Cellnovo: Here at last!

For a number of years there was a greatly anticipated buzz in the Diabetes Community about the Cellnovo patch pump. With its sexy slim design and iPhone-like handset, along with the fact that the tubing could be extended if you really wanted it longer or be kept in patch-pump style, it was a greatly anticipated addition to the growing arsenal of diabetes tools.  

But when things went quiet after the device received CE marking in the UK, fears started growing that perhaps all was not well in Cellnovo-land.  That was, until INPUT added a certain photo to their Facebook page all the way from the Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) in Vienna in February 2014.

It seems that if you are in 'selected centres' in the UK, this pump is back in town!

There is only a little information out there at the moment so keep your eyes peeled on Insulin Independent's pages for updates!

Pumps, selling points and counting down

Three years ago on 25th January 2010, I hooked up to my insulin pump for the very first time. How time flies when you are having fun. I have barely looked back since, save for the occasional pump break or frustrated tubing-catching-on-door incident. Better blood sugar levels, results comparable to the effort I put in and a complete halt to progressing retinopathy issues were among the earliest benefits I saw when I started the pump.

That said, as I enter the last year of my four-year pump warranty, a time when I need to consider what pump I might like when I renew, thoughts of the last 3 years and the pros and cons of my particular pump begin to feature more and more often. I love Medtronic and have found their customer service second to none. This is no secret. I have also always been clear that for me, how 'sexy' the pump appears is far less important than the company behind it; if the pump fails to work at 4am, its va-va-voom will seem worthless when you are trying to reach a company who operate a 9-5pm 'daytime only' customer service line.

But there are elements to my pump that I would look to improve on:

1. Waterproof. My husband and I got together because of a surfing holiday in Cornwall; a holiday we treasure so much that when we got married we took 70 of our dear friends and family there with us. When I went onto an insulin pump surfing became a lot harder because unlike many of the other pumps my Medtronic Paradigm VEO is not waterproof.  In fact it seems barely water resistent when you mention water and the pump in the same sentence to a Medtronic rep, actually. Following my weekend at Loughborough University last year, I have given a lot of thought to how much I would love to swim, but am unable to for more than 30 minutes or so. I also find myself questioning whether that post-gym spike is down to the fact that I have been showering and changing after an intense workout, when every last bit of insulin is key. So I have reached the decision I need a pump with some guts to get wet.

2. Tubing. It has been 3 years since I was able to sleep pyjama-less. This may not seem like a big deal, but having tried it once in 42 degree heat in Thailand, almost completely tieing myself up overnight like a cartoon baddy, being tubing free and able to sleep 'al fresco' again, would be devine. The stares at the gym I can deal with but the tubing, as I've said before, is something of a growing bug-bear.

3. Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) capability. In the next four years it is very likely that J-Dizzle and I will be wanting to start a family. At the ripe old age of 30 babies, family and future take up every available waking moment. While I am not funded for CGM and am unlikely to be, Jamie and I have reached the decision that this is a key part of the pregnancy control puzzle we won't do without and will be funding it ourselves. Because of this, pumps with integrated CGM, Dexcom in my case, are of much greater interest.

As Medtronic are not yet rocking a waterproof version and are only able to have their own Enlite CGM sensors integrated, I feel I am almost certainly approaching end of my Medtronic journey.   Instead, my eyes now wander regularly to one of two pumps in particular:

1. Animas Vibe. Fully waterproof with the capability of integrated Dexcom technology, it is a clear leader for me. I have met a number of people from the Animas team and have been very impressed by their customer service and dedication to their 'clients'. Having also chatted in secret with other Animas users (after all, it is we the person wearing the pump who can offer the most real experiences), I am also sure that as a pump, it manages very nicely. I would feel confident that the customer service issue, as well as the sexy pump, would be no problem for the folks at Animas. The one problem, it still has tubing.

2. The Omnipod. What it lacks in integrated CGM (although according to other blogs, this may be on the cusp of change), it makes up for by being both waterproof and completely tubing free. Having only arrived in the UK around 3 years ago, I could have been one of the first people using it in the UK. After an unfortunate false start however, I decided that until the company were more established in the UK and could demonstrate the customer support I rely on so greatly, it wasn't meant to be. Since then, my post about the problems I experienced has brought a lot of feedback. Mostly, I'm glad to say, from very positive Omnipod users who are as adamant about the Omnipod as I have been about the VEO. 

So there it is, my current thinking about which pumps I will be pursuing in the next year. It's a tough one and if I'm honest my dislike of tubing outweighs my preference to have integrated CGM, seeing as carrying around a million and one things is a well-practiced hobby of every diabetic.  Over the next year I will be exploring these further and chatting with both companies to see which, if any, of these pumps most suits my lifestyle and diabetes care needs.

Tethered

I love my pump.

 I have since I walked into the Consultant's office on day 1 of my pump-life and saw the Medtronic Veo on the table.  It was the very same pump I had wanted when I was soaking up all I could from the Internet about them.

I liked the integrated CGM and low glucose suspend.  I know this is ridiculous as I'm not funded for CGM and as I don't spin gold from my hair, am unlikely to have it for years yet.  But I liked it.

I liked the colours it came in and the fact I could add a little touch of myself to it.  I liked the automatic inserter, meaning I didn't have to stab myself with the inch long silhouette needle (the first time I ever discovered that I harbour just a touch of needle-phobia).  I liked the Medtronic team and their many nudges in the right direction when I was acting like a diabetes-moron and kinking cannulas left, right and centre.  Most of all, I love the freedom it afforded me and new, improved, complication-free (ish) life it afforded me.  I loved feeling well again. 

I still do.

What I don't like, is the tubing.

Over the last two and a half years I have begun walking through doorways at a distinct angle.  To the knowing diabetic, this is because if there happens to be some wayward tubing protruding from your clothing, you could bet your house on it getting caught on the door handle, wrenching you back stomach-first in a cartoon-like rebound.  To the unknowing eye, I simply look disabled.  The 'in the head' kind of disabled, that is.  I have learnt never to change the cannula when in sight of a cat, because all that rustling and flicking of tubing is enough to entice even the most lazy feline into a stalking frenzy.  I am a little frustrated to say the least by having to find gym clothes with zip-up pockets in, because when I try to exercise, 'pumpy' flies off the trouser band, effectively assaulting anyone within a 3 foot radius (that's the length tubing I use).  I have also learnt that if you are going to snuggle up to the husband during the night, make darn sure he isn't laying on the 3 inches of tubing closest to your stomach, because when you turn over seeking a more comfy position, you will think someone is pulling out your insides, liver first.

As much as I love my pump and the freedom it affords me, I am more than ready to go tubing free.  And although Omipod and I didn't get off the the best start, they are gathering momentum in the UK all the time, and the positive reports make their way back to me time and again. Perhaps a second glance is worth a think or two.

We also have Cellnovo now on the horizon, who despite have gained CE approval (meaning it has been deemed safe for human use) are still hanging on to their new, very sexy, patch-pump.  And although they are a completely new company, most of their team have been head-hunted from the heady heights of likes  of Medtronic, my personal favourite (well, only really) pump-provider.

There are also rumours about the Solo making its way to ours shores in the near future after Roche acquired 'Medingo' (who??), which for me, is probably the best news of all.  Being tubing free but also from a very well established company and with a bolus button on board meaning if you forget the handheld diabetes manager tool you use to deliver insulin (you scoff, but beggar's belief I managed to go out the other day having not even connected Lord Pumpingtopn.  Clever.) then you can still deliver a bolus for meals.

Yes, it is definitely time that I ditched a tethered pump (even the name annoys me these days) and discover a new way of pumping. 

18 months to go before I should be able to apply for a new, less tubey pump.  And very much counting!

An accurate representation of how I currently feel. With only the smallest element of massive over-exageration

'InPuT' Roadshows head to Chester!

Well it's that time again; the time for InPuT (the UK's INsulin PUmp Therapy advocacy service) to head out onto the streets and hit your local town to tell you about who can have access to a pump and how to get the ball rolling.  The Luton Roadshow was a resounding success and we've had some fantastic feedback from people who came along. If we can continue increasing the number of people who get to the exhibition, I am hoping there will be dozens more pumps on order by the end of the year - so you should prepare yourself, Mr NHS.

This time, it is the turn of Chester to kindly play host to the InPuT team and we will be coming along to MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel, St John Street, Chester, CH1 1HL between 1pm and 4.30pm with a wonderful bunch of insulin pump companies.  So we invite you to come along and have a good look at some of the pumps on offer in this part of the world, ask questions of those who wear them and get advice on whether or not you can get funding for one.

Here is the poster with full details!

The InPuT team look forward to seeing you there!