Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hockey Mom on July 29, 2010 at 11:17am

Lori,

My son has been on Omnipod for just over a month and has had the same problems starting at about two weeks out. I think we had a lot of help early on picking sites, etc at our appointments and now we are on our own.

We hit muscle on the arm with one and have had several pods that occluded (one had just been put on his abdomen when he was sitting - a no no per Insulet) when he did the bolus but not during basal. We were not sure that he was getting the basal but he was not that high so some insulin must have been getting through. He developed an infection from covering a spot he shaved and was on antibiotics for two weeks. One would not take the insulin. Insulet replaced most of these (received them today in the mail) for us but only because it was our first call. They said they would not replace occlusions again but to call and they would try to help with placement. We feel like we are learning and that it will get better but I have changed his RX to every two days because so far we had used 16 pods for the month.

My son is very high after a pod change so we try to schedule that now before a food bolus. When he reaches the 300s (usually on school breaks when he is so sedentary), the only thing that helps bring him down is to walk slowly. Just more insulin does not help much - he seems resistant to it. His Dad takes him to a big box store and they walk around and look at everything a teenager dreams of having (laptops, video games, movies). He will usually drop into the 200s and then he can correct. I would not try this alone but if you have a friend willing to drive, it may help. This is not exercise really just browsing window shopping speed.

This week has been better. We have only lost one pod in the lake after extreme yardwork. The adhesive came off the pod leaving only the backing on his abdomen. Still have not lost any pods playing ice hockey which is amazing to me.

Hope your week has been better too!

Permalink Reply by Steve D on July 29, 2010 at 11:25am

Hocky Mom -

Souns like you have everything under control....Congrats! Pods typically take 3 - 4 hours before they "kick in" (as my iwife puts it) so I always take a big bolus before the change, and like you, try to time it so it is just before a meal so the bolus is taken care of...and my bg's will be in the high 100's for the rest of the day/night. And, if need be, I will jog and exercise to bring it down until my new pod "kicks in".

Permalink Reply by Christine on August 8, 2010 at 4:44pm

I'm confused... I change my pods after breakfast so I can be sure that I recieved my a.m,. bolus. Then I put in a temp basal for a few hours to take care of the change highs. Why do you change before a meal with a new pod that hasn't proven working yet?

Permalink Reply by Hockey Mom on August 9, 2010 at 10:09am

Christine

My son has had problems with basal working on an old pod and even a new pod but then a bolus not working on the same pod. When he bolused he got the occlusion error. One time this happened at breakfast but he did not have high BG so I know that some insulin was getting through all night. The pod change just made him late. According to a 16 year old boy, this is the worst possible time to have a pod malfunction (when you are eating).

So now before we send him out into the world, we want to know that he at least does not start out with a "partial" occlusion. I am not sure how the pod knows that it is an occlusion but apparently a small amount can sometimes get through the cannula (or may take a while to detect) but not a larger bolus dose.

Permalink Reply by Lisa on July 29, 2010 at 12:12pm

When your son changes his pod have him bolus 2 units of insulin. someone suggested that once out here and I started doing it and it really helped my BG after a change. I would also run high after I changed my pod and the 2 units of insulin really helped me stay under control. I usually change my pod right before dinner so I will add 2 units to what my suggested bolus. Make sure he checks his BG after the change to make sure that he isn't going too low. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Dana Clark on July 29, 2010 at 12:56pm

I'm on Day 9 of the OmniPod... and I'm a T1 Diabetic for 15 years used to shots. My friend, who is very active, insisted I try the OmniPod so I'm giving it a go. It's been a bit rough. We are still tweaking my numbers when it was WAY off to start. I've also had bleeding each site (tummy) while to Pod is on and when I've removed. The feedback I've gotten is it will tell me if it not transmitting correctly. The support I initially got was so-so, thanks to my friend and TuDiabetes I have a resource to figure out this stuff. I'm still on the fence about it. It has been weird getting used to wearing something after being used to the shots and moving on. It brings up a lot of emotion for me. I'm going to see it through and hope this will help on A1Cs. :)

Permalink Reply by MaiaJane on July 30, 2010 at 7:05pm

try wearing the pod in a different spot, I will have slight bleeding on all my tummy sites too! I love wearing the pod on my arms and my hips, I have a LOT less trouble when wearing the pods other locations! best of luck!

Permalink Reply by Dana Clark on July 31, 2010 at 7:30am

I'm changing sites today. Going to try my back then arm next. I'm still learning what works. I'm trying to be a bit discrete at work and it's HOT in Texas so I'm working my way to the arm.

Permalink Reply by MaiaJane on August 2, 2010 at 10:52am

I almost never get a comment if I wrap the pod in a coban wrap... I have them in black and white, so I wear a wrap that matches my outfit, almost nobody even notices anything is there when I'm wearing a black wrap and a black shirt!I

Permalink Reply by Dana Clark on August 2, 2010 at 3:59pm

good idea.. I was thinking about this for the arm

Permalink Reply by NormDiver on July 29, 2010 at 8:03pm

I have been on the pod since December. I cant say anything bad about it at this time except that I have gained weight. I switch between wearing it on the back of my arms. When the weather got hot I had to clean the site really well with alcohol so the pod would stick better. Also after a few occlusions my wife now kind of pinches up my skin when its inserting the cannula. My doc did a few tests on me where I dont eat and take a reading from 6pm to 6am every three hours and adjusted my basil each time. I also have had about 5 pods that occluded and about the same I knocked off going threw doorways. Oh well, I sure hope with all the information here you start to get positive results. Its a learning thing and I still dont know how to get all the information from the pda like doc can, its amazing. I also have taken the insulin back out of an occluded pod with no problems. Norm

Permalink Reply by SF Pete on July 29, 2010 at 8:47pm

I've been on the pod for about three boxes worth right out of the gate. I've had some mixed results. I have a tendency to knick the pods on doorways and corners and that has killed a number of my pods. A couple of times I went high and thought the pod had failed -- I probably should have given a bolus and waited. On one arm I got an abscess that required treatment with two very strong antibiotics for 10 days. I'm not sure I'll be able to use that arm for pod placement for quite some time. But having said all that, I'd not trade the pod for anything. My control has become so much easier and I've been able to stop visiting the 300s. It's been a certain amount of adjustment. I hope you're willing to stick it out. It really is a great system. I'm loving it.

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