I have used the Minimed Paradigm for the last 8 years. My warranty is up and I thought that I would go with the Animas...hearing somewhere that they are the closest to the closed loop system with Dexcom. I don't know if that is accurate, but in researching the Animas pump, I liked the waterproof feature. I received a call today from the minimed rep. who said that if the pump is dropped even once, microscopic cracks will develop in the casing and make it no longer waterproof, and strongly discouraged me from believing that it would be ok to swim with...even once. Also, the fact it does not have an 'Esc' button was a huge point the rep presented, that I would hate it b/c of this. Just wondering if anyone could help me with this decision? Any HUGE pros/cons for either pump would be appreciated!
Hey There,
I've been pinging it for 2 years now, it is my first pump. My pump has been smacked hard with a baseball, bumped into numerous walls, and once while in the pool smashed against the concrete side of the pool and no problems. The baseball incident happend two weeks after I got it and I thought it would have died on the spot, but nothing was wrong at all. It actually saved me from taking a direct hit from the ball. I want to be nice here, but I believe the rep may have been trying to scare you a bit. Why can't he just be honest about the great features of their product and leave it at that? Animas customer service has always been impresive as well.
I can't speak about the esc button but I hope this was helpful
Jason
We chose the Animas Ping for our son. And the waterproof feature was one reason. I generally don't allow him to swim with it (mostly because he will go low), but he has gotten unexpectedly wet (As little boys are apt to do) and also been swimming with a relative who forgot that he had his pump on before taking him in the water. (Leading to a somewhat frantic phone call about did they wreck it?) In all instances, his pump has been fine. I have seen several reports of the Minimed pump getting wet accidentally and being damaged because of it. I like the 'extra' protection that the waterproof feature has, and I believe Animas will replace it if it is water damaged (you could check on that.)
After you get the various menus figured out, the 'need' for an ESC button is pretty small. I don't know if it is just because we have only used the Ping, but I don't see that as a big downside. I'm not sure what I would be screwing up so often that I would regularly need it? - you just enter the carbs, confirm the BG, match the total insulin it recommends and Go. Easy peasy. Setting temp basals is easy to do and easy to turn off. The only place where the menu set up is a little counter-intuitive is in the Advanced settings menu - but that isn't something you are going into daily - just when you need to change I:C ratios, insulin sensitivity, etc. And you can get to the Main Menu from there pretty easily, so I think that was kind of a scare tactic.
The other 2 features for why we chose the Ping was the smaller dosing increments (0.05 units bolus and 0.025 units basal). THat may not be so important to an adult, but was for my son who regularly uses less than 7 units total per day. The other feature was the meter remote - we love that thing. I recently learned that the Medtronic pump meter remote feature does not let you do a square wave bolus, the Animas does let you do the combo bolus from the meter. Neither however let you change the basal rate. (That is a flaw of both in my opinion.)
Hope that helps!
Sounds like your Minimed rep is just trying to make sure you buy their product and the rep gets a commission.
My experience with Animas was amazing (compared to Minimed when I was trying to get CGM information since August..), so I don't really trust anything the rep is saying. When I went on the ping for 3months, the rep told me if for whatever reason the seal somehow got damaged, they would replace it, but that it was almost impossible for you to do that unless really trying to. (I went back to shots because I didn't like pumping, not because of the Ping itself. I will actually likely go back to the Ping if I decide to try pumping again because of the features and the customer service was so amazing. They didn't ask any questions, when on Dec 23rd I asked to send it back, and had a FedEx driver pick it up on Christmas Eve!)
I've played with both of the pumps. I had the Paradigm 722 for over a year before abandoning ship and playing with my Ping. The waterproof feature is nice don't get me wrong, and the MM rep, while I am sure he was trying to be sincere and helpful.... That is the comment I heard from MM about their pumps. They are water resistant, they no longer use the word proof, because of the fear of micro cracks in their plastic and letting water in. Maybe he was confused. And while yes I have moments of annoyance sometimes with the no "esc" option. But again it is such a non-issue, that it doesn't really matter to me.
The thing you want to consider are what makes you more comfortable. The possible integration with Dexcom will hopefully happen sooner than later. Until that point are the features you are looking for in a pump in the pump you want or not? Murph(my Ping) has weather lots of misfortune, (no water related pun intended) and I have had no issues with him to date. Water, heat, freezing cold, droppage all's good with him. But the same can be said for the MM pump, less the entire go swimming with feature. They are both good solid pumps. I just went with the company that offered more, i.e. the smaller basal amounts which I am currently using and also I did kinda like the solid colors more and the blue of the blue pump.
I'm sure the "microscopic cracks" are possible, but I doubt they're instantly there the first time you ever drop your pump. I've dropped mine and have still taken my Ping into water with no problems.
When I was researching my own options last year, I saw on Medtronic's site that they claimed no pump is trully "waterproof," and they don't believe in the false advertising of claiming theirs is anymore. But the big thing is that Animas will replace your pump during the warranty period if water damages it. So the biggest thing you risk if you take it swimming is a day or two without the pump, while you wait for your new one to be overnighted to you (and my local rep said that if that's ever a problem, he lets people borrow his spare demo pump until the new one arrives). (Of course, this doesn't cover you if you manage to lose your pump in the ocean!) They just ask that you replace your battery cap every 6 months (3, if you get it wet a lot), and that you make sure it's screwed in tight before you get in the water.
It's really not so much the swimming that's awesome for me, but just everyday living that involves water. If you drop it in the toilet, not only is it OK but its' also OK to wash it off in the sink. I also occasionally wear it in the shower, so I do have an option other than either bolusing (which makes me nervous since hot showers make my BG drop) or letting my BG climb by disconnecting int he morning, when my basal needs are the greatest.
As for an esc button, that'd probably be nice, but I haven't had any issues with just using the "back" feature at the bottom of a menu. That may depend on your own habits, though.
I'll say that the waterproof feature and the eventual pairing with Dexcom are what make me choose Animas over Medtronic. The database of foods on the meter-remote is occasionally handy too, though I don't use it nearly as often as I thought I would. I'm sure they're ultimately very comparable products, as far as quality goes, but those were just two features that were important enough to me to sway me.
OK, I've been swimming at least 10 times in pools. NO PROBLEMS to report. It is WATER PROOF!! I once got tackled into the pool at a party, the person that tackled me had no idea about my pump. Glad it was a ping!! Even race my daughter in the pool and no problems.
I did take it into the ocean twice. The second time was probably the wrong decision because the waves were huge. Some water got into the battery compartment, but the pump still worked. It was just enough to cause some rust to form at the bottom of the battery compartment (it looked like rust but may have also been battery corrosion). Animas sent me a new pump ASAP after I told them about the small amount of rust. Now I change the battery cap as recommended because in Florida we swim alot, and it is humid which can cause the O ring to deteriorate also.
Jason
I only wish I lived somewhere warm enough to be swimming that much!!! I am in Canada, so at this time of year, my swimming is limited to the indoor pools. I did go to Aquafit last night (for the first time since I care to admit!), and wore my pump, the Animas 2020. FYI, my pump is the same one as the Ping, only without the remote.
Even during the summer, I am not a big fan of swimming, but it does help to know that my pump is waterproof... for exactly the reason that Jason explained!
I have been using Minimed pumps for 10 years. It's the only brand I've ever used and have had no problems, ever. It hasn't malfunctioned, stopped working, gone crazy, anything. I've dropped it, sat on it, left it in the sun, brought it in the bathroom while showering.. you see where I'm going with this.. and it's held up through it all. The Paradigm does have an Esc button so I'm not sure why the rep told you otherwise. I have never even thought of swimming with mine only because when I do swim it's enough of a cardio workout that I can be without insulin for a little while. Minimed is also offering shorter tubing these days- I believe 18" is the shortest which was a big deal for me. Keep us updated on which one you choose! I too have looked into a different pump, but the new Minimed Revel was too good to pass up for me!
I've only ever used Minimed and I have had only great experiences with it so far. Some people say that the customer service is unhelpful and poor, but I've never had any bad experiences and have found the people on call to be great. For me, water hasn't been an issue, since I don't go swimming often, but if you are interested in CGMs I would go with the Animas. I've never used a CGM but the people I know who have used the the MM ones didn't find them useful and quick enough, and the insertion of the sensors is supposedly really painful.
I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever one you chose - both seem to be great pumps!
Thank you everyone who has taken the time to respond to my post. I really do appreciate all of the input! I spoke with the Animas rep today and upon her recommendation...and that of my CDE, and of course all of the great input I have received, I am going to try the ping. I have a window of time to try it and if I don't like it or can't adapt to it, they are going to work with me on going back to the MM. The waterproof feature seems to be too good for me to pass up, given that I have small kids and getting soaked seems to be a regular occurance with them(watergun games, pool, playing in the rain, overeager bath time, etc.). This is a great site and I think the support network that is being developed here is outstanding!!!