I am looking for pump suggestions for my newly diagnosed son. We are choosing between minimed, omnipod, animas and tslim. We would also be using a CGM so that we can all help monitor. He is very easy-going and willing to deal with this disease. He does some running, golf and recreational swimming but no serious contact sports. I’ve spent hours reading reviews of each of the products and am just stumped. I think the Omnipod sounds like a great deal being tubeless but so many people seem to have had issues with it falling off or failing. Or maybe they are the only ones who post. On the other hand having one meter/controller seems awfully nice too. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Most pump companies are more than willing to let you do a trial with their pump. When Omnipod was new, I received a ‘dummy pod’ to wear for a week to see how I liked the experience. Pump trainers have loaners and you’re usually able to do a trial run with saline.
I use an Animas Ping because my insulin use is only about 28 units per day; larger pumps (with larger reservoirs) don’t appeal to me. Plus, I really like that I can conceal my pump and bolus directly (wirelessly) from my meter/remote. I may consider the Omnipod when my warranty is up because I’m primarily using thigh sites now and the extra long tubing is a bit of a pain. I’ve heard from plenty of pod users that the sticking issue isn’t a problem anymore.
I use a Dexcom G4 Platinum CGMS and love it.
Good luck!
Valerie
I agree with Valerie that most companies will offer you a trial. After 16 years on MDI, I have been with minimed since 1998 and added the CGM in 2007. A few years ago I toyed with the idea of going with Dexcom and Omnipod. Both the omnipod and dexcom were taller than what I was currently wearing, so stuck out from my body at a greater height. I feared that they would be too easy to rip off compared to what I already had. Also, I definitely did not like the manual insertion of the dexcom sensor.
As for the Dexcom insertion; I was on MDI for 14 years and actually used an insertion device, because the needle bothered me so much.
Now though, I insert my Contact-Detach infusion sets manually (you can even see the needle!) without a problem. The Dexcom insertion is even easier. I wouldn’t worry about that.
If I can do them, a child can do them! 
I have an OmniPod and love it… I have never had trouble with it falling off, except for the occasional time I run into a doorway lol. I also use a Dexcom G4 Platinum CGM. I use an adhesive wipe called SkinTac (and its remover, TacAway) that you can order on Amazon. I always use SkinTac in the summer just because I am outside more and typically more physically active. I am not in many contact sports either, I am only in marching band. If you choose to get the OmniPod and have trouble with it staying on, I would definitely try using SkinTac. And if you get a Dexcom CGM, or any CGM I would recommend using SkinTac anyways because you change the sensor less often so it has to stay on for a longer amount of time!
Hope this helps!!
Also, to add… One meter/controller (the PDM) is really really nice. I have only had one or two pods fail in the year I have had the OmniPod system, so I would definitely give it a shot… I wouldn’t change pumps now if I had the option to because I love the wireless option so much!
I’ve been on an Animas pump since 11th grade (played lacrosse and field hockey and in college I rowed for a bit). I’m now 30 and I’m still using Animas. I can honestly say I really like the pump and the company. Since I started it back then the technology they’ve integrated into the new pumps is super impressive. I currently use the Vibe which has the Dexcom CGM in it (no additional device to carry around). While I thought it would be annoying to wear the insertion site for the pump AND the sensor for the CGM, it’s actually not bad at all. I didn’t/don’t find the tubing to be a huge issue for me although wireless definitely has its advantages.
The only issue I have with the CGM sensor is that the adhesive sometimes isn’t the “sticky-ist” but I usually put a piece or two of medical tape on the top and bottom and it stays on for 7 days. My favorite part of Animas is how you can upload your pump to Diasend and if your doctor has a clinic code for the site they can look up everything for you - you don’t need to call in with numbers if you’re having any highs/lows/weird trends. I’m sure other pumps also offer this type of uploading capability but I can only speak to Animas’. Just thought I’d share my experience!
Our daughter was diagnosed at age 4 and is now 13. We used the Minimed for a number of years before switching to the t-slim about a year ago. A big driver in going with the minimed initially was the integration with the CGMS, thus limiting the number of devices she had to carry around.
I think the design of the t-slim appeals to kids in this age group. We use the Dexcom G5 and the Bluetooth function to send the data to her phone, which she has no problem carrying around with her:)
Each of the pumps has a few things that differentiate them from the others as noted above. We’ve had great experiences with reps from both minimed and t-slim and I would be surprised if that wasn’t the case across the board. You’re making a semi-long term commitment not just in the pump but infusion sets, etc. You can’t go wrong with any you’ve mentioned, just depends on which provide the most features important to you.
I am curious… What daily routine method of insulin injection has he been on or tried?? Brand,type, amount, times of injection,etc… How is and has he been doing so far??? Why do you want to try the Pump method??
Our 11 year old daughter just switched after 11 months on the Medtronic minimed to the Omnipod. She loves it! The PDM is also a meter and will be able to talk with the Dexcom G5 by 2017. She also wears the Dexcom G5. She says she will never go back. Customer service with Medtronic, Omnipod, and Dexcom are fabulous. Omnipod has a sample pod you can wear. It’s so much less stuff to carry around and especially for travel. Omnipod is just easier and less stuff. We haven’t had any issues so far. She also has seen an decrease in her A1C and uses about 50 less units of insulin than she used to. Feel free to message me if you want more details.
I am 39 years old and have been using the Omnipod for 6 years. I did seem to have more failures before the newer smaller pod came out. I have a 1 and 3 year old so I do have to be very careful they don’t knock it off. I do use nexcare first aide tape occasionally if my pod is coming loose. Always excellent customer support and will send a new pod if one does happen to fail. Overall I would recommend Omnipod.
I used to have the separate Animas pump and the Dexcom. I changed to the tslim with the integrated Dexcom system and am very glad I did. Not only do I have only a single thing to find a pocket for. It is also much lighter and smaller because there are no AA or AAA batteries. It is rechargeable, like a cell phone. And with the pumps you sometimes have to push down arrows and up arrows to set a number, like your glucose reading. With the tslim, you can use a touch keypad to enter your glucose, the grams of carbohydrates and you sensor calibration. Much more modern, quicker, and easier for those of us with RSI.
I understand your question, there are so many options. My 12 year old son was diagnosed this summer and he just switched to pump therapy over the holidays. We went with the T-Slim and the Dexcom G5. The Omnipod was a close second, but I think he liked the look and feel of the T-Slim much better and a couple of kids at his school have them. I think everyone’s choice is personal to their situation, but I can share a few things that we have learned through our process. This is my first post on here, up until now I have been reading all of this great info myself. Our son is also very laid back and has stepped up at every turn thus far (he is inspiring to us, we all have our moments). He’s active, X-County, Lacrosse, Football, etc…
- I’d definitely do the Omni-Pod demo, you can order it online, it was great to touch and feel the device and wear it for a couple of days. We couldn’t find a way to demo the tubing sets, so I ended up taping an old Ipod charger to him and had him wear that around for a bit (you can imagine how popular I was that day) 2) I was very concerned about the tubing, but it has not been a big deal. He just keeps the pump in his pocket or clipped on his pants, at night he just lays it next to him in bed. 3) likewise with charging the T-Slim battery, he disconnects to take a shower in the morning, plugs it in for about 15-20 minutes while he gets dressed and it’s good to go. 4) We got some advice during our process to consider the pace of change in the devices that are out there. For that reason we went with the stand alone G5, instead of the integrated G4 (concerned about rapidly evolving tech built into a four year pump). For our son there is no extra device to carry around, he uses his IPhone as his receiver, the Dexcom one never came out of the box. We get nearly real time info with Dexcom Share (a curse at times, but a huge blessing overall). 5) Leaving the doctors on pump day felt like leaving the hospital after diagnosis, totally a new vocabulary (WOW). We are now one month in and getting the moves down, we’ve had struggles for sure, but we are getting it figured out. Our philosophy has been we didn’t know anything about T1D on June 27th, so this is just one more thing (more like 100 more things, but we can do it!).
Like I said everyone’s situation is different, but I’m glad to be able to pass along one perspective. Good Luck!
My son is 13 and was just diagnosed on New Year’s Eve. He wants to get an Omnipod. I see a lot of posts that say it is good but many of them do not play contact sports. My son plays ice hockey (checking) and flag football. Does anyone have suggestions for pumps for children playing contact sports? He has a Dexcom 4 now and it seems to be working fine, staying put, even during hockey games.