Blackberry? iPhone? Vibe or Veo?

Its that time again...the time when I look for a new cell phone and a new insulin pump. I never really thought of the process as similar until a few months ago. We were at our diabetes clinic when our CDE asked us if we needed approval for a new pump? Already? I am not ready for a new pump.  She just smiled and said for us to think about it.  "It was just like picking out a new phone" she noted, "You want something that you can be comfortable with for the next four years."

Ah!!! Deciding on a cell phone is something that I have been thinking of for a year now.  An iPhone, another Blackberry, or one of the other new smart phones? So much choice, so little knowledge, such a huge decision!

Deciding on an insulin pump is no less difficult but with a lot less choice.  When my son began pumping eight years ago (has it really been that long?), there were so many changes on the horizon.  Smart pumps were just on the market.  The choices of pumps were amazing. Every company seemed to be competing for our pump dollars and the decision making process was painful. Each year a new feature was added.  Each year's pump was leaps and bounds ahead of the previous one's.  You hated to have to commit to one pump for four or five years!  

Fastforward to 2011 and the choice is now harder for a totally different reason...there is no choice.  Unlike my phone choices, my son's insulin pump choice is down to only two. Actually there are currently three choices that we could look at but my son will not even consider an OmniPod.  Sorry folks, but he does not like the pods and is happy with tubing.  Its his choice and I am okay with his reasoning. That leaves us with the "big two"... Medtronic and Animas. 

Medtronic has the Veo.  It has CGM integrated technology and other "stuff" that I will have to look into.  Animas will be introducing the Vibe in a few years which will also have this technology but we will have to wait for its Canadian approval.  How much do I care about CGM? Not a lot because I can't afford the sensors.  So that leaves me back to researching the pumps themselves and looking at their features.

Honestly, I haven't really done that yet. I just don't want to think about leaving our Cozmo behind.  My son wants to keep his "Lean Green Pumping Machine" for as long as it is alive. I can understand his loyalty but I still have to look for its backup while the pump is being covered. 

I am heading to Toronto at the end of the month for the CWD conference and hope to have the chance to look at pumps then.  I need to see them, touch them, and play with them before making a decision.  My son will have to have some say this time around as well.

I think for now, looking at a cell phone that I will be commited to for the next two or three years sounds a lot more fun and less stressful.  Blackberry or iPhone? Android or the new HP? Touch screen or key pad? Those are decisions that I can make...well maybe not but it hurts less than thinking of pumps, pump technology and serious change!