Decisions are hard. Diabetes decisions are harder.

Woof. 

That is a popular saying among my team at work and it perfectly describes how I feel about a decision I must make. And it has to be made sooner rather than later. Although it isn't a direct life or death type of decision, it still in a way could have that impact. 

I need to decide on my next insulin pump. See? Totally life and death, just not directly. The insulin pump helps me live. Not just live but to live a much more normal life like all of you fools with working pancreases. :) 

I am at a complete loss though of what to choose. 

I received my first insulin pump four years ago this October. It was exciting. I was scared. I was not thrilled. And then I was able to take control of my diabetes. And become a heck of a lot healthier. Becoming so healthy helped me fall in love with my insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM) because I didn't think I could ever truly be healthy. Especially as healthy as I now am. 

My current pump is the Medtronic MiniMed 530G. When I started, my doctor had me using the Enlite CGM sensor with it. My doctor changed (not my decision) and ultimately we switched me to the Dexcom CGM. 

In the past year, Medtronic has released a new pump, the 670G, and upgraded their CGM. In fact, it is basically a closed loop and works nearly like an artificial pancreas. My understanding -- although I could be wrong -- is you can program it to automatically start giving your body insulin when the CGM reaches a predetermined high glucose level. Basically, you could really nail having your blood sugars in target range nearly all the time. I still can't fully comprehend that. 

I LOVE Medtronic. Obviously, their products have been life changing for me. They chose me to attend MasterLab in Florida in 2015 (blog one, two, three) which was an incredible experience. The experience also brought me extremely close with several members of their public relations and social media team. When I moved to the Dexcom CGM, there were tears. I felt guilty. I still feel guilty. Medtronic has some of the best customer service I've ever witnessed. 

I know you are thinking "Kristin should just go with Medtronic!" It makes sense. They have done nothing wrong. Medtronic has always been a positive experience for me. So why am I hesitating to just go with Medtronic? There are a couple of reasons. 

First, the new system's CGM isn't compatible with my phone and Apple watch. Not a huge issue but I have become accustomed to it. Considering I wear dresses about 95 percent of the time, I really appreciate not having to slide my dress up to my hips -- hopefully discreetly -- to pull out my pump hooked on my underwear to check my glucose number. Seriously. At work? So awkward. In meetings, it is also helpful because I can just quickly glance at my phone or watch and no one gives it a second thought. I'm not sure when Medtronic plans -- and I hope they do plan -- to make it compatible with phones and watches. Heck, Dexcom just announced a partnership with Fitbit this past week. 

The other reason I am hesitant to jump in completely with Medtronic is because of information out there on the interwebs of how the CGM sensors are back ordered and people who have already ordered them won't get them until 2018. That doesn't seem so great. And the insulin pump isn't going to work with older versions of their CGMs or Dexcoms so the closed loop feature is pointless since it can't be used. I'm also sure there is a back order for getting the 670G as well but I don't believe it is nearly as long as the sensors. So what happens if my pump breaks once the warranty expires (October) but my new one hasn't arrived yet? 

Seriously. I'm stressing out just thinking about that. Which means my blood sugar is probably going up. *sigh* 

So ... if I don't go with the fabulous Medtronic system, what other choices do I have? 

Well, I could stay with Dexcom for my CGM. Dexcom though does not make an insulin pump although they are compatible with several others. I do love Dexcom works with my iPhone but their supplier, Bryam Healthcare, has been a nightmare to work with. Seriously. There were tears and heated discussions for nearly two months to get me my sensors. It was not pleasant. I did learn through all of that my insurance thinks the world of Medtronic so, another plus for them. 

For a pump, the one I've been eying as a choice is the T:Slim X2. It is their newest version. I know a few people who have the previous version of T:Slim and like it. It is pretty slick looking too and would probably be the most similar to my Medtronic pump. I could consider the OmniPod which has no tubing but it just doesn't appeal to me. My sister uses it but it just looks so bulky and I'm already a ridiculously amount of self-conscious. 

I haven't done a massive amount of research likely I usually do but I do know I value the opinions of the Diabetes Online Community. Hopefully you all will chime in with your thoughts (i.e. your experience with these products, why you chose what you did, etc.). I also haven't discussed my next pump with my endocrinologist yet. I want to have an idea of what I want, make the recommendation to her and see what happens. Last time, they made the decision for me. It turned out really well but I am more comfortable making these big decisions myself -- with lots of input from others. Duh.