I was taking the first steps at getting an insulin pump.  I read in many online forums across the internet about how long you could wait at times to even be considered a candidate for an insulin pump.

My first appointment with the Endo was quite pleasing to say the least.  She knew all about diabetes and was very knowledgeable about pump therapy. 

I asked her questions and then she asked me a handful.  She wrote up some information and said she wanted to watch me closely for 6 months or so.  This began in late May 2001.

Now, checking my blood sugar on a regular basis was no big deal.  I was used to that but managed to skip days from time to time.  I started setting alarms in my Palm Pilot to remind me every 4 hours.  I did pretty good and only skipped a handful of blood tests.  The Endo gave me log sheets she wanted me to fax her every two weeks.  I didn't know this at the time, but all this blood sugar testing was getting me started.  In order to get good results in pumping, you have to know what sugars are so you can set the pump to deliver the right amount of insulin all the time, 24 hours a day.

I reported in person to my Endo every 8 weeks or so.  She liked my sugar counts and told me that she thought I would do great on an insulin pump.  I still had to wait until around November or so before I would get mine though..  So I kept my fingers and toes crossed.

In late October, I decided to contact Disetronic for information about their insulin pumps.  I sent them an email message from their web site and the next day, a sales rep called me.  He made an appointment to come over to my home and show me the pump and talk to me about pump therapy.

The sales rep was pretty cool.  He spent about an hour with my wife and I and I was excited to learn more about the insulin pump.  I sorta made up my mind right there that I wanted to go with Disetronic insulin pumps.  I think it was the fact that I contacted them and was contacted back real quick.  And then having a sales rep come to me, instead of me having to trek through the streets in Los Angeles to find a place.  

I called my Endo and told her about what I had decided.  She asked me about talking to Minimed, and I explained to her I tried myself without success.  I contacted Minimed about 7 months prior, but nobody ever got back to me.  They said they would send me some information in the mail, but I received nothing.  My Endo contacted a sales rep and within a couple of days, somebody contacted me then came over to my home a few days later.

This guy seemed nice and knowledgeable too.  He pointed out some minor differences between the Disetronic pump and the one from Minimed.  I did like the look of the Minimed pump a little more and did like a few of the Bolus features the Minimed offered.

I was still pointing to the Disetronic Pump though.  After reading some stories from other Minimed users about the quality of customer service that Minimed had (which wasn't good) and heard good stories about Disetronic's customer support I was still wanting to go with Disetronic.

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