All this press about all these new technologies and studies and companies joining up with non-profits to do this and to do that, and blah blah blah. At first when I read the post by Amy from Diabetes Mine about JDRF and BD joining forces, it instantly just reminded me of the post I just had last week about why there will never be a cure! Next, it made me think, well what exactly is it that I want from an insulin pump or what do I want to have in order to manage my diabetes. This is not like a Jetson’s post. I am trying to keep this stuff logical and something that can happen in the near future.
Easy to Use
The very first thing that I want is for the device to be very easy to use. Now that all pumps have built in carb counting and insulin suggestions, it makes life so much easier. I love that they calculate how much active insulin there is. Not too many buttons, just 2 or 3 at max to do what I need to do.
Convenient
What I mean by this is that I want to be able to use my iPhone to link with my pump. My iPhone is my life, literally. I work from it, I communicate with family, Amanda has one also so we have apps that easily keep us in touch and on the same page with each others calendars etc. I want to be able to just pull out my phone at the dinner table or at a restaurant and hit a few buttons and then bam, there goes the insulin. I would like to also just have to use my phone as a meter, not just anyphone, because I know there are phones out there, but the iPhone.
Tubeless
I still use a Medtronic Paradigm, so I have never even used the tubeless / wireless OmniPod yet. The number reason that I don’t is because I use about 120 some units of insulin a day. That only holds 200, so I would be changing the pod every day and a half. I would a pod to be able to carry, let’s say, 600 units of insulin. I basically only want to change reservoirs and infusion sets, or pods just once a week. It’s less work I have to do and less garbage and sharps containers I go through. Charge the same price, it doesn’t matter.
CGM Built-In
I want the CGM and the pod or infusion set to the be the same insertion. I don’t want to have to wear two separate things. Very clear on that.
Well, that is what I want in my insulin pump. I know some of these things exist, but not all in the same pump. So, when JDRF is giving their millions to these companies, I hope they have spoken with diabetics themselves on what we want, not just what they want to create and think will make life easier.
What do you want?