Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim on July 21, 2012 at 4:57am

Tebbemae,

I had a very similar situation to you. I just made the switch a week ago after eight years with Minimed. I also far extremely impressed with the omnipod system and have no regrets. You can use any test strips you want as there is a manual input feature. I am using up all my old one touch supplies this way before making the switch. Secondly, there is a small window where you can see the cannula, I haven't really tried looking for it though as I have yet to have any issues.

I am curious as to your mention of air bubbles in you tubing though, are you making sure your insulin is at room temperature and that you have removed all air bubbles from your reservoirs before connecting? The Minimed reservoirs always seemed to leak around the gaskets lately aloowing air in while filling too.

You may want to see my post 'looking for advise' in this group. I was asking many of the same questions you may be having. The responses I got were extremely helpful in my decision making process.

Permalink Reply by tebbemae on July 22, 2012 at 2:58am

Thanks Jim! I did the search for your post and the answers were extremely helpful. I had no idea that insulin must be at room temperature-can't believe I've been doing it wrong this whole time. I do always try to prime out my air bubbles but even 3 days in I still seem to have problems.

Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on July 21, 2012 at 7:27am

Hi tebbemae, you could certainly use your old meter like jim suggested and manually put the numbers into your PDM. my son has had success with his arms and belly area, alot here really like the low back but jacob hasnt wanted to try that. so that feature is great. rotating the sites helps with absorption issues which can happen if overused, belly for jacob but there are lots of option. you may have issues relating to having the programer seperate but being a woman it can always be in your purse and if you just run out the the store and wont be eating or testing you dont really need the PDM on you. alot of people struggle with post pod change highs that we have worked around with giving a bolus depending on bs (1.5-5 U post pod change without food, it seems it needs to be primed?) that has been our major issue and we have pretty much resolved. of course there is this new bump on you that you need to be mindful of bumping, a little learning curve, sometimes jacob uses tegaderm over it esp if on his arms. overall we are happy and i think you would be as well. best of luck and ask away if you make the switch!! amy

Permalink Reply by Cherise on July 21, 2012 at 9:20am

Freestyle offers a program that makes copays cheaper. As with you Freestyle test strips are 3rd tier which means $55 a prescription for them. I only pay $15 with the program and you can get it all 12 months instead of having it exhaust itself after 6 months like some programs. I can get you the information if you're interested. You can even print out your card until you get your permanent one.

As for sites, I have had them on my calves and thighs. I have seen people even putting them up as high as their collarbone area. There's a couple of facebook groups that I seen and heard them doing this on.

I'm one of those people who have not had issues with post pod change highs. It seems to happen to a lot of people on here but not everyone gets them.

Permalink Reply by tebbemae on July 22, 2012 at 3:05am

I would love any info you could send my way Cherise! I did try out the demo pod and placed it on my arm and it stayed put for 3 days. I am a little worried about placing it in areas where my little ones are likely to snag it. Have you encountered any problems with this?

Permalink Reply by jms1313 on July 21, 2012 at 9:24am

The PDM that comes with the POD allows you to put in the BS value manually - this is what we did for months until we found out there was a program that allowed us to get the Freestyle strips really cheap.. You have to call Omni Pod and they give you the number and then you call and sign up for the discount program and now we pay the same for the freestyle as Accu Check.

There is a new smaller POD coming out in the next few months - or at least that is what we are being told - However, we are also being told that the PDM is not interchangeable so we will have to buy another one - OUCH - I would check this out and if you can wait I think it might be worth the wait to get the smaller pod set up with the new smaller PDM controller - they will be much smaller.
Yes you can see the cannula - it makes it nice for checking.

We have not had a lot of luck with the back area - mostly due to being very active and tearing it off.
When loading the POd it is critical not to get any air in the system - if you do they will fail. It just takes being very careful when filling it with insulin.

We are going to bite the bullet and buy the small one out of pocket when it come out - we just hope there is a market for the old one so we can recoup some of the cost.

Good luck - and welcome to the site

Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on July 21, 2012 at 10:09am

hi jms, i thought i heard when the new one comes out they are switching everyone over for free so to speak, they really do support their product so this makes sense, tell me or anyone else pipe up if you've heard more. also tebbemae, i think adults tend to have less issues with the post pod change problems so you may not even have to deal with that! amy

Permalink Reply by Jim on July 21, 2012 at 12:42pm

I made sure I asked about the new PDM when I made the switch last week. I was told that Insulet will be replacing the PDMs at no charge, which makes sence as they want to push everyone over to the new line (lower operating costs for Insulet).

Permalink Reply by jms1313 on July 22, 2012 at 8:03am

I sure hope that is correct!!! Our Indo is not on it - in Reno I don't feel we are given the best information or care - we were told we would have to purchase a new one because the old PDM wouldn't work with the new one and my insurance wouldn't cover a new PDM this soon. Good news for us - thanks for the heads up.

Permalink Reply by garidan on July 22, 2012 at 8:55am

Insulet said that. It's not clear if it will at no charge or if tha value will be discounted in the first year of supplies, but in the end you will not pay for it.

Permalink Reply by garidan on July 21, 2012 at 11:48am

Next year Omnipod will switch to Lifescan Verio Strips, is that good for you ?
Which set are you using with MM ?
Kinked cannula usually happens with vertical sets, did you try other sets?

Permalink Reply by tebbemae on July 22, 2012 at 3:22am

My insurance only covers Accu-check. But the ability to manually input your BS values seems to solve the last stumbling block I had for considering the switch.

I use the quickset. To be completely honest, I didn't even know there were infusion sets that were nonvertical. I did try the sure-t when I started having problems this past year with absorption and it was helpful. I'm a stay at home mom to 2 little ones that like to wrestle and be carried everywhere and their little hands and feet always tend to bump my sites (not ideal for the sure-t's steel needle). Have you had any luck with the nonvertical sets?

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