Is anyone here using the ilet bionic pancreas? Would love to see a real user review
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This is from another post here about the Beta Bonics
Hope this is helpful for you.
Cheers 
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Please let me express my opinion. I have been wearing insulin pumps for 43 years. I wish to tell you the pros and cons of this pump starting with the pros then the cons as follows:
Pros:
- The algorithms are ok except the 45 degree right angle does not respond fast enough to a quickly rising blood sugar caused by stress or dawn phenomenon. Also, if you get 3 meals a day consistently with not much variation in your carbo intake, this pump will be great for you especially if you do not have much stress in your life nor dawn phenomenon. Unfortunately, I got on a pump so that I did not have to ever adhere to schedule and I could have freedom in my life.
Cons: - I feel like a dog on a 6" leash! The tubing is only 6mm. I cannot go tothe restroom, change clothes, turnover in my sleep, etc. without having to hold the pump in one hand and pass it to the other hand.
- Battery life - They recommend that you place the pump on their battery charger everyday for about 15 minutes. The battery life is only about 4 to 5 days without the daily charging and if the battery runs out, you can get into trouble.
- Most diabetics have retinopathy and the lighting of the pump screen cannot be read without bright light.
- You cannot use the Dexcom transmitter. You have to send all dexcom information to your Iphone. This troubles me because people will steal an Iphone outof your back pocket, but they would never steal a Dexcom Transmitter. If your phone is stolen, you have to get a new phone quickly because it is so difficult to read the pump screen without bright light.
- I got this pump to resolve low blood sugar seizures where I black out for 3 to 4 hours until growth hormones and adrealine kick in - and you know that is only through the grace of God. I am a widow and live by myself now so there is no one to find me when I go unconsious. I still have many lows, but I have not gone unconsious yet, so that’s a good thing. I am the old style Brittle Diabetic. A half a unit of insulin too much and I shock out and a half a unit too little and I go up to 250 or more. I thought this pump would save me and so far it has.
- I am having difficulty determining meal calculations. You do not count carbs, you must select from a Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner shot with each one enabling you to select normal, less thatn normal, or more than normal. I would much prefer to count carbs than depend on algorithms. I believe my education, knowledge, experience as a 43 year pump wearer, etc. is much better than their algorithms. They will tell you that it takes 2 weeks for the pump to learn you. I have been on it now for over a month and I do not feel like it knows me at all. Therefore, I am being forced to change my lifestyle to make it happy instead of maintianing the freedom to live my life with quality that I have experienced in my 43 years of wearing a pump.
- You actually have no choice on how this pump operates and you really cannot change very much about it all. The only thing I have been able to change is the blood sugar number that will stop the basal. It is programed for 70 and I have mine set at 80 and I am still experiencing lows, but my overall average blood sugar is around 150 which is unacceptable to me. Above 150 and you start causing long term damage.
- There are other personal aspects of this pump I could say, but this is not the proper setting.
- The company customer service and technical support doesn’t seem to care about what you think or want them to improve or correct. They seem to think their pump is perfect and ignore compliants which leads me to believe they are not interested in improving their product.
- Since Medicare only pays for rental of the pump for 1 year prior to you owning the pump, I am contacting Medicare to see it I can send it back and get another insulin pump. If I cannot send this pump back, I am just going to have to pay for another pump.
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A cute but erroneous name, “The iLet Bionic Pancreas.” Maybe they could call it the the Bionic ß Cell. It is certainly not a bionic Islet.
The pancreas is a complex organ that has endocrine functions that regulate blood glucose through 6 different hormones and exocrine functions that enable us to digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The endocrine cells in the Islets of Langerhans comprise something like less than 2% of the pancreas.
People with type 3c pancreatogenic diabetes mellitus would certainly roll their eyes at an insulin pump being touted as a bionic pancreas. This device like all insulin pumps just distributes one of the pancreatic hormones, insulin.
There was an attempt to develop a pump that would infuse both glucagon when BG is low and insulin when it is high. I don’t think it is ready for prime time.
This is classic misdirection by marketing gurus who either don’t know how things work or don’t care, just so it is catchy.
Sorry for the rant, but I have been fighting a losing battle on truth in advertising my whole life. When I was working in electronic product and development our worst enemies were the marketing and sales departments who would misrepresent the product as to what it can do.
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@hgrissett Welcome to the site. Thank you for sharing your first hand experience with the pump. Sorry you are having so much trouble. I looked around in my information about the Beta Bionic pump thinking it had a 30 day return policy. Sorry I could not find it. If you are wanting out of the pump I would call & voice your displeasure with it to everyone who was involved in you getting it. Take names & don’t take no from any of them as the final answer.
Have a Blessed Day 
@CarlosLuis Good stuff as usual 
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It is all going to boil down to what Medicare will allow me to do. I do know that Medicare rents the pumps for 1 year to spread out the amount of money they pay. But if it is a rental, Medicare will have to allow me to return it and give my account a credit so I will be allowed to purchase another better pump. I do want the Dexcm and Pump combination to help prevent my extremely low blood sugars. Unfortunately, I would prefer to use Meditronics but their glucose sensor lags behind the Dexcom by over 20 minutes. I wore them both side by side for a month and the Medtronics sensor did not alarm me until I had already treated the low blood sugar and was coming out of it. Paragon is the pump I was considering before I selected the Beta Ilet Bionic pump. I am researching it once again, to determine if it will better suit my needs. Unfortunately, it’s not like there are a lot of choices. I believe the Paragon will give me back my control over my life and I do know it has the long tubing I dearly love after this current experience! Also, I can assure you that I have voiced my displeasure with the pump, but nobody from Beta Bionics cares. They think their product is great, has no flaws, and does not need to be improved at all! I put my trust in the Lord, and I know I can resolve this issue and help me get a new pump! I plan on calling Medicare for an appointment, preferably at my local office, to see what can be done. I appreciate your sight but I am unable to join because of something you wanted access to on my computer. I fight the IRS for a living and I cannot allow access nor much social media on my computer. However, I do enjoy my emails you send and I do wish I could be a member. I something changes in your protocol where I do not have to give you access to my computer, please let me know so I can join.
Helen Grissett EA MGFC LTC
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@hgrissett Are you open to a DIY build and bit of experimentation with the settings? If so, perhaps Loop, iAPS, or Trio DIY built software to control an Omnipod Dash or older Medtronic pump paired with a Dexcom may suit you. My experience has been all do a good job of limiting lows and highs (once your ICR and ISF are dialed in decently). If you have any interest, let me know and I’ll provide you more information and links to their documentation.
I think this is your best plan to be able to sit down face to face to work everything out.
God Bless & keep you
Tandem and Dexcom combination is real good.
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I have throughly researched the Omnipod and it will push me into the donut hole which I cannot afford. Right now, my kidney rejection medicine, all my pump supplies, adn insulin are billed through Part B of Medicare and that is where I intend on staying. I think the T2 Slim Tandrem pump will be my best alternative. I was just trying to let individuals who were considering the Beta Bionic Pump, the areas I found so alarming and unmanagable about the pump. As I have said, I have been a pump weare for over 43 years and I was deceived and misled. Fortunately, Medicare is approving that I send the pump back and get a pick up ticket from the manufacturer and all the supply company has to do is send the pick up ticket with my new pump order and my problem will besoved - Thank Goodness!
Helen Grissett
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@hgrissett The insurance aspect can be limiting and the rejection meds you’re on are probably on the costly side and driving the donut whole. I’m learned one of the better parts of my military service is the combo of Tricare for Life and Medicare, apparently one of the better coverages as I’ve yet to have to contend with the donut whole concept (though I thought I’d read it was being addressed/done away with?). Anyway, I’m glad you’ve been able to negotiate the return of the pump and looking at other options, but sorry the option didn’t turn out for you. Here’s hoping for better alternatives in the future!
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My insulin pump supplies, insulin, and rejection meds fall under Part B Medicare and therefore all I have to pay each year is my deductible. The problem with Omnipod is that Medicare considers it a disposal pump product and not a continual use product. Therefore, it is billed under Part D. A continual use pump is billed under Part B in which you only have to pay the annual deductible if you have a Medicare Supplement plan which of course I do. Omnipod is an excellent product with good algorithms but it is not for me due to Medicare’s position on this product. I am switching to the T2 Slim Tandem pump which will remove all the cons I had about the Beta Bonic Pump. I was just trying to help anyone interested in that pump to see a much different side of life you have when you have to live with it. My belief is that quantity of life means nothing without quality and the Beta Bonic Pump took all the quality I have had with pump use for 43 years away. I just don’t want it to happen to other pump users. You are lucky you have the excellent Tricare and Medicare benefits. Also, Thank you so much for your service which has allowed each of us to voice our opinions and have our freedom! I sincerely appreciate all you have sacrificed for our country! Happy 4th of July weekend!!!
Helen
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