Blogging Diabetes

Medtronic Minimed Insulin Pump – Death Code



Here is my first vlog (video log) for Blogging Diabetes.  Today’s post discusses the infamous death code for the MiniMed insulin pump.  The video should start getting better so please bear with me as I use my webcam.  I have some sound and video equipment that I will be hooking up soon to improve future vlogs.  

As you can tell from the video, I roll with the New England Patriots.  And, no I’m not a bandwagon fan either.  I grew up in the Western part of Massachusetts and then lived about five miles from Foxboro, MA (where their stadium is) for about 5 years.  I’m also a huge Red Sox and Celtics fan, which has been a very good thing of late.

I hope you like the video!

Posted in Featured, Info, Insulin & Pumps, Real Life, Tony, Type 1, Vlog

Posted by  in December 26th 2008  

9 Comments

mygif
Cara Said,
December 26th, 2008 @11:23 am  

I have never gotten that code (thank goodness!), but I have dealt with MiniMed over a group of bad infusion sets. They had them to me in around 12 hours. They are crazy quick!

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Tony Said,
December 26th, 2008 @12:40 pm  

Recently I have read about a few others experiencing the same problem. Here is a warning sign that you may have a problem with your pump.

When you go to prime the pump, the insulin with spray out of the infusion set like a fire hose instead of dripping like normal. As soon as you see this happen, call Medtronic.

New pump works like a charm. I’m not sure I would be too happy if I was outside of the 5 year warranty and had to pay for a new pump. Even with the co-pay it’s still a chunk of change.

I was very pleased with their customer service.

Thanks for the comment Cara!

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Jill Said,
December 26th, 2008 @1:26 pm  

Great first vlog! :) We’re not pumping yet but it’s nice to know what to do if something like that should happen! We’re still teetering between the Cozmo and MiniMed. Still not sure which one we’ll choose. But it’s great that the customer service is quick!

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Tony Said,
December 26th, 2008 @2:49 pm  

Thank you Jill! Hopefully the videos will get better and I do more of them.

Here are a few good sites that let you easily compare different pumps. I don’t really remember what made me go with MiniMed now… huh.

http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_technology/insulin_pump_models.php

http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/faq/compf02.html

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Jill Said,
December 26th, 2008 @4:20 pm  

Do you regret the MiniMed decision?

I like the Cozmo because it seems more “kid friendly”. I know many have recommended the Animas to us but I wasn’t sold on it. I also like that the Cozmo is waterproof and being a child it seems thats the way to go for her. I also like that Cozmo you can use all the different infusion sets (I heard theres more to choose from) and I’ve been told that if you use the MiniMed pump then you’re stuck with those sets. I guess thats why they make us go to pump classes at the hospital….so we can compare and see which we like best once we talk to all the reps.

mygif
Scott K. Johnson Said,
December 26th, 2008 @6:55 pm  

Hi Tony!

Great VLOG post – Looking forward to more of them in the future. :-)

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Tony Said,
December 26th, 2008 @7:07 pm  

Jill – No I don’t regret the MiniMed decision. I like the fact that the pump and meter both work together. Also, I like the fact that if I went with the MiniMed Real-Time monitoring, they work together. I’m not sure if others have this same functionality. A lot of the other options are pretty much the same between the pumps.

Another test would be to call each of the customer service numbers and see what happens. That may tell you a lot about how they value current customers versus prospects.

I do agree that Cozmo is more kid friendly. I would like to go demo all of the different kinds of pumps to try them out. Actually seeing them and trying them would be a lot better than just looking online. I will probably do that when it comes to a CGMS.

Scott – Thank you! They should get better with practice. It’s kind of funny talking to my monitor…

mygif
Jill Said,
December 26th, 2008 @11:16 pm  

Thanks Tony!

When we go back to her Endo next month they will set us up in what they call “pump classes”. We will have to go to the classes just like we did when she was in the hospital for diagnosis and we learned about how to take care of her…same thing but with the pump. We will get to see all the pumps…hold them…push buttons…and then we choose which one we want. She’s then set up on a 3 day “trial” where she will be hooked to saline and we will see if thats the right one for her before the final prescription is written for one. If we like it…or I should say if SHE likes it…then hers will be ordered and we will have to go back to set up all the rates and such. I guess its a good program. I used to be dead set on MiniMed til I learned all about the other pumps out there. I think we will end up leaving the ultimate decision up to Kacey and what she feels comfortable with since it’s gonna be connected to her all the time. Those websites you gave were GREAT! It was nice to see the breakdown all on one page…Thanks!

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karend1 Said,
January 2nd, 2009 @4:58 pm  

Great to put a voice with the face, and great info as well. :)

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