Bad insulin or is Omnipod the worst device ever?

Type 1 and LADA
#1

Been on the Omnipod for a little more than 2 weeks. The first week was great, a lot better than expected especially after reading about all its faults. No problems whatsoever with a 95% time in range and average BG of 108. Then this past week its been almost like it stopped working. No errors, no leaking, but no matter what it was next to impossible to bring my BS down. I would eventually get it down but only after bolusing 3x the amount I normally would. Tried everything… different sites, changing the POD daily, nothing worked.

So this morning I woke up high and said F this POS, I’m going back to injections and all day everything was normal. I have been racking my brain all day wondering what is the problem with it. Took apart used pods to see how much insulin was used, normal.

Then about 15 minutes ago it occurred to me, the first week I was pulling novolog from one of my pens, and the second week was from a new vial of novolog from Walgreens. I’ve been on insulin for over 20 years and have never got bad insulin but I really cannot think of what else could be going on. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

#2

Have you “tested” your vial of novolog in any way? When you went back to injections did you use the insulin from the vial or the pens? For me “injections” always means syringes, but that’s primarily because I’ve never even seen an insulin pen let alone used one. :slightly_smiling_face:

#3

No I haven’t as I haven’t used syringes in years, so today when I started injecting I used a pen. Tomorrow I will try for the last time a new pod with the insulin from a pen before I completely abandon the Omni.

#4

I tried the Omni pod. I really hated not being able to see the site. I like to feel and check that my cannula is in place.
Because they can come out so easily.
When my sugar goes high I always feel for it and look to see it is in.
I did on on the pods however I got one bad pod that I am certain was not delivering the right amount of insulin but I had no way of checking it.
On my current pump I can disconnect the tubing and pump a couple of units to see.
I can also see that my cannula is in me.
With the pods you are blind

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#5

I really didn’t like Omnipod when I tried it. Just FYI you do have a 45-day return period (I believe) if you don’t want to keep it. I love my Tandem pump and would recommend it to anyone :slight_smile:

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#6

Pods are not terrible but, some folks don’t like the way they insert. You have to work with them to see if they work for you. There is a fantastic Facebook group with excellent tips. I learned so much there, I changed my mind and went for my pods. I would never go back to infusion sets, but, those never worked for me.I believe they do suggest you work with them for a few weeks, to get the hang of things for your body etc. I definitely would try a new vial of insulin, and please, dont listen to all the myths out there! Always report a questionable pod too, because they will replace them.

#7

I’ve had bad insulin many times.

I’ve owned unreliable refrigerates that didn’t keep consistent temperature and it has frozen and then thawed out so I didn’t realize anything was wrong. I froze it in a mini fridge. I’ve frozen it putting it into my luggage on an airplane.

I’ve frozen it while wearing it in the pump (many times) because I was outside in the cold and the MT pump tubing got exposed to the elements. That one really confused me for a long time until I cracked the tubing in half and a sheath of ice came out.

We are hitting -20 here for a 2-week stretch, so that’s gonna influence me to declare that this is a high risk period of the year for encountering bad insulin.

#8

I now have no doubt it was bad insulin. I dug up a syringe last night and injected 3 units out of the vial and 2 hours later my BS remained a steady 120, did not drop it at all. Normally 3 U would drop me 75 points so I kept a bottle of pepsi near me just in case (don’t try this at home). I then filled a pod from a pen and it has been working fine. Called Walgreens and told them and the pharmacy (not the pharmacist) told me ‘insulin does not go bad’. Uh ok, guess I’m out 4 vials of insulin.

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#9

I would call the manufacturer and report it. They often will replace it. Especially when they hear the pharmacy refused to. They will need #s off the vial, so keep that.

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#10

I would put a piece of Tegaderm to make sure the needle is secure and does not move. I found this necessary when I changed locations of site

#11

I am SO ANTI POD it’s not even funny. It was the worst year and a half of my life. It’s completely insane to think a 45 degree angle with one size short cannula is going to work universally for all people. Each time I changed my pod hands down I’d go over200 and have to wait for hours to get insulin. That amount of insulin I threw out from pods filled and not used was a sin. The pods left deep deep bruises and bumps at the injection site. I’ve pumped with tubing for 14 years and done MDI. I know people love pods but it is a mystery to me why.

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#12

I also have no real idea why some people seem to be obsessed with pods. I just try to take them at their word and leave it alone. One possibility is that they hate beyond loathing the thought of being tethered to anything.

I am the opposite. The thought of not being tethered to my pump troubles me. How do you find a lost pump in the dark other than by going to the infusion site and then following the tubing back to it? :confused: :man_shrugging:

#13

I kind of thought I was insanely lame when I can’t find my pump. I mean my tubing is only 23 inches.
I often have to feel for the site and yank on the tubing.
Often it’s slipped between the couch cushions.
Or some how under my pillow.
How is this possible.
But thank you for being the one to let me know I’m not alone

#14

A lot of people find MT hardware to be unreliable. But, there are problems with tubed pumps that are separate from infusion site issues. MT is starting to try and address that stuff I think.

#15

I absolutely love my Omnipods!! I do get bad pods or bad sites, you can’t tell with a pod whether it’s the site or the pod. But people on other pumps do have problems with sites, insertion issues etc on other pumps. It’s not very often so who cares. It probably averages 1 pod a month. You just call it in and they replace it. The freedom of no tubes, who cares if you roll on it or which way you twist at night, I don’t have to worry about the placement of the pump itself, it sits on my nightstand next to the bed at night. I’ve never yanked one off getting dressed or get it caught on anything. I don’t have to worry or do anything while I’m wearing one in a shower and when I snorkel I still get insulin while I’m swimming for 3 hours. And there are all sorts of places you can wear your pods if you are inclined. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone putting a tubed pump site on the calf of your leg as people have with their pods. A complete win in my book.

And I have also had bad insulin. Only a few times. I have taken it back in the past to the pharmacy and they exchanged it with no issue. You could try to be insistent about it and ask for a manager. One time I called Humalog directly for a replacement and I had to have a separate prescription called in, that was a hassle and involved a few calls.

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#16

With all the good reports from users, I was surprised when my Omnipod trial failed miserably. Looking back, I think that the cannula fixed angle and depth frequently ended up positioned in scar tissue. I had been using an insulin pump for over 25 years at that time.

I also suspect that that scar tissue could have caused cannula kinking upon insertion.

When I switched back to a tubed pump, I experimented with a few different infusion sets and found one that worked dependably. I eventually switched to an old Medtronic pump for Loop and started using Silhouette (angled) infusion sets. They have been very dependable for over four years now.

Omnipod certainly enjoys a lot of happy customers but there seems to be a consistent smaller group of people like me who try them and just don’t get along with them. I’ve lived with tubed pumps for over 33 years now. I don’t find the tubing irritating, just something I’ve learned to live with. I don’t give it much thought and I rarely catch it on doorknobs. I’m happy we have choices!

Bad insulin is rarely the problem. I’ve suspected it many times but only once found it bad. My refrigerator froze and ruined it. I’ve never received bad insulin from a pharmacy.

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#17

I had a trial of them and liked the freedom a lot.
However I think the cannula was my biggest issue too.
I was annoyed I couldn’t check if it was in. Also if you put it in a place where it could hit muscle it would bend the cannula.
So it was very disconcerting never really knowing. When it worked it worked fine.
I wish they could come up with a set that can be put in and a pod that attaches to it, so you could remove it and check it.
That’s why the t sport looks so appealing to me, you get the external set and a very small pump that sticks to you.
I think if the pods would allow a loop algorithm and allowed for different infusion sets, it would take over the field.

#18

BTW You can take insulin back out of a pod, you just use the syringe to draw it back out that comes with each pod. About 75% of it will draw back out. But Omnipod will pay for your insulin so you don’t have to withdraw it if you don’t want to. Up to $25 and after that amount you just provide a copy of the bill that you pay for it.

I have found that upon first insertion, giving myself a .5 dose seems to make it work much more smoothly.

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#19

I like the Omnipod much better than I thought I would. I do see a few things that could be improved (more to do with the software) but nothing major. Everyone talked about how great the food library is, I find it to be useless. For one it takes way to long to scroll to find what you’re looking for, for another I’m not sure how accurate it really is. I ordered a half slab of ribs from Chili’s the other night and looked it up on the food library. It stated 73G, whereas on Chili’s nutrition facts site it states 48G (with sides). Maybe it’s figuring in fat and protein in that (anyone know?) but at this point I don’t trust it. Pod changes takes less than 5 minutes and couldn’t be easier.

#20

How long was your trial (measured in # of Pods)?
I can’t tell you how many strange software/hardware failures happen upfront, but you know this - I might recall DrBB having issues where I might have seen a photo of his hands and thought, “clumsy man hands,” not that this doesn’t happen to all of us upfront working with new hardware, but men, in general, do not have the hands of a surgeon. You gotta do it a few times because sometimes people press on the device accidentally during application, etc.

There are always fumbly issues with hardware upfront until you get the hang of it. This happens with all new users of all new medical equipment. Its part of why its just the pits to change equipment. I had the same ‘fumbly’ problems changing to loop - although more of software fumbles than hardware fumbles because much of the hardware stayed the same (that was a strategy).