Hi, I am new to the forum. I was so excited when I found this because it's very difficult to find information for diabetic runners. I am currently training for a half marathon, I've done 8 or so in the past, so I'm not new to this. I am having difficulties keeping my numbers up on high mileage days so after discussing it with my Endocronologist, we've decided to try an insulin pump. I had a pump about 5 years ago and I have always used Medtronic in the past. This time I am thinking about getting the Animus just because it's waterproof and I feel it will suit my lifesttyle better. I was just wondering if there are any runners out there on pumps? Which one do you use and what are the pros and cons of it? Any input would be much appreciated.
Hi and welcome to the forum. You can read more about how I run w/ my pump at http://pumprunner.com
Specifically, I'm a Medtronic pumper.. I prefer that one because I really like having the CGM integrated with it. I get very good reliability out of the Medtronic CGM.. .almost as good as I got out of the Dexcom, but the Dexcom required carrying a second receiver.
Why am I mentioning CGMs when you're asking about pumps? Because I think they're almost as important when it comes to figuring out BG with exercise.
I love the fact that Animas is waterproof and when their next generation product comes out that has integrated CGM, I'll likely move over to it. But for now, to get pump/CGM all in one, Medtronic is the only option.
I also experimented with Omnipod... personally, I wasn't a fan, but the new pods are smaller and perhaps worth a look. I was shocked not just how many failures I had but how often even long-time podders had failures. 1-2 a month is quite common... with a Medtronic or Animas pump, most people will have 1-2 failures per year.
Go to http://certainintelligence.blogspot.com for my blog.
Hi Smashley,
I'm 46 years old, have had type 1 for 20 years, and been on a pump for 10 years. I've run lots of half marathons, 10K's, 15K's, 5K's, sprint and olympic triathhlons, etc., and a couple of full marathons....all while using a pump. I have a minimed pump, and used a cozmo in the past. Can't help too much with the comparison to animas, but sometimes wish for the waterproof feature for swimming. Main reason I went with minimed after cozmo pumps were discontinued was the CGM with the readout on the pump screen. I wanted a CGM, but not another device to carry. For me, the CGM has turned out to be of some value, but not as much as I initially thought. Just not accurate enough (even for trending). I would like to try the Dexcomm, but that second device to carry is a deal breaker.
I really like having the pump for running. Generally, I turn my basal rate down to 50-60% about an hour prior to a run, and if I have carbs beforehand, bolus for half of them. As with all things diabetes, that has worked for me "sometimes". I still test during races over 10K, and sometimes for 10K's if I've been having trouble nailing down the trends. Biggest problem is that race day excitement tends to pump my BG up much more than a normal training run.
Hope some of that was helpful, if for nothing else to let you know you're not alone!