Hello all

[court]

I am a newbie here and have introduced myself in T1 (I'll correct that if I'm wrong).
Everyone in these forums sound so supportive and friendly with lots of advice and I am enjoying the time I have spent here.
I was told if I came and took a look at this forum maybe I could get some info about how to actually go about getting a pump. I live in Ontario, Canada and would like to know how much it would cost me. My wife and I are on Ontario Disability Support Programme and I know they cover supplies but not the pump and I do not have any insurance coverage other than Ontario Drug Benifits. As far as I know right now they are very expensive but wouldn't mind saving. I would love an internal pump but that would most likley cost much more than the external one which I would love too.
Thanks in advanced to everyone and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Courtney

[court]

I was wrong I introduced myself in Introductions and Announcements lol sorry 'bout that one.
Courtney

[Dewey]

Hi Courtney,

Welcome to the forums, and I'm sure others have told you, but if you have any questions or concerns, just post them and we can try and help. :)

I live in the US, so I'm not too sure about how things work in Canada, but we have some fellow Canadians here that are on the pump.
Sometimes, discounts are provided by pump companies, or there are also occasional online pump sales (eBay)... :D Hope this helps some, and again, welcome aboard. :)

[Shalyndria]

Hi Court, and welcome again!

You're fortunate that you live in Ontario where pump supplies are covered under Disability; this will make things alot easier for you. Like Dewey said some pump companies provide discounts or payment plans, but the initial cost incurred for an insulin pump is not inexpensive. I paid $6000 Cdn for mine (got a great deal from my Minimed rep) and fortunately it was covered 100% through my insurance. An option that might be fitting for you is to apply for a charity organization like S.U.G.A.R. (http://www.sugarcharity.org/) which is a national Diabetic Charity, and see if you would qualify as an applicant for an Insulin Pump. This requires having a physician indicate medical necessity (like we all don't have that :rolleyes: ) for the pump, your last few T4's and income tax statements, and a few other things you can read about on the website.

In Canada we only have two pumps available to us: the Paradigm and the Cozmo. Both are comparable in both features and price and both are external Pumps. As far as I'm aware the only internal devices are made and tested in the UK.

Anything else we can answer for you just ask.
Shy :)

[am1977]

I'm glad you found this section of the forums...I think there is alot of info here.

Shy gave you some great advice. I'd try that charity for sure, it's worth the shot if they can help you. As far as internal pumps, i wasn't aware that there are any available at this times. I thought they are still in the testing stages, but I could be wrong. They may very well be available in the UK. I would love to have this option mysefl, so hopefully they will be available in the US in the near future.

Good luck to you! :)

[court]

am1977, Shalyndria and Dewey, I checked out the website S.U.G.A.R, thankyou so much for the great link. I've printed out the application... lots to fill out! Who knows though maybe they will help me out it is definatly worth a try!
My BS levels seem like they're always so high, it was 18.6 last night before my pm shot then 16.4 this am when I woke up but thats normal for me... sometimes I get it down but most of the time I don't, jumping out of bed from a deep sleep with my levels either too high or too low, pretty scary. KWIM?
I didn't realize pumps were that expensive, wow. :eek:
Thanks once again and will post again soon.
Courtney

[Shalyndria]

Glad to be of help Court. We all have to stick together :)

Did you know that Bill 55, an act to amend the HIA and have the OHIP cover both insulin pumps and supplies is being passed right now (it's in the second stage)? I'm not sure how long it takes (all that red tape :rolleyes: ) but keep it in mind as you are already on Disability and may qualify. You can read about the details on the Canadian Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.ca/section_main/welcome.asp) website.

Good luck and keep us posted!
Shy

[court]

I hope they pass that bill!!! There are so many people out there that would benifit so much from the pump.
Thankyou for another great link.
Courtney