How do you choose and buy diabetic devices/supplies? Do you have a choice or does your doctor/insurance pick?

I'm working on a research project on diabetic devices and how they could be improved, also, my dad has mild diabetes, and I had some questions.

It seems like there are many types and brands of glucose monitoring and insulin delivery devices with a variety of different features, some better than others, but I don't understand how a person comes to choose and buy a particular device.

Does the doctor prescribe a specific kind, or do they give you a prescription for an insulin pump say, then you have a choice of what brand? Do you shop around? Does your insurance only cover certain types?

If you do have a choice, how do you learn about the different available devices?

Are there certain ones that are like the "iPod" of diabetic devices -- the one everyone has or the one everyone wants to have?

If someone who has diabetes or knows someone who does could explain the process you/they use, I'd really appreciate it!

P.S. You can learn more about our YouTube video project here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/vol/3547...

I've had type one diabetes for almost ten years- and that's a long time when you're 17. In the beginning we (my parents and I) chose my supplies based on whatever the doctor told us. As I've gotten older, I've started doing more research on my own.

For things like blood sugar testing equipment, I ask my doctor what the options are, and weigh each product's advantages against what is important to me. Things I keep in mind are cost of the test strips, memory, and range of testing. I used to use the Freestyle Flash because of its size and its backlight. But if something happened to my pump and I didn't get insulin, the testing range of the flash doesn't go past 500. I know that sounds really high, but when you're on short-acting insulin alone, if you don't get the insulin your blood glucose can rise quickly to really bad numbers.

When I chose my pump, I went with MiniMed. At the time that I got my first pump (2002/2003) it had the most features available. When I chose my second pump early this year, I chose MiniMed again. I looked through all of th information given to me, and all that was available on the internet. I go through insulin quickly, and the Minimed pump had the largest reservoir, and that was important to me. It has several compatable infusion sets, and if I wasn't comfortable with one, I could try another.

In a way I think that the MiniMed pumps are becoming the "iPods" of diabetic supplies. They have a wide selection of products for your pump (belt clips, bra pouches, skins).

Well, for us, we can choose any glucometer, but some strips are cheaper than others due to contracts the insurance company works out with the supplier. Virtually all glucometer makers will give you their device because the money is in the strips. The doctor's office has several types in the office that we looked at to choose which one we liked best. We frequently change/upgrade, too.

When we used a pump, we also decided - I don't know if the insurance company limited us to certain brands (there are only a few) or not. The most popular pump is by Minimed Medtronic but there are a few others. The doctor's office also had a lot of brochures and a "pump night" when the manufactures were invited to demo their pumps.

Wal-Mart testing supplies are a very good value.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d...

Article (somewhat dated) . . Blood Glucose Monitors
http://www.uspharmacist.com/index.asp?sh...