

according to the poll we just did a few days ago.. minimed is the most popular pump. But like I said, it all comes down to what YOU want.. they all have slight differences that make them appealing to certain people.. if you are seriously looking at omnipod.. do some research first.. I think some places are having a hard time getting them because there is no office/service where they are.. and insurance companies give a harder time on coverage for some reason.. just don't want you to get set on the omnipod and then find out for one reason or another that its not available near you..

there is no closed loop system.. that will monitor your blood sugar and give you insulin.. minimed has a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) that sends your blood glucose over to your insulin pump every 5 minutes.. it will tell you if you are staying the same, dropping, dropping rapidly, rising or rising rappidly, all with arrows.. but it won't give insulin.. you need to program that into the pump..

the cozmo pump has a build in meter.. but you physically have to do it.. its just made convenient that the pump and meter are build together, but two different things..

any pump is more descrete than giving an injection for insulin.. I know the Minimed has a remote control to run the pump.. not sure about the other pumps.. the omnipod would be kind of like a remote control since there is no tubing attached..

Just need some clarification. The omnipod and the animas need finger pokes, but the minimed does not because it has this CGMS? Therefore, is that a big plus for the minimed (I think so!!).

[Nancy in VA]

All of the pumps require finger pokes. If you are full time on a CGMS, you might have FEWER finger pokes but at a MINIMUM you will have finger pokes before bolusing and to calibrate the machine. Typically, you will also have finger pokes anytime you get an alarm warning from the CGMS in order to get a more accurate reading. The CGMS is about 20 minutes behind a finger stick, and we all know what can happen in 20 minutes.

[clb1968]

The minimed will need fingersticks even with the CGMS,because it has to be calibrated a number of times a day, not sure of the amount.
There is no pump or CGMS that does not require at least a few fingersticks a day.

[kel4han]

I have/had the Omnipod hooked up today at our JDRF walk to see what it is like to wear it for 3 days. The rep was very detailed in explaining the benefits, and even though Maddison and I both have Medtronic pumps, this thing is pretty cool with no tubing. I was amazed at how the "remote" can be used to dose or program even in another state! I can tell you price comparison is $800 vs $6000 for a pump. YOU CANT EVEN FEEL THIS THING ATTACHED, it is so lightweight. We would have considered this had I known it is truely lightweight.

[BrendaK]

Also for clarification, the CGMS on the minimed also requires a seperate site for the transmitter. You have one site for the insulin, and another site for the CGMS transmitter. That's a drawback for some people who's children do not want to wear 2 things in their body.

[twodoor2]

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but can you choose to wear the CGMS without the insulin delivery piece? The reason I ask is that I just want to know what my child's BG is at all times. It drives me crazy not knowing all the time, and guessing, is she high, is she low??? Especially since the hypo and hyperglycemic signs overlap. I would rather know so that I can give a shot, give exercise, give food, etc. . . especially now that she's going to be on Lantus starting the end of next week. At this time, she's only 4 and a half (a very smart four and a half), and I don't mind giving the shots myself. It just drives me crazy not knowing her BS all the time since it dips and climbs so sporadically.

[kiwikid]

Yes you can just use the CGMS - Its called the Guardian Realtime System. http://www.minimed.com/products/guardian/