The Vibe is approved.

I say “Finally!” but I say that with excitement not grouchiness.

Kerri of Six Until Me has a sponsorship relationship with Animas and shared the news this morning on Facebook. Rather than have me repeat her words, check out her blogpost here.

I will definitely upgrade to the Vibe once I learn the details of the ezAccess Upgrade Program. When I purchased my Ping two years ago, I was guaranteed a $99 upgrade fee to the Vibe when it was released. I didn’t think that this pump/Dexcom combo would take so long to come to market and I might have purchased a different pump had I known the wait was going to be so long. On the other hand, I don’t know what pump I would have purchased instead and I am glad today to have the option of ordering the Vibe.

Although I am not as excited about the Vibe release as I would have been a year ago, there is no risk for me to upgrade. I previously wrote that the Vibe will not have the recent Dexcom software upgrade. I have also worried that the small Dexcom screen might not be big enough to  show my Dexcom graph clearly and I am concerned about the difficulty of seeing the Vibe screen in the sunlight. The Dex receiver doesn’t perform well in the sunlight either, so that is probably a toss-up. If I don’t like how the Vibe works with my Dexcom, I can just disable it on the pump and go back to using my receiver. Or my understanding is that I can use both devices simultaneously. So no risk.

The Vibe will also get rid of my biggest dislike of the Ping because the recommended bolus will self-populate rather than make me scroll up to it from zero. Huge improvement!  People who use the remote meter with their Ping may have to thing twice about upgrading to the Vibe because my understanding is that the new pump will not have this feature. I do not use the remote so that is a non-issue for me.

As you know, I have been one of many people working to have Medicare approve CGMS for seniors. If that does not happen by the time I get to Medicare, the Vibe eliminates the need for a CGM receiver and that will save me money. However, I don’t think it is known whether the Vibe will be covered by Medicare and the ezAccess Upgrade Program brochure states that “Medicare patients are not eligible for ezAccess.” Because I am still using private insurance and my Ping is in warranty, I am eligible at this time and I can wait to see how it plays out with Medicare.

So this is an exciting day and I look forward to my upgrade to the Animas Vibe.  Although I struggled with the Medtronic Sofsensors, I really liked my years of having my CGM integrated with my pump. I like having one less thing to carry.  And I like having my CGM attached to me with the tubing of my pump. I have never permanently lost my Dex receiver, but I always worry about it. I also like that my cgm receiver will be integrated in a waterproof pump.

Click here to read the news release.  It indicates that the pump will start shipping in January 2015. Once again, thanks to Kerri for sharing this link on Facebook:-)

I was able to order my Vibe this morning by calling the Animas
number 1-877-937-7867 and pressing Option 3. I spoke briefly 
with one agent and was then transferred to another representative
who helped me with the upgrade. Just so you know, I will actually
be charged $799 for the upgrade and receive a $700 credit when
my Ping is returned. So the final cost of the upgrade is $99. For
fun and excitement, I ordered my Vibe in blue.