Comments on: Information for a non-pump user

By: kirby_170

kirby_170 — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 06:21:24 +0000

If insurance denies, keep trying. Good luck with whatever decisions you make

By: Randolph Fawn

Randolph Fawn — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 07:49:56 +0000

Good luck - but pumping is the Gold Standard of DM treatment. If not now,
you’ll want it in a year! I know one gal who was 11 and got a pump after 5
mos!!
Jan

By: Joann Miguelina

Joann Miguelina — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 22:13:08 +0000

I’d like to thank all of you who have replied and given me the scoop
about insulin pumps. A coworker of mine is engaged to a rep from
MiniMed. We spoke for about 30 minutes this morning and set up a time
to meet. She’s going to set me up on a dummy unit. I have an
appointment with my doctor just a week later so I’ll bring it up with
him. I think he’ll agree that it will be good for me to go on a pump,
although I am somewhat worried since my control has been very good
without it. Perhaps he’ll say that 3-4 injections are working since
my 30-day average BG is 105 (high 160 & low 66) and that I don’t need
a pump. Another red flag for the insurance company is that I was only
diagnosed 3 months ago. The MiniMed rep that I spoke with said that
some insurance companies will only authorize it after one year. We’ll
see.

Thanks again everyone!

Jonathan Meersman

By: Joel Hill

Joel Hill — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:58:58 +0000

Jan, that’s very observant of ya. I have no idea when that happened or how
to correct it for that matter….. LOL
"footyprints"

By: Randolph Fawn

Randolph Fawn — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 07:26:54 +0000

I’ll second that, Jonathan - except I’ve been on a MiniMed (2) since ‘92.
IT’S YOUR CHOICE - check them all out. www.animascorp.com
www.disetronicusa.com www.minimed.com

By: Joel Hill

Joel Hill — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:43:36 +0000

All I can say Jonathan is, that after 18 months with a Disetronic pump, it’s
phenomenal!! Get one !! You’re gonna love it, especially if ya have an
irregular schedule.
fp

By: patience_15

patience_15 — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 11:53:06 +0000

<< As far as insurance is concerned, I can only speak to what mine does. It
covers the same percentage of the supplies as it did with the pump itself
(once I meet my deductible.)
>>

I live in Arizona and have United Health Care (which used to be Health
Partners). They paid 100% for my pump and 100% for my supplies. The only
thing I have to pay for is the batteries. Its awesome!!! Chrissy

By: Olin Ok

Olin Ok — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 03:09:18 +0000

Jonathan,
The reply from Joan is excellent, and I concur with all her comments, so I won’t
belabor them unnecessarily.

My only additional comment would be that you should find a CDE qualified in pump
usage as a consultant, or find a Diabetes Teaching Center associated with a
university so that you can get informed direct advice.

I have been on the pump since 1990 or so, and first was trained by a CDE (who is
also a pump user), and was also associated with the Teaching Center at UCSF in
San Francisco. This proved to be an ideal situation; I have participated in
the four day training course at UCSF twice over the years. This has been an
invaluable resource.

David

By: kirby_170

kirby_170 — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 21:04:38 +0000

Jonathan,

I have been a diabetic for at least 18 years now. 17 of those years have
been with NPH and Regular (Humalog over the past 3 years.) I started using
the pump about a month ago. If you keep checking this group, you will keep
hearing the many praises of pump therapy. (Well deserved, at that.)

I am a band director, and working a day of 14 - 16 hours is one of my short
days. I cannot tell you how much I have grown to appreciate the pump in my
short month of using it. I no longer have to try to find a private space to
take my shots. That in itself makes it worth it.

As far as insurance is concerned, I can only speak to what mine does. It
covers the same percentage of the supplies as it did with the pump itself
(once I meet my deductible.)

Check it out, and once you have made up your mind to go with a pump, try to
avoid paying too much attention to the negative aspects you will come across
from time to time. I had read about some of these, such as taking an hour
and a half to change infusion sets, and so on. I knew I did not want to have
to take that long. I found out it only takes me about 15 minutes taking my
own sweet time. Basically, the negatives are going to vary person to person.
The biggest negative I have experienced is just dealing with the insurance,
and that was happening before the pump anyway.

Communicate with your doctor. If you are not doing this already, start a BG
testing regiment to see if your blood sugars stay in range ( esp 2-3 hours
after meals.)

Going on the pump has probably been the best decision I have ever made. I
only regret that I put it off for so long.

Good luck,
Bart

By: colin_140

colin_140 — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 14:49:37 +0000

Hi Jonathan: Joan here - nurse, etc. right now, it sounds like you are
a prime candidate for the pump. There are 3 currently on the market,
MiniMed, Disetronic, and Animas. I’m sure Frank will send you the site
addresses. Some of us are on Minimed, others (including myself) are on
Disetronic - H-tron V100. Disetronic has just put a newer version on the
market called the D-tron. I don’t know of anyone on this list that’s on the
new Animas pump. So, you should check out all three.

tight control with 3-4 injections daily. Actually, tight control is NOT 3-4
injections per day, but let’s not quibble.
Humalog is a rapid acting analog which kicks into gear within 15 min.s of
administration and is metabolized rapidly, which is why you also have NPH.
mixed for breakfast, Humalog only for dinner cause your NPH is still on
board, and NPH only for bedtime- to cover you during the night. NPH is a
moderate acting insulin which is absorbed over a 6-8 hour period.

Since you are so active, I would suggest talking to your endo, and then
contacting each of the manufacturers. Most of the time, a rep will be happy
to show you their product. If you like, contact Insulin Infusion Specialties
in Louisiana - 800-838-7867..they are reps for all 3 pumps, and can show you
all of them. This way, you see which features and design you prefer. That’s
what I did. I chose the Disetronic because it’s water proof whereas Minimed
is water resistant. I’ve dropped mine in the shower a few times, once doing
dishes - jumped out of my bra- guess it wanted to test the water, but it’s
still working fine after 17 months.
Another good site for information is www.diabeteswell.com - it’s time to
educate yourself. A well controlled diabetic is one who knows more than
their physician and educators. You have to learn how your body functions
-which you are right now, but it will take time.
Same with learning about the pump. We’ll all jump in with our opinions, but
keep faith. We learn a lot from each other.

My insurance company said that they’ll cover 90% of the cost of the unit
itself, but the customer service rep was unsure of how much they cover the
supplies…Cost of the initial unit? Monthly costs of supplies? Insurance
coverage of those supplies? Out of pocket expenses? Ease of use? practicality
of use? Benefits? Drawbacks? Any thing else?

Speak to the IIS (Insulin Infusion reps again) they can do a preassessment
and verification of your insurance,
help your endo with all the paperwork involved, and you may be able to tweak
the insurance company for better coverage. Depends on a lot of things, so
don’t just take No for an answer. Jan and Gail on the list are both pros at
dealing with the insurance cos. I deal with the New York end, but there are
ways and ways depending on semantics, and the type of justification your
physician provides.
Welcome to the list, I’m sure everyone will give you hints of things to
try…Joan:)
>>