Saturday, January 3, 2009

Cozmo vs. MiniMed

The excitement is building as we countdown the days til Kacey's big Endo appointment. I'm starting to feel a bit nervous as well. This will be the first time her A1c was checked since she was diagnosed. Her 6 month "Diavershry" (as she calls it) will be on the 15th and her appointment is scheduled for the 22nd. I have a lit of questions to ask and most of them are just minor things. But two major ones stick out on the page like big black letters. The questions are:

When do we start pump classes?

Which pump do you reccommend, Cozmo or MiniMed?

I know the answers to both will come. When we go to the pump classes they will let us touch and play with each pump. Kacey will actually get to hold it in her hands and see what it looks like. Thats something she hasnt done yet! I've read everything I can get my hands on about each pump and I still bounce back and forth as to which one I really like for Kacey. Both of them have great features but I keep leaning toward the Cozmo because I like the custom settings, waterproof, her meter will always be with her and several other things.

So I'm asking.... those of you on pumps or have children on pumps....

Which would you choose and why? Do you regret choosing the pump you did?

I know each person is different (I feel like I've said that alot lately!) but I want everyones feedback because there may be one thing that really sways me. Feedback from people actually having to wear and use the pump is much better than a doctor or pump rep trying to tell you which one is best for your child. Thanks again!!!

Countdown...19 days

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a Cozmo and I really like it. It has a ton of great features, including a bolus wizard, LOTS of customization, and it's waterproof. The major downside (at least for me) is that it is a little thick, which makes it harder to tuck into pockets. But, that may not make a difference for you.

I know Sandra's son Joseph (from A Shot in the Dark) just got an Animas Ping, so you may want to consider that as well.

Overall, they are all excellent pumps, so it's a matter of what features are important to you.

Cara said...

I love my Minimed, but the only 2 offered to me were the Minimed and the Animas. So I didn't have a lot to choose from. I went with the Minimed because of the CGMS feature, which, while it wasn't available at the time I got my pump, was coming very soon.
The Minimed has a bolus wizard, but it isn't waterproof. Only water resistant. I have dropped it in the bathtub a couple of times and got it right back out and dried it off. No problems so far.

Anonymous said...

what about the omnipod? i leave in europe so i am still waiting for it to come but i heard its really good

Jill said...

Amalas~ I really like all those features on the Cozmo. I was looking at the shape of the pump and it looks like it would fit right into a cell phone case...does it? Kacey doesn't have anything with pockets so I don't think that would be something we deal with. I did look at the Animas but I didn't know too much about it and it didn't look like it had all the features the others did. I'll have to read some more on it. I know that many of the kids in our Endo's office have the Animas when we went to the Diabetes Carnival the parents seemed to like it because it was waterproof but they didnt say anything else about it.

Cara~ Thats good to know that a simple "Opps!" like a tub or toilet wouldnt ruin it!

Anon~ I looked at the Omnipod but I didn't like the fact that she couldn't disconnect when she wanted to. Once you hook up to the pod then you're stuck with it for 3 days unless you change the site. (At least thats how I understand it) Because she is only 8yrs old, I don't think the Omnipod is something we'd choose. Being tubeless is nice but she'd have to keep track of the device that controls everything and I don't want her to have to worry about losing it :)

Thanks for the responses so far :) Keep the comments coming!

Wendy said...

Addy pumps with Cozmo...we love it!!!! I have two FAVORITE features:

1) The Insulin On Board (IOB)feature...basically, it calculates how much insulin and time is left between all meal and correction boluses...this tool has been very helpful in predicting lows and cutting off highs before she spikes too high.

2) The Disconnect feature. I don't think anyone else offers a disconnect feature, but you'd have to double check. Anyway, you can administer up to 50% of projected missed basal when taking the pump off for extended periods of time. This really helps with highs later!!!!! (Missed basal right now tends to show up as highs in about 2-3 hours.) We use this alot in the summer with swimming...even thought the pump is waterproof, it's easier to just take it off and stick it in the cooler so we don't worry about damage from rough housing or losing it altogether. Maybe that's just us.

CGM is big talk these days... we're considering the Navigator, and have filed the paperwork with our insurance company -- just because. While I think CGM is the wave of the future, I'll be more excited about it when technology offers us ONE SITE for both functions.

Wendy said...

Sorry...forgot to mention one of the main reasons I didn't go with MM...

The sites are proprietary. So, if the MM site doesn't work well for you, you can't try something else in search of something new.

We actually use the Animas Inset with Addy's Cozmo...the Smiths Medical Cleo didn't work for Addy. It just didn't seem to stay on for more than 36 hours. Maybe it was her skin type, I don't know...but thank goodness we had an option to try something else!!!

Then again, I'm the same mom who refused to buy a diaper genie because I didn't like the idea of proprietary trash bags...again, maybe it's just me...

Jill said...

Thanks Wendy!

I still really think we're gonna end up going with Cozmo. Everyone we know in real life is on MiniMed. I still really like all the features of Cozmo. I'd read that about the sites too and that was one of the questions on my longgggg list for the End :D (heehee!)

Thats great about getting the CGMS. Hopefully you won't have to battle the insurance for coverage :) **fingers crossed for you all**

LOL you remind me of myself with the Diaper Genie!! That thing used to frustrate me to no end. I got one as a baby shower gift and only used it til the bags were gone and never refilled it (bad Mommy!...haha) I don't know...I just had issues with all these dirty diapers being enclosed in a case in her room (eeek!) It was kindly donated to another family ;)

Thanks for your input :)

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Riley has an Animas so I can't tell you anything about the Cozmo or the Minimed. But, I can tell you that the Animas is waterproof and that has been God-send. I know the Cozmo is waterproof and the Minimed is not. Because Riley's pump is waterproof he wears it all the time. There is no need to disconnect when he swims and keep reconnecting to bolus. I'd have to say it's my favorite thing about his Animas.

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Just read through your comments and have some more to say:

I love the Animas. The reason we chose Animas was because Riley was 3 at the time and Animas has the lowest basal rate available. You can adjust basals by 0.025 units. Other pumps are 0.05 units. It probably won't matter much for you. But, when Riley was 3 that's all he really needed his basals raised anyway. It has an insulin on board feature. It also has a combo bolus feature. (We have the older version. There's an Animas ping now. It's display is in color.)

If it hadn't been for the basal feature I probably would have gone with the Cozmo. I liked the way it looked and I liked that it was kind of set up like a cell phone so it seemed more user friendly. But, a boy at Riley's school switched from the Animas to a Cozmo and his dad told me he liked the Animas better. I don't know why. Maybe because that's what they were used to.

Riley's pump warranty expires next year in March, so I'll be researching again myself next year at this time.

I'm really interested in the Omnipod. It was just coming out when Riley got his pump and there wasn't a lot of data on it. It doesn't bother me that Riley can't disconnect from it. He never takes his pump off now. He even wears it in the bath tub. And, I don't think he'd lose the PDA to dose. He's never lost a machine, so hopefully he could keep up with that.

OK, now that I've written a book, I'll shut up.

Jill said...

Penny~ Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm glad you wrote a book ;) so don't ever feel like you're writing too much when you respond :)

Thanks for the feedback with Animas. Thats the pump that alot of the kids I see have. We've never seen anyone with the Cozmo...well wait...we've probably seen someone but didnt know it was a pump because it does look like a cell phone! I really like the waterproof feature as well. So he doesn't have to disconnect to take a bath? Do you have a problem with the sites coming off in the warm water? Kacey is such a fish and she loves being in the water so I wasn't sure how that would work? I know I'm going to have TONS of questions even after she gets her pump but it's always better to know as much as you can beforehand ;) At least it shows the doc Ive done my research and Im giving this 100%!

Since Kacey is a bit on the "heavier" side, I don't think we have to worry about having the really low basal that you would with a smaller child. Thats an excellent feature though! And come to think of it, those kids we saw with the Animas at the Diabetes Carnival were little ones...probably 3-5yrs old!

Kacey will be 9 in March and which ever pump we choose will carry her til shes 13 and by then I'm sure there will be lots of new things on the market ;)

Thanks again for your feedback :)

Anonymous said...

First and completely off topic, I'm jealous (in a good way) of all your readers!

Second, I just asked Nikki and she said Cozmo. Because it calculates blood sugar boluses (better than mini med), it has a menu for carbs when you are out at a restaurant, it is a blood sugar meter (you can take that part off and on), she likes the insertion (called Cleo) gadget better. HOWEVER, we are also Mini-Med fans and the original reason we changed was because we did not like the Omni-Pod for Nikki and when we went to look at pumps - again - she liked the color (yep the color) of the Cozmo. Since I felt like the technology was as good or better, we went with her choice. Since then we've really fallen in love with Cozmo.

Also, Cozmo will eliminate your problem of getting numbers back and forth from home to school since it keeps tracks of all the b.s. numbers for you - it even graphs them!!!

Jill said...

Sheri~ I was soooo hoping you'd post! I knew that Nikki had experienced both and you'd know the in's and out's of each one. I know that Kacey wasn't crazy over the colors. She said she wanted the black so it "matched everything" ...haha! She said if she got black then her friends would think it was a "Secret Spy" gadget and she was going to tell them it gave her super powers...HAHAHA...things kids do! She'll end up naming it something like "Spy".

I knew the pump would eliminate the notebook but for now I need that remedy. Penny had a great idea about using one meter :) She'd get use out of her new Vera bag for sure!

Thanks everyone :)

Anonymous said...

Sorry it took so long to answer, but yes, the Cozmo does fit into a cell phone case. This is the one I am using now when I don't have pockets.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I see you have investigated and narrowed the pumps down to two (eliminating Animas and OmniPod). So you only have two to choose from. My niece has had the Animas and is now on the Minimed. The Minimed was prescribed for her because it is the only pump with cgms. She did have some issues with cgms (serious infection) and her Mom will use it again. Hopefully, they will reduce the size of the introducer needle for cgms. Minimed is a very well made, sturdy pump. Her blood sugars are much improved on the Minimed. Cozmo will communicate with Decom soon. Cozmo has a lot of features Minimed does not have. My niece would never consider the Cozmo, though, because of the thick shape. Either one, I don't think you can go wrong!

Jill said...

Anon~
Thanks so much for the feedback! Was there a reason your niece was switched from Animas to MiniMed other than the CGMS? Thats great that she's had better blood sugars :) I think whatever pump it is, its a positive for your blood sugars! Thanks again!