Bad start. :(

Today was our transition day. Switching from MDI’s to the Omnipod. I know (it’s been said here many times and it’s logical after losing the long lasting insulin) that the transition is going to be rocky before it’s great. That I understand…so the two spikes over 300 today I was OK with…we corrected and moved on.

What I’m frustrated about is that the POD came off! He was wearing shorts and I think that’s maybe what caused it (rubbing against the POD maybe?) Regardless, it was a new POD, new setup, new installation, and out with the old pod…on day one. :frowning: Just wish it didn’t happen.

What do you pod users do to keep your pods on longer? For this one, I used IV Prep first…which will make the surface more sticky. Do I HAVE to use Tegaderm for something that is only going to be on him for 3 days??? It’s awfully sticky to need to have to remove every 3 days.

This is slightly off topic and a little dated in my experience. I wore omnipods for about five months four years ago. I remember the adhesive being tenacious and ready to hang on much longer than 80 hours. After ripping the first few pods off with one quick motion, it really hurt and left a red mark on my skin – I mostly remember this on my arms. In this case, removing slowly is way better than “just pulling the bandage off.”

I finally figured out that you could lift the edge of the omnipod adhesive and gently use your fingers to pull the skin away from the bandage instead of the pulling the bandage away from the skin. It is two different things and it makes a big difference in comfort. Wish I could describe it more cleanly.

I wish “too sticky” were the issues I ran into! We literally put it on today, as 1030 (according to instructions…in front of the pod instructor), and it was off at 1930 this evening. :frowning:

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. Lots of people have done this before you. If you do get one to stick well, just be cautious taking it off.

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Have you listened to Scott Benner of the Juice Box Podcast? He’s the primary diabetes care giver for his daughter since she was two. I think she’s 12 or so now. He’s a stay at home dad; his wife works. I think you will discover a kindred spirit, if you haven’t already.

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I haven’t. Thanks for the connection. I’ll certainly check it out!

I’d been on Lantus/Novolog for 10 years (after 20 on R/NPH) before switching to a pump 3 years ago, and I thought I had that MDI thing really mastered, so I thought “Three weeks? Ha! I’ll have it nailed in one!” Um, no. This is going to take some patience. Part of the deal is that you’re now using a system that’s ticking away, putting insulin into that little boy’s body incrementally every few minutes and if you don’t have it set right the cumulative effect can build up into a scary hypo before you know it. So they start you off very conservatively and ramp up very gradually. I am pretty OCD about my numbers and the ones I was seeing were still driving me pretty crazy after six weeks and more, but the logic for why they do it this way is sound.

The other thing that drove me crazy for a while–and still has me wanting to tear my hear out occasionally–is that there are a LOT more failure points with this technology than with vial-and-syringe or insulin pen. Just today I had a really puzzling high after biking the long way home and having bolused quite amply for the half-an-egg-salad-sandwich that was ALL I’d had to eat today. How come!!! WTF!!! Only to discover I’d somehow yanked my infusion set loose some time during the day without noticing. At least with Omnipod you don’t have to worry about one of the other things that have given me grief: bubbles causing voids in the tubing.

My point is NOT to be negative. Pumping gives you a lot more ability to control and adapt and fit the treatment to the kid’s life, not the other way around. But it’s important to set your expectations realistically so you don’t find yourself wanting to throw the damn thing against the wall before you get it all dialed in where you want it.

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Thanks. What I’m looking for more than anything is any reliable tried and tested means of keeping it attached.

A lot of us use SkinTac wipes, more for CGM sensors because they have to stay on a lot longer, but people do use it for infusers as well. I’d keep an eye on how his skin is reacting the first time since kids’ skin is a lot more delicate than adults’ but if the stickum on the Omnipod infusers is as weak as you say it’s worth a try and simpler than covering the whole thing with Tegaderm or the like.

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One word: Cyanoacrylate.

STOP. JUST KIDDING!

Wash area with mild soap, rinse thoroughly, and let dry thoroughly.

Clean thoroughly with two alcohol wipes.

Let the alcohol dry thoroughly. Very important step, as stickifying products do not play well with alcohol.

Paint an area slightly larger than the OmniPod with the sticky solution of your choice.

Here’s the tricky part: Let it dry a bit. How long to wait can vary depending on ambient temperature, relative humidity, body temperature, barometric pressure, and lunar phase. Touch it lightly with a fingertip. When it becomes tacky (but not dry), apply the Pod. Smooth down the adhesive bandage part of the Pod. Then go over it again, pressing down more firmly.

Very important bonus tip: Press down on the Pod itself quite firmly and hold for a second or two to insure the adhesive on the back of the Pod (as opposed to the edges) also takes hold.

RE the highs. Endos have a habit of grossly underdosing for a longer than necessary period of time after switching to a pump. While I am not advising you to do what we did, after about two weeks of highs that rivaled my daughter’s diagnosis BG level, I took matters into my own hands and got about 200% more aggressive. Within a few days, BGs were in range. Until the next round of growth hormones hit. And don’t even get me started on puberty hormones. Fortunately, you have a few years before these join the playing field… :slightly_smiling_face:

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I definitely second the firm hold on the pod itself! I’ve found much better stickage if I smooth the area around the pod, then press the top surface of the pod firmly for a few seconds - once before insertion and once after, just to make sure I didn’t miss any surface area. I also had better luck not using any sticky solution, although that may have been due to my lack of patience for adequate dry time :grin:

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We tested a pod on our kid before deciding on a tubed pump and had the same issue. I feel like the upper bum area that is recommended can be problematic for the toddlers – they do too much scooting and rolling and falling.
Not sure where you’re attaching but we’ve had great success putting Dex on the arm, so you might try one on each arm?

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We use his arms solely for the CGM, swapping arms every change out (which, for us is about 2 weeks). We are using (right now) his thighs for the POD because they’re so darn cute (and chunky…which is the reason, not the cute part.)

He’s not potty trained yet so we don’t want to use the bum because we don’t want poop to get on the POD. We’ll be testing locations for the POD but his legs just have so much real estate we’re pretty sure this is where we’ll be for the time being anyway.

That makes sense :slight_smile: Ours has a fair amount of chunk on his thighs but just uses them way too much. If thighs don’t work we actually found the mid-back area to have enough chub and enough space to avoid duplicating sites too often. With potty training it’s it’s own special hell sometimes, but usually is fine if the spot is high enough above the waistline that you’re not snagging it every he has to pull his pants down.
Good luck. I’d also second what rgcainmd said: The initial pump settings are WAY too conservative – ours made our son go up 0.3 in his A1C over the course of a month, which in my opinion is not worth it. It’s hard enough to meet targets when you’re not handicapping yourself with artificially weak ratios. You know how to treat lows; if he’s running high, adjust basal upward day-by-day and strengthen all your correction and carb ratios till he’s in the same range he was before, and just be on guard for lows if needed.

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Haha. True story.

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Off topic, but this is my primary reason (not the only one, but the principal one) for eschewing pumps. Being an engineer by trade, the greater the complexity of a device or system, the more compelling a reason I need to use it. Needles don’t bother me and no syringe has ever failed to deliver exactly what I asked for. Not ever.

Before everyone jumps in, I am fully aware of the myriad advantages of pumping, as well as the fact that for some people it’s the only thing that really works well. For me, the compelling reason just isn’t there. Different strokes.

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Yep as has been said many times here YDMV. If MDI’s don’t bother you and pump doesn’t appeal to you, and you can manage well enough with MDI’s, then have at it! It’s all about the quality of life you feel, and your AIC, at the end of the day.

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One of the hardest things for me when I went MDI for three months recently was losing the electronic memory of the pump. Even pens with the last dose memory would make things better for me.

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This is one of our major draws to the pump…the small dosage for sure since the .5 and 1 units were far too large for Liam, but also that the technology does the math for us so that we can spend that time doing the other important things of the day. If we disagree with the counts…think is should be lower or higher insulin dose, we just push up or down arrow and administer bolus.

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Granted, it’s more of a hassle to keep a log than to let the electronics remember stuff for you. OTOH, the log never dies or loses its memory, barring natural disasters.

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