For me, the pod change highs seem to be due partly to placement of the pod and partly to the need to "prime" the pod with a small bolus and a temp basal.
I've been on OmniPod for almost a year now and for many months went through what you're describing. I was really frustrated because the pod change highs did not *always* happen. So I was reluctant to automatically bolus in case I didn't need the extra bolus - that clued me in that it may be related to the site.
Finally after reading here alot and talking to an OmniPod rep that suggested I try my back, an area I'd never used for insulin injections or pumps, that I came to a "strategy" that works well for me. I can now tell within the first couple of hours if a pod placement is going to work well for me or not and I don't waste time trying to fight it. I use my process and give it at most 2 corrections, then I pull the pod.
-I try to choose sites that don't have too much fatty tissue. I've only had 2 pods that occluded so haven't had a problem with that. But the fattier the area, the more of a problem I have with absorption and post change highs. I've had much success with my lower back, my sides near my rib cages, the area near my hip bones.
-The other thing I realized in reading here that made alot of sense to me is that the first bolus of each pod really serves as an additional priming. I was afraid to try at first with a normal bg reading but began to look at it like - if I bolus just enough for a small snack that I have available and I watch the trend, then worst case scenario I just eat the snack.
-I typically will run a +20% temp for the first 2 hours for good measure, always watching the trend to see if I need to end the temp basal back to normal.
-Because I watch my trends carefully because of all this business, I like to change my pods in early afternoon to allow time to fix any issues. I've had better luck with getting some sleep at night this way.