Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Janice L Cotton on March 12, 2009 at 5:17pm

I'll be honest...the reason that I chose the pod was because it was tubeless!!! I have a Bichon who runs all over me. I have not tried any other pump; and if for some reason I was forced to go with another pump...it would be the Ping. Now for what is most important to you. 200 units is the max; and No you cannot add to it after it's on your body. My favorite site is on my back...sometimes forget about it there.. I believe that the Denver Broncos quarterback, Jay Cutler, wears an OmniPod...BUT only during practices....Not during actual games. The big difference, I believe, is that you cannot disconnect once it's on your body. I have a son who is a personal trainer who has at one clent who wears an insulin pump. He has to disconnect his regular (non-OmniPod) when wearing a weighted vest. You wouldn't be able to do that; and if it's necessary to do that with a nearly flat infusion set...it would be impossible with the Pod. If stability is a concern...you could secure it with "tegaderm"---a transparent dressing with adhesive around the edges sort of like a windowpane. You can buy it at a medical supply store. Based upon your usage...it sounds like you'd be changing out every 2 days. As a male...you've also got a waistband to clip your pump to. If you're female...that's not always an option and I didn't want to dress around my pump. Hope this helps...Oh yes, ask to wear/demo a sample pod for 3 days...Find out who the local rep is; and you'll get a demo pod much sooner! Oh yes, I do love my Pod!!

Permalink Reply by Todd on March 12, 2009 at 5:38pm

Thanks for your answer. I find it so odd that people that have never had a pump before automatically go to the omnipod. The tubing must freak people out or something. My only problem is you didn't really give me any cons about the omnipod. I can't possible believe there aren't things you don't hate about it. But you also can only really compare it to multiple injections since you never have had a pump like the deltec. Thank you for taking your time and answering my questions.

Permalink Reply by Janice L Cotton on March 14, 2009 at 5:17pm

Ok...now I have a con. I left home in a hurry to get my nails done with my daughter. We went to eat afterwards...BUT not before stopping back by the condo to pick up my PDM. I had forgotten it (the first time). Now, if I had a more conventional pump, it would have been clipped onto my clothing somewhere. Truly, this is the first real negative that I've had.

Permalink Reply by Matt on March 12, 2009 at 5:28pm

Hi Todd,
I'm a new pump user (only since Dec 2008). I can tell you when I did my research on pumps through online resourses I didn't even consider the OmniPod because I too thought it looked big and bulky. I couldn't see myself wearing something that size so I decided on the Cozmo also.
That said, I went to my Dr's for Pump Education and to see the options for pumps, at The Joslin Center. I WAS SHOCKED at what I saw. The "POD" was the size of half a small egg!! It looked so big online. It was almost weightless and I was completely sold. From the get go I was never keen on being connected to a tube so it was an immediate yes from me. I have been using it since then and I love it. Almost always forget I have it on. I too use 100 units a day so I change POD every 2 days, only takes 5 minutes at most. You cannot refill a Pod you are wearing. As I see it , yes the Cozmo holds 300 units but to me whats the difference in changing every 2 days as opposed to 3days...no biggy. I think filling, priming, and inserting the canula takes much longer than 5 min. Don't forget the Pod self primes and self injects the canula. You can wear the Pod anywhere and it is totally waterproof in shower or swiming. I wear mine on my arm always and never have any problems with any activities. As I said the bigest pro is that it is all self-contained and does everything for you, no more messing with tubes and bubbles and canula injectors. I have not had any problems with failures as some have so I cannot address those cons. Another pro for me is the software from the company. They send you an infrared USB Cable and software that downloads all your records in spreadsheet form, I just send to my Dr once a week and adjustments are made, no more writing and keeping track of Bg, Carbs I ate, Boluses and Basal amounts, It's all done for you.I'm sorry I have no Cons but for me the Pod has been a life changing event and I could not be happier with it, and I feel so free as oppsed to MDI. Hope this helps. ( I should be a salesman for OmniPod, can you tell I love it?)

Best of luck with your decision.
Matt

Permalink Reply by Brad Helton on March 12, 2009 at 7:06pm

Go to their website( http://www.myomnipod.com/ ) and request a free demo pod and you'll have it in about a week or so.That will help you answer many of your questions.
They have been kind enough to send us three while we are trying to decide.

Permalink Reply by Kat1997 on March 12, 2009 at 10:56pm

my daughter had the minimed and with all the problems she was having i decided to go with animas. i chose the omni pod due to no tubing it was a pain both around small children and animals, but most of all being tangled in it at night and the sores from ripping it out at night, the bathroom or changing clothes. i also hated having to disconnect to swim or shower, now i just go.

disadvantage of omnipod, if you forget your pdm at home you cant cover a meal but it will still run the background insulin.
both pumps have occlusions. priming the tubing is not a problem, i have had pods fail so you always need extra but the same is with tubing due to humidity. i have went threw 4 sets of tubing during the summer from the humidity and going on the diabetes motorcycle run.

i have wore my omnipod on my arms, stomach, back, legs and ankle. on my ankle my socks hold it on in the summer, on my arms i use self sticking tape (like an ace bandage but self sticking) to hold the pods on during long days in the water with children or working out at the gym. i dont find it hindering at all and i also golf.

i also use 100 plus units a day and the pod only holds 200 units and is not refillable, but i never refilled while on the tubing sets either, for sanitary reasons and i get infections so easy. i have heard of people refilling the tubing sets and i could never do that.

most of the answers you are looking for are under the topics in this sight under omnipod and other pumpers. everyone has a preference for one reason or another. i loved my animas other than the tubing. now i would never give up my omnipod.

the other thing is that when i call my rep i want them to call me back with answers to my questions asap. with omnipod i call and never wait someone will answer my question or transfer my call to someone who can. animas, the last time i called with a problem i never received the replacement.

i don't say i would never switch again i just won't give up my omnipod for now. i always look for better things that make dealing with this illness easier.

everyone has different reasons for choosing the pumps they do, screens, setup, simple or technical, color, size, ease of use and how comfortable each is for how much time they want to spend programming different features. with both my pumps i had to program for my exercise or riding my motorcycle, but with the omnipod i don't have to disconnect to swim with my grandkids. on my arm i have knocked the pods off catching on a doorway, but i pulled the inset of my tubing out getting hooked on a chair or melted the tubing on the oven door while baking. the list could go on and on with all the things i have done. i prefer no tubing now for all the things i do. i have had the pdm of the animas fall out of my pocket or the case unclip while tilling the garden, think of the worsed to happen and it will to me. without tubing i don't have the worries, my pdm is always with me in my diabetic bag that i have carried from day one with my animas.

i never go without extra supplies either way.

feel free to ask any other questions i will answer if i can, i hope i have helped to answer these questions for you. there are alot of pumps out there and it is a hard decision but there are tips and tricks to living with them all.

the size of the pods is like the freestyle flash meter on the skin, this is a close comparison.

thanks Kat

Permalink Reply by Vicki S on March 13, 2009 at 3:33am

My DH is a Pod user. He just started pumping in January. He has had D for over 18 years but never even considered pumping bc of tubing so for him this was what he wanted. He has had a few get ripped off when he bumps the corners of the wall or this past weekend while unloading the car. In the beginning he was having trouble finding the best sites for absorbtion - but as we ahve learned with DD - this happens with tradition pumps too. Once he got used to the learning curve of the pump in general - he loves it. His A1c has never been better. He just went last week and is down to 6.5 in the 18 years that I have been with him I don;'t think he has ever had that number!!! I do think any pump would have done that for him.

He is a profuse sweater!!! I mean really he sweats so much even in the dead of winter. We did have adhesive issues inthe beginning - but we were overdoing it - now he just uses skin-tac and places the pod. If he feels like it is moving around at all he will add a small piece of tegaderm over the top. He usually changes every 2-3 days. He has found that his TDD has actually gone down due to using the pump. He loves the ease of bolusing - but like I have said before he would have had that on a traditional pump too. He just really DID NOT want tubing.

Now our DD just started on the ping. She did not want the pod. I think she might change her mind in4 years when she is closer to a teen - but for now the tubing does not bother her at all. Here is what I have found out that I think makes the POD a no brainer as compared to the Ping. Besides the tubing . . .the pod has WAY fewer steps to deliver boluses, or change settings. I feel like I need a technical degree to get thru the ping sometimes. But we went with Ping for her (she's 8 and is very tiny!!) mainly due to the lowest basal settings which we use and the remote meter which I use all the time.

I agree with PP, call Insulet and get a demo, then find your local rep and get him/her to come and show you personally.

Permalink Reply by Todd on March 13, 2009 at 3:12pm

I will try a demo but I want to know a few things. You have good experience because currently you have a pod and then a regular pump. Tubing has never been an issue for me. I don't and haven't ever thought wow I wish I didn't have this tubing. I snag it on doornobs like once every two weeks. I have only pulled out my site once in five years because my tubing got caught on something. My biggest interest in the pod would be putting it somewhere on my body other then my stomach. I worry that I am building scare tissue that is irreversable. I just have a hard time imaging that I could put the pod on my arm and stuff with the size of it. Where is your husband comfortable placing it and where is your husband uncomfortable placing it. I am 23 years old and have had the diabetes since I was 3. So really all this new technology excites me.

Permalink Reply by Janice L Cotton on March 15, 2009 at 9:02am

Kat How did you wear the pod on your ankle???? Is that a site that you chose or your doctor? I've just never heard of that being a viable site. Anyone else place their pod on a site other than stomach, arm, back or leg??

Permalink Reply by Linda on March 20, 2009 at 10:13pm

LOL! I was just reading that ankle placement outloud to my DH with groaning! Interesting!

Permalink Reply by Kat1997 on April 14, 2009 at 7:25am

I needed a new site and i tried this with my animas due to reading a article of a runner wearing it on his ankle. I tried this and had no problems I placed it high to avoid the join, above the bending points and placed my sock over it to keep in place. I also wear biker boots while on my motorcycle so i had to place it above that point also. I don't wear it there very often but do if I need to give a longer break to the other locations and I don't like using my stomach.

I have tried my thigh but i don't have luck when riding, my jeans rub to much and it falls off. this location works in the winter when i can't ride.

Permalink Reply by Robin M on March 13, 2009 at 7:05am

Check out the Insulin Pumpers Forum and you'll find more cons about the pod. I love mine. It's my first pump and I too did not start sooner because of the tube.

I have 2 cons 1. The profile of the pod makes it hard to sleep on my side when the pod is on my arm. If i sleep on my back I snore big time. I can't put it on my back and still drive. It pushes the pod into my flesh to much. Presently I am wearing it below my waist line between my back and my back side and will use that spot again.
2. I have knocked a few off going around corners and through doors.

I have been using the pod since October and have only had 4 go bad. The company is great about replacing them. Some people have had worse luck. They stick great to me but some poeple need extra help getting them to stay on.

If it seems we're overly pro pod, read some of the other postings and you'll find that some seem overly against Omnipod. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

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