About 6 months ago, J&J announced that, despite their successful tests of new technology, they would reflect upon their future plans without making rash decisions before investing into new projects. The other shoe dropped today when J&J announced that they are exiting the pump business:
The market is down to three in the US right now (although newcomer Dana may soon be a breath of fresh air). You have to wonder how long Tandem has. I find this outcome truly worrisome for PWDs.
Anybody who purchased an Animas pump within the last 2 years will not even be given the choice of running their pump for the full expected 4 year warranty period.
If you are on a pump with a warranty that expires on or after September 30, 2019, you or your pump supplier will be contacted by a member of the Medtronic transition team concerning the option to transfer to a Medtronic 630G insulin delivery system at no cost.
effective September 30, 2019, Medtronic will not be able to supply Animas cartridges or customer support for Animas pumps
In other words if you have more than 2 years left on your Animas warranty period (ie - how long before most insurance will allow a new pump to be purchased) then you either switch to Medtronic or you are dumped on the side of the street.
No cartridges. No support. So sure, technically you can continue running the Animas pump. Probably distributors have years worth of cartridges on their shelves. Although with the expiration dates even if it really doesn’t matter, I wonder if the distributors would even ship anything that is knowingly already expired or if they would just refuse to ship past a certain date?
I’m going to be needing a new pump in the very near future. As in, at my next appointment in December I’ll be getting forms filled out.
I don’t want to switch to the Medtronic CGM and I think their pump looks ugly, but since I can’t use plastic infusion sets and we only have two pumps available in Canada now, I guess it’s my only choice now. Unless I can hold out for a year and get the t:slim, but that pump isn’t waterproof…
Is it covered under warranty if it dies due to water exposure? My current employer only covers one pump and that’s it. So whatever I get, I need to make it last until I either get a new job or the government covers pumps. That’s why I’ve been using this out-of-warranty, taped-up Ping for the past year and a half.
I’m interested in lap swimming for 1-2 hours at a time, being splashed while dragon boating (2-3 hours, plus small possibility of being dunked), and exposure to rain.
@Jen - I can call Tandem and ask them if that might help you? The water activities you mention definitely seem to fall under what the pump is listed for in terms of water.
That is (kinda) funny about the taped-up Ping. We were going to put duct tape around the case of our Animas Ping to provide structural support for where it was cracking (by the battery case). But then we selected the Tandem X2 and it all processed very fast so we didn’t need to go that route.
EDIT:
Note the following provides a reason why the system would no longer be watertight and under warranty which strongly implies that if such action (ie - cracking open the case) is NOT done then the system IS under warranty for water. Implied but not stated. At least here.
DO NOT open or attempt to repair your System. The System is a sealed device that should be opened and repaired only by Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. Modification could result in a safety hazard. If your System seal is broken, the System is no longer watertight and the warranty is voided.
Also (same link) they talk about being in a pool. Again, strongly implied it is perfectly acceptable.
Wireless communication does not work well through water so the range is much less if you are in a pool, bathtub, or on a water bed, etc.
The t:slim Insulin Pump is watertight to a depth of 3 feet for up to 30 minutes (IPX7 rating). If your t:slim Pump has been submerged, check your pump for any signs of fluid entry. If there are signs of fluid entry, disconnect the set from your body, and contact Tandem Diabetes Care Customer Technical Support at 1-877-801-6901.
Your t:slim Pump is a sealed device that should be opened and repaired only by the manufacturer. If your t:slim Pump seal is broken, the warranty is voided and the pump is no longer watertight.
@Jen - I would be more worried about the pump coming loose while swimming. But I am sure it would NOT take an excessive amount of ingenuity to get it strapped down where it wasn’t going anywhere.
In any event with regard to water, I asked Tandem Tech Support specifically if the t:slim X2 was covered under the warranty in the case of water damage.
The answer - definitely YES. The t:slim X2 is covered under its warranty in the case of water damage.
Jen, is the OmniPod out for you because of the cannula?
The OmniPod cannula is made from fluorinated ethylene propylene 100, or what we call FEP100.
Their cannula does NOT contain any plasticizers.
Not sure if that is an option you can use, but maybe you can look into it.
Visually, I like the fact that the omnipod control is push-button. I do it when running and driving, you don’t need to look for buttons, you can feel your way around it easily. And there are sounds that can be set if you want it to let you know something has started or been stopped. I think it is certainly usable with visual impairment.
I wear them inside my full-piece bathing suit, so the pump wouldn’t go anywhere.
I may contact them and see if I can get a sample pod. So far I’ve had problems with Comfort, Inset, and Accu-Chek plastic infusion sets. I’m not sure if they’re made of different materials than the pod.
I dislike the idea of carrying around a separate PDM, because knowing me, I’ll forget it at some point. Plus, it also looks quite bulky (as does the pod itself). I think I’d really have to demo it to tell for sure whether I liked it or not.
This is pretty much how I’ve used both the Cozmo and Ping, memorizing the menus and button presses. The Ping has a screen that’s white text on black, which means I can also sort of make out what it says. I don’t think I’d be able to see the OmniPod PDM because of its white background. The t:slim I would definitely want to see before buying to make sure I could see the screen well enough to navigate, even if I couldn’t read it. (I utilize the touch/audio bolus buttons on my pump a lot, and I like the idea that the t:slim, like the Cozmo, would let me bolus for carbohydrates rather than just units, though I do wish there was a way of quickly switching back and forth.)
Unless I can hold out for a year and get the t:slim, but that pump isn’t waterproof…
