I have been very, very fortunate to have now been on a loan insulin pump since late August 2008 – nearly ten months now. The pump it all started with was the Deltec Cozmo, pictured on the left. The Cozmo has been a great little pump to start off on. It’s all I know, but having seen a couple of others in action (the Roche H Tron and the Roche D Tron as well as one of the ancient Medtronic Minimeds), I feel very fortunate to have been given this one to use – it’s a smart pump which has lots of cool features like insulin on board, site change reminders, insulin to carb ratios and a lot of other things which make life generally easier. On top of that it was free of charge in order to get my HbA1c down to an appropriate level pre-pregnancy and now during pregnancy. I’ve had a couple of issues with the pump but they’ve been sorted out quickly and I figure it’s just luck of the draw with electronics sometimes. (yes, it was this one which broke on me last week and had me up all night taking injections instead, but to be fair if there had been a fault with any pump at that time of night I don’t think any of the companies in NZ would have been able to do anything at that time. All I suggest is that you keep some long acting insulin in the fridge for such situations, should they occur).
Anyway. After ten months of Cozmo’ing, I’ve decided it’s time to move on and try a new pump. Again, I am 
very fortunate to have been offered an Animas IR1200 (pictured right) from NZMS, for the remainder of my pregnancy (generally you have to surrender loan pumps about six weeks after you’ve had the baby). I start this new pump tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to trying something new. I’ll give it a few weeks before I pass comment but at that point I will do a bit of a comparison here for you.
Posted in Insulin Pumps, Pregnancy
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6 comments have been made on this post
Matt Taylor wrote
Hi I use the Animas and have been extremely happy with its features and functions … cartridges aside, pump cannulae and tubing are interchangeable …. I’ve found it pays to shop around with the consumables to get the price and combinations that suit.
Nic wrote
Thanks for this Matt – I’ve found most people who use Animas are pretty positive about the whole experience – it’s the price which seems a bit prohibitive to me at the moment – they’ve put it up to $8,500 in the last few months. Gah. Looking forward to trying something new though and it looks like it’s nice and slim.
cherie wrote
Hi there,
I use an Animas IR 1200. Have had one for about 10 months, no problems so far (touch wood).
I have three other friends that have had them for 5 years or more and still swear by them.
I get 100% support with a back up 24-7 service . As you know they are not cheap with the on going supplies, but you can cut back your costs on things such as antiseptic wipes,which are a third of the price through Diabetes supplies, and changing lines, inserts etc can be extended a bit longer than they say. I paid $7,500 last year for mine.
Could’nt decide between silver or Black, went for black. They had lots of other colours , Im no expert but I hope that this can be of some help to you!
Good luck…..
Cherie
Nic wrote
Thanks for your input, Cherie, really appreciate it. Great endorsement too with your three friends and their everlasting pumps! Will let you know how I get on, I think pump preference is pretty personal but will give my best shot at an unbiased opinion. Nic
Stephen wrote
Hey
,
. It’s good to see that Animas have a awesome support service.
I finally start pump training for a CCDHB (wellington) funded Animas 2020 next week, my pump educator called me today
I was wondering if it is possible to get pre-filled cartridges (call me lazy) or is there a reason why you can’t??
Nic wrote
Hi Stephen – I’m no expert on Animas (been using the pump for a grand total of 5 days now!) but I believe you can’t get pre-filled cartridges…. I agree that would be so good wouldn’t it, esp as you can never quite figure out when they’re going to run out (well I haven’t clicked yet really)