Insulin Pump Users

The Animas Insulin Pump Review

Well it has been just about a month now that I have been wearing the Animas
R1000 insulin pump and I must say I really like it. The first word that
comes to mind when I think about the Animas pump is Safety. I don’t think
there is any way I could do anything accidentally on this pump. Everything
you do takes a few more button pushes than the MiniMed 508 or the Disetronic
D-Tron, but by confirming all my actions I feel more confident that I will
not make a wrong or accidental choice. Let me highlight what I feel to be
the Pros and Cons of this pump.

PROS
1) Safety - By confirming all my choices using plain English on the screen,
I always know I am making the right button choice
2) Initial screen - The first screen shows time, active basal program,

current basal rate and units left in the reservoir
3) Easy Menu - The menu is VERY easy to follow. I always know exactly which
button to push to get to the screen I want. It is set up like an ATM
machine.
4) Waterproof - Showers, swimming…no problem. Soon this will be standard
on all of the pumps. Currently only the D-Tron and Animas are waterproof.
5) Language Choice - You can display English or Spanish text. Just don’t
choose Spanish if you don’t speak it 6) Belt Clip - You can rotate the belt clip to four secure positions (nice
fix Animas!)
7) Basal Rate Profiles - Four basal rate programs to set. For example, one
for a "regular" day, one for sick days, one for exercise days, and one for
the weekend. Reservoir - The reservoir seems to require much less effort to get all
the bubbles out after I fill it
9) Size - Similar to the MiniMed 508, it is very compact
10) Durable - The case gives it a very strong look…. and when I
accidentally dropped it from about 5 feet onto a hard surface, it acted just
like a Timex.
11) Fashion Covers - Although I don’t think I need a bright orange cover for
my pump, I do feel this is important for kids and those of you who still
have a little "kid" inside of you.
12) Temporary Basal - Like the D-Tron, the Animas allows you to set a
temporary basal rate as a percentage. I am afraid there is no easy way to
explain why this is such a benefit without confusing you. Check the web site
for more information.
13) Half Unit Basal - The ability to increase basal rates by half a unit is
optimal for people who are still in the "Honey-Moon Period" and require very
small amounts of insulin. ((JAN here: I think he means 0.05 and NOT 0.5
because that is what this pump can deliver. It can be set at 0.15 if needed.))

CONS
1) Reservoir - The reservoir "kit" comes with a small clip to help draw
insulin from a syringe and small cap to place on the reservoir while you are
placing it in the pump. I found the clip to be more of a hassle than benefit
in filling the reservoir and the cap is just another step the other pumps
don’t require. People with dexterity issues may find it difficult to use
these accessories for pump filling, in my opinion, but I guess this whole
E-News is really just ‘my opinion’.
2) Button Pushes - A lot more button pushes than the other two pumps to get
the same results. I found that after a couple of weeks this was not really
an issue, but it would still be nice to push less buttons.
3) Priming - Priming takes too long, has an annoying tone and makes my thumb
cramp. You have to hold down a button the whole time the motor is priming
the tubing which takes enough time for my thumb to cramp from holding down
the button. And all the time you are holding down the button there is a high
pitched alarm going off to let you know you are priming. Seems to me there
could be some steps taken to make this process less annoying.
4) Sleep mode - the pump screen shuts off which takes another step each time
I want to see my pump info or see what time it is. It does save battery
life, but since I use my pump as a watch I would rather have the screen on
all the time.
5) Speed Dial - Well that’s just what I call it, but it is the ability to
hold down the ‘up-arrow’ button to VERY quickly get to the number of units
you want to bolus. The only problem I found was that it is so fast that I
was spending more time lowering the bolus after I passed the number I was
shooting for. I think you can slow this feature down a bit Animas.

Well I guess with 13 PROS and only 5 CONS you can judge for yourself how I
feel about the Animas R1000, but if you need a hint, I really like it.
Remember that these are only my opinions and everybody has different needs
and preferences in a pump. Always review all of your choices before you make
the final decision. My next review will be on the new MiniMed Paradigm.
www.animas.com

www.disetronic-usa.com
www.minimed.com

Steve Deal, RN
Endocrine Metabolic Medical center
Type 1 for 11 years and pumping for 5

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 1st, 2006 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.