I had a great time at a diabetes symposium the other day and spoke with some "in-the-know" folks about when on earth will Dexcom be integrated with a pump! He or she predicted that the 2 should be communicating as soon as January (if not sooner) 2010. For those of you who, like me, want to decrease the bionic-ness of my diabetes management while retaining the fluidity of management offered by pumps and CGMS, this is GREAT NEWS!
But wait, I said, I have a MM pump and its warranty won't be over for at least 2 years. Oh woe is me, even when my dreams come true, I am stuck with an alarm clock set 5 minutes early. :'-(
"No no!" he or she siad "you don't have to wait! You can get an animas pump now for only $200 if you trade in your MM. It will take over your MM warranty and you'll get to upgrade to the newest version as soon as your MM pump's warranty expires."
What? Wait - why? How? You must be kidding me! Am I dreaming?
So here's the scoop. Because Deltec Cozmo went down the tubes, Animas (as well as the other pump companies I presume) is making it easier to switch to them. They cannot offer it to only Deltec customers and so everyone benefits. The deal is this: trade in your old pump and in exchange you receive an Animas Ping with the warranty ending the same time as your old pump. You also get 1 month of supplies for this great offer. What's more, when it comes time for the Ping and the Dexcom sensor/TN to communicate, that's when you strike it rich!
Perhaps I am alone in my pump regret. Don't get me wrong, I still get continuous infusion of insulin. But I purchased this darned thing hoping that the MM sensor would solve the pump/receiver issue. When I realized, to my horror, the reduced accuracy and reliability of the MM system as compared to Dexcom, I was stuck for 4 years with MM. I'm so darned excited. For all of the new gadgets, but right now mostly for my new Ping!
What you have written here is great news. It excites me greatly. Don't get me wrong I swear by my MM pump and sensor and truly have been blessed this past almost year. As of July it will be one year on my pump. I do like alot of what Animas is offering and the only reason I went with the MM is because of the sensor and all... I will have to think hard about this. Have you made your choice on this or are you still up in the air and do you use a sensor currently? I don't remember.
I know, itsn't it exciting?! I'm most excited because I actually bought the MM pump 2 years ago solely for the purpose of having an integrated system. Having worn the Dexcom CGM for 1 year (at that time), I assumed all sensors were the same. Boy was I wrong! Now I recognize that people who start off on the MM sensor think its the best thing ever, but imagine having your pump give you readings that are within 5 mg/dl of your actual blood glucose per the glucometer. That is what Dexcom provides. Yes there are little issues here and there but the data provided by the Dexcom can be used right now, in real time, as opposed to reflicting on the trending (MM considers a 20 minute lag acceptable whereas Dexcom accepts 5 minutes).
My mind is definitely made up. I was reluctant initially solely because I thought the Animas pump was huge. Its not. Only slightly larger and though I am buying it primarily because it will be integrated with my beloved Dexcom (which I can tell you has saved my life on more than one occasion), man does the Ping have cool features! As I write this I feel like a salesman or something but the difference is incredible. Its like switching from a cell phone from the 90's to a 2009 blackberry (I would say iPhone but I don't have one).
People assume that because the majority of pumpers use MM, its because MM has the best product. However, further investigation after I'd gone with MM revealed that their salesforce is quadruple that of the other companies. Their pump platform is very outdated (slow, few options, intermittent infusion rather continuous). And honestly, I've been fine with my MM pump. It gives me insulin and keeps me from needing MDI. However, I was duped by aggressive sales and clinics that are most familiar with MM (again because of the reps). I think a pump is a pump and the sole function of it remains the same. I like the bells and whistles, the added features and conveniences, the pretty screen and the advanced delivery option.
I know this is CGM forum but soon CGM and pumping will be combined.