# Decisions, decisions



## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi All

I went to see my DSN last week at my wits end as I just can't get any control over my sugars - even doing 6-7 injections a days!

So we talked about me going onto the pump and she's suggested I do a trial to see how i get on with one.  Only trouble is, I dont know which one to try....

Medtronic Veo
Omnipod
Animas Vibe
Accu Chek combo

I dont think the Omnipod will be any good for me as I think I'll keep catching the pod on things (I kept catching the CGM when I had one of those for a week and the omnipod is bigger!)

I dont like the look of the Veo, plus it's a black and white screen (!)

So that leaves me with the Animas Vibe or the combo....I've spent most of the weekend trawling the internet and I'm still no further forward to picking one!

I tend to eat every hour or so, so I didnt know if one of the above would be better suited to my eating habits??

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 11, 2013)

I was put on the Veo because of its large reservoir........!!

What is your total daily dose.......if your on a larger than average amount the Veo might be better.....

I would love to try the Omnipod.........the lack of tubing opens up the available sites, you could have it anywhere, hidden.......so I cant see what it could get caught on.....but ultimately if your having problems with getting things caught anything else will surely be worse than the Omnipod as there will be tubing....

Anyway, I hope you like it and go forward with one of them.....


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

I'm not worried about the tubing as it will be under my clothes - I kept getting the CGM caught on my trousers/jean waistband cos it flapped about so I wouldnt want to put the pod on my stomach or hips....I just don't think it's for me

My TDD at the moment is around 30-35units (thats for Novorapid and Levemir), but am I right in thinking that this will probably reduce once i'm on the pump??

Is 30-35 a lot?


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## trophywench (Feb 11, 2013)

Any pump you have, you *will* walk into doorframes with when you first get it.  Once you are used to it, that's rare.

Combo is black and white on the pump, but mainly you use the combined meter/remote control with the Combo, not the pump itself, though you can use it for everything except testing and calculating boluses/corrections - and the meter/remote is colour.

Vibe is waterproof, the others aren't.  I know that has a colour screen.  Dunno about the Veo.

Think the Combo is very slightly bigger than the Vibe and Veo.  I don't actually care TBH.

Because the fact is, whatever you get, you will love!  2 years down the line, yes you will have found some things it doesn't do that you wished it did (in my case - the ironing)  but there agian, no other pump does either.  (I suggested this to a pump manufacturer last year, they couldn't see the funny side at all - far too serious)  And you find ways of working round stuff.

The only 'real' area where there seems to be a difference, is where you want to run CGMS alongside your pump and for them to communicate with each other.  The Roche can't, I believe both the Vs can.  If that isn't an issue for you then you can ignore that.  Same as MDI and CGMS, you can always run each independent of each other.


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## trophywench (Feb 11, 2013)

I was on approx 30u, now on approx 20u.  Of which basal 9.6u a day.  Need to test that again though, needs reducing !

300u reservoirs on the Roche.  Veo I thought was a choice of 200 or 300? not sure on the Vibe.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Feb 11, 2013)

trophywench said:


> I was on approx 30u, now on approx 20u.  Of which basal 9.6u a day.  Need to test that again though, needs reducing !
> 
> 300u reservoirs on the Roche.  Veo I thought was a choice of 200 or 300? not sure on the Vibe.



Pretty much spot on TW Veo comes in 2 flavours. 5 series is 180u, 7 series is 300u. Cannulas/sets reservoirs are generally good for up to 3 days, so even on the 180u reservoir it looks like you'd have plenty of room for manoevre (and/or puddings). I had a very similar TDD pre-pump and only half-fill the 180u reservoirs.

Vibe and Veo are CGM enabled (though getting that funded would be a job and a half).

Answering another query elsewhere today I found this difference between Veo and Combo (which may or may not have a bearing)

Veo has 3 possible basal profiles, Combo has a choice of 5.

Veo basal profiles consist of up to 48 settings over 24 hours in increments of 0.025u/hr

Combo basal profiles are 24 settings in 24 hrs in increments of 0.05 u/hr.

TW has the combo and loves it. I have the Veo and love it 

Good luck with your choice - I don't think you can make a bad one!


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks for replies everyone 

I dont need it to be waterproof - i only ever go swimming once a year on holiday and I'm never in the pool for that long

Not bothered about the CGM - my DSN said she can put me on CGM if I need it every so often

I dont know anything about basal profiles or settings to know which would be best.....

I like the fact that the Combo has the remote so if the pump was somewhere not easily accessible on me then i dont need to worry.  However, I'd worry about losing it/leaving it at home/breaking it....and I've heard they're not cheap to replace! Plus I've heard about the bluetooth connectivity being a bit hit and miss??

Oh I hate making decisions!


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## everydayupsanddowns (Feb 11, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> I like the fact that the Combo has the remote so if the pump was somewhere not easily accessible on me then i dont need to worry.  However, I'd worry about losing it/leaving it at home/breaking it....and I've heard they're not cheap to replace! Plus I've heard about the bluetooth connectivity being a bit hit and miss??



Can't speak for Combo, but the Veo links with the Contour meter and I've never had any mis-communication between them. The handset on the Veo is optional, and as long as you don't want CGM data is pretty solid from what I've heard.

Even if you left your combo meter at home you could (I think) still operate the pump manually (albeit with BG guesswork). If it broke/failed I'm pretty sure the pump co would replace.


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## pgcity (Feb 11, 2013)

I have the animas vibe and love the waterproof feature. I never take it off when showering or in the bath so I never forget to reconnect. I'm a bit dizzy mind you....


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## trophywench (Feb 11, 2013)

Mine isn't hit and miss at all.  It just does it.

Question - do you often forget to take your meter out with you?  If so you may as well forget anything with a remote.  But you only need the thing if you need to test or need it calculate a bolus or correction, don't you?

I mean I go out, I take my pantechnicon of a handbag with me - purse diary hairbrush tissues bottle of Lucozade meter syringe.  You have to in the car anyway and seeing other than the postbox and the open all hours it's at least a mile to anywhere, usually it will be the car.  Unless we go for a walk - in which case it's meter and Fruit Pastilles in anorak pocket.  Unless it's a long walk in which case rucky so still NP !


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## trophywench (Feb 11, 2013)

PS TBH I was satrting to panic trying to decide - then discovered I didn't actually get a choice.

Well of course they can't MAKE you have one above another, but why put the cat amongst the pigeons when I had no reason to actually NEED any other sort?


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## sacol4940 (Feb 12, 2013)

trophywench said:


> Mine isn't hit and miss at all.  It just does it.
> 
> Question - do you often forget to take your meter out with you?  If so you may as well forget anything with a remote.  But you only need the thing if you need to test or need it calculate a bolus or correction, don't you?
> 
> I mean I go out, I take my pantechnicon of a handbag with me - purse diary hairbrush tissues bottle of Lucozade meter syringe.  You have to in the car anyway and seeing other than the postbox and the open all hours it's at least a mile to anywhere, usually it will be the car.  Unless we go for a walk - in which case it's meter and Fruit Pastilles in anorak pocket.  Unless it's a long walk in which case rucky so still NP !



It's usually always in my handbag and my handbag is always with me.  The only time I dont usually have my blood meter with me is when i go out of a night drinking and I only take a small bag with me so it wouldnt fit...

Half of me is glad that i'm getting a choice, but then the other half is thinking aaarrrggghhh - just tell me which one im having lol


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## Phil65 (Feb 12, 2013)

i didn't get a choice .....just issued with the combo, glad really that I didn't have to choose. Combo and meter are great.


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## sacol4940 (Feb 12, 2013)

Right then, I've been scouring the net still and I can't find many demos of the Combo that aren't done by Accu Check, whereas I've found quite a few of the Animas Vibe on YouTube that are done by actual diabetics and not just the company who make the pump

So I'm thinking of trialling the Combo to see what that's like so I can compare it to what I've seen of the Animas...does that sound sensible or silly?


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## Phil65 (Feb 12, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> Right then, I've been scouring the net still and I can't find many demos of the Combo that aren't done by Accu Check, whereas I've found quite a few of the Animas Vibe on YouTube that are done by actual diabetics and not just the company who make the pump
> 
> So I'm thinking of trialling the Combo to see what that's like so I can compare it to what I've seen of the Animas...does that sound sensible or silly?



I reckon you will trial it.....and not want to give it back!


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## AJLang (Feb 13, 2013)

I wasn't given a choice and was given my AccuChek Combo on November 20th and it's BRILLIANT.   I am in love with it and it has completely changed my diabetes with my average BG dropping down from a minimum of 9.8 to average 7.9.  Thanks to the Combo I have far fewer hypos and better 
Bgs during the night.  I love it


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## sunflower_harvester (Feb 15, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> So I'm thinking of trialling the Combo to see what that's like so I can compare it to what I've seen of the Animas...does that sound sensible or silly?



Think that's very sensible, if its your first pump you don't have anything to compare to so you'll probably get on with whatever you get. They've all got little funky features, it depends what you want. Ask your DSN what they recommend. 

I had an accucheck spirit ( like a combo but without the combo bit lol) so this is based in spirit but reasonably basic, easy to use, straightforward steps, very audible alarms with vibrate, alarms when TBR finishes, upto 5 temp basal rates, 0.1 unit increments for basal and bolusing, 0.5u easy bolusing, can alter temp basal rates without cancelling, 3ml cartridge, 24 basal segments ( if you so wish you can have a different basal rate every hour of the day)

Recently been switched to a vibe as it was trade in time- smaller pump, only 2ml cartridge, available in different colours ( have indulged my inner princess and asked for a pink one- currently have a green one on loan due to a funding issue), fancy features such as easy BG and easy carb which works out correction and food boluses for you ( although its important you learn to do this yourself), 12 basal segments, 0.025 unit increments ( good if v insulin sensitive), adjustable easy bolusing, personally I find the cannulas a little less sore than the Roche ones, cannot alter temp basal without cancelling, and it will not alarm when temp basal rates are over ( been caught out a few times with this but think its cos i was used to it alarming) alarms are quiet and still haven't worked out how to make it vibrate. No remote- develop a love of clothes with waistbands or rummaging round your bra in public- although its an easier pump to conceal than the spirit as its smaller and has a more compact clip

In short pros and cons to both, hope that's helpful but the long and short is its quite a personal choice depending on what you want and the advice of your DSN but essentially a pump is a pump- they all do the same basic things and whatever you chose you'll get along fine with. Good luck


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## trophywench (Feb 15, 2013)

Combo is slightly better in that you can set the quick bolus in whatever chunks you like - a whole unit or 0.2 of a unit or 0.5 unit or whatever.

I'm shocked the Vibe has only 12 possible base rates a day.  OK it's 6 x as many than Levemir, but I think that would be a step backwards for me from the 24, as I go up and down all day and night.

The screens on the Animas I've seen (it was the 2020 so presumably the Vibe is just newer/better) were prettier and more intuitive than the Roche but in practice of course I hardly ever touch my pump.  And the meter/remote does have intuitive screens and they are also pretty LOL

I presume you mean a "Bolus Wizard" when you say Easy BG Easy Carb, which the old Spirit didn't have, but which the Combo does have, on the meter/remote.  I like it, it's one less thing to do, as you do it all from finer prick to deliver correctly calculated for you bolus, with the remote/meter.

I like the software too.  Good for spotting trends which I don't seem to notice very easily over X number of pages in a page a day diary, but displayed on a screen in front of me (or printed on A4) with lots of days at a time - I can and do notice.


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## sunflower_harvester (Feb 16, 2013)

Yeah I know, 12 basal rates seems like a step down to me too- DSN says its not and there is no-one who's basal they haven't been able to flatten into 12 but feels like it defeats the fine tuning thats the advantage of a pump, guess the proof will be in the hba1c. The real issue for me is the lack of alarm when TBR ends- cue hypos during exercise and mega spikes whilst poorly. If anyone from animas is listening- sort this out its a safety issue!!!!
Think easy bolus is same as wizard- don't use it, I can work out 30g carb requires 3u insulin all by myself ( was told not to enter IOB as it screws up the calculation) so I find it a bit pointless. Easy Bg/ correction wizard is very useful though and has stopped hypos from over zealous correcting so I do like that.
Yes the screen is very pretty and he pump looks and feels nice to wear (much smaller and lighter) I don't know if there is but it feels like there so many extra steps to get the pump to do anything.
Don't get me wrong- very grateful to have a pump but me and the vibe are not really vibing. Miss my spirit. 
Oh and have problems with re-ordering resupplies both times I've done it.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Feb 16, 2013)

12 seems a bit hmmm to me too. Veo has 48 (possible) settings per 24 hour pattern and in 0.025u/h increments


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