Choosing An Insulin Pump.

It's that magical time of every-four-years-or-so where we insulin pump folks are allowed to select which small hunk of plastic, metal and science will help us manage our diabetes for the next few years. My Animas warranty runs out at the end of December, which means that our insurance plan is probably, possibly willing to cover some yet-to-be-learned percentage of the cost of a new insulin pump (assuming the paperwork gets processed before the end of the year).

The freedom! The choices! The intense pressure to choose wisely!

I've been pretty happy with my Animas Ping over the past few years. (I mean, I drew it into my blog header - I must be fond of it, right?) I've had very few technical issues with it, Animas' customer service has always been a pleasure to work with, the pump is waterproof, and frankly, I'm just used to it. It's familiar and comfortable. And who knows, maybe the Vibe will be granted the a-okay from FDA soon, and I'd be able to upgrade for (what I hope would be) a small fee. The Ping feels... safe.

But what about new hotness?

There's Medtronic's low glucose suspend pump and CGM combo, the 530g with Enlite. There's Omnipod (I've never worn one!), and there's that snazzy touchscreen (ooooh, shiny) pump from Tandem, the t:slim.There's also Accu-check's Combo pump and Asante's Snap. (Aw, snap!)

Six choices! SIX!

How will I decide? Which features are most important, this go-round? (I think all of these pumps are "good", and which one you choose really just depends on what features are important to you and fit the way you live/play. I don't think there's a "bad pump", just maybe a bad fit for an individual.) I think I can eliminate the Omnipod, because I appreciate tubed pumps (as I can move it around to accomadate different outfits during the time that infusion set is in).

Okay, how about Medtronic? The LGS pump could be nice during nighttime low excursions. But... it's not integrated with the Dexcom CGM I love so much, so getting the full benefit out of that system would require me to abandon my Dexcom.

Ah, now the t:slim! I trialed this pump for a couple of days during FFL 2012, and I liked what I could test of it. Touchscreen = cool. Bigger reservoir = cool. More intuitive functionality = cool. But it's a whole new company and device, and it feels like it would be a pretty big transition for me. Am I ready for that?

Then there's the Asante Snap. I don't know much about it, or the company that makes it, but I know that Scott liked it, and I totally trust him, so maybe that's good enough for me. Besides, it looks super easy (a snap, ha ha haaaaaaa) to use.

And the Combo pump from Accu-chek: again, haven't seen it in person, but I know someone that's worn it and liked it. I'm just not sure it's for me.

Which circles me back to Animas. While the features of my pump wouldn't change, I'd at least be able to order a different color.... but I'd be sticking with the same technology I've had for the past four years.

I've got some things to ponder.

Update: I tried to sign up for the Snap's four-week trial, and was told (by way of automated reply) that this pump is not yet available in my area.

Update to the update: Even though our insurance plan tells me that they will cover any pump except Tandem's and Asante's, there may be ways to work through this. I'll update when I know something!

Update, v3.0: You can find the rest of this story here, here, and here.