[Diabetes-talk] Pump updates.

[Veronica Elsea]

Hi everyone!
Okay, today my beloved Cozmo pump is officially out of warranty. I haven't
made my future decision yet though. But I have some interesting things to
share with all of you.
A few weeks ago I went to a conference put on by a group called Taking
Control of Your Diabetes. If you hear of one of these happening in your home
area, boy I'd sure recommend going. I really got a lot out of it and so did
my hubby. There were all kinds of break-out groups, exhibits, a nice lunch
and good speakers. Workshops covered everything from pregnancy to sessions
for spouses, different workshops for type two's or type one's, research
studies, use of technology and so on. 
Naturally when we got there, we headed straight for the exhibits to see
which manufacturers were there. I did meet James, the pump mate guy and we
had a nice chat during one of the breaks. So, here's my big discovery in the
exhibit hall. I tell you, I didn't know whether to bust up laughing or hit
my knees and bawl like a three-year-old! I confirmed for myself that none of
the pumps I knew about had an option to turn on keypad beeps. And just for
fun, I went and visited the Tandem diabetes booth, the maker of the touch
screen pump. This is the company that bought the patents from Smiths
Medical, maker of the Cozmo pump. So the first thing I cleared up for myself
was that the screens varied tremendously in the number of buttons and things
for each. That means it will be tricky to make a template like one can with
iphones and such. And then I hit the big discovery! Would you believe it?
Keypad beeps! Okay, no keypad. But every action, really nicely done audible
feedback. Man oh man oh man! So close! But so far! Needless to say I had a
fair amount to say during the technology workshop. James actually raised the
question about blind people using insulin pumps. The doctor in charge
started in with this, oh yes! They sure can! I know of this one guy, and
he's a world-class skier and he just memorizes the menus and he, bla la bla.
I couldn't stand it and jumped up, saying, stop! I pointed out that that
used to be true but isn't any more. And I asked if sighted people would
accept having to be superman in order to use a pump. Somehow I guess I just
hit one of those moments when I wanted to have someone say I know this blind
guy and he's a really cool person or something like that. But I was able to
point out how some of the simplest things, if implemented would make a huge
difference to us and what was and wasn't out there right now. The doctors in
charge did say to me later that they were really glad I'd spoken up. If
nothing else, maybe a little education happened that day. 
But of course, now back to my pump decision. The Tandem people did say
they'd be willing to let me try the T-slim for a month and would refund my
purchase if I really couldn't design a template or something. It's kind of
tempting but, oh lordy!
In an odd sort of way, if there are enough things I'll have to give up in
terms of doing them independently, then the T-slim would be the pump to get
because it doesn't use silly icons. This would mean that any sighted person
could read the pump to me. But it's a great choice for someone who still has
some useable vision left. 
I also played with an Omnipod, which is a pump with no tubing. My complaint
about it is the same as that for the continuous blood glucose monitoring
systems. There are so many alarms for things and they all sound alike. Even
for sighted users, they talked a lot about alarm fatigue. And not being able
to read the messages would make things even crazier for us. For people like
me who don't use much insulin per day, I'd have to make a gadget that would
help measure how much insulin I was putting into the pod. I think I'd end up
wasting a lot of insulin over time. And the pods are still pretty big.
I was sorry that Animas didn't show up though. Medtronic was there and I did
talk to them a bit. But it just bugs me that if you use their easy bolus you
don't get to take advantage of the pump figuring out insulin on board. To me
it looks like wearing a pump without getting the advantages of a pump. In
order to access the wizards all of these devices use, there's no way around
it. We do need a talking pump. And in my personal opinion, a talking
main-stream blood glucose meter wouldn't be bad either. 
Okay, off my soap box for now. <grin> But I'll keep all of you posted on my
upcoming wanderings and adventures. I'm not giving up. Never!
And I do appreciate having a place where we can bat things around among
people with the same desires and frustrations. One of the things I kept
stressing at this conference was that nobody, for whatever reason should
face obstacles when trying to do the right thing for diabetes management and
control. This isn't just cute or cool. It's life and death. And boy,
nobody's leaving me behind. Stay tuned! And thanks for reading.
Veronica


Watch the video as The Guide Dog Glee Club sings "Rehab!" Yes! Yes! Yes!
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                Veronica Elsea, Owner
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Santa Cruz, California
Phone: 831-429-6407