I love my pod but…tonight I am really disgusted with it, or I should say these new 2nd generation PDMs. This morning was ‘pod change’ day and all day I’ve had pretty good numbers - which is unusual. Usually on the 1st day of the 3 days I wear it, my BG are sometimes erratic.
Tonight I walked past our dining room table where my PDM was laying and all of a sudden the PDM started screeching. Looked at the screen and it said “PDM error, change pod now and call technical support”. So I called tech support and the tech person said I had to reset the PDM by sticking a paper clip in the reset hole in the battery compartment. After that it did reset itself but I lost a brand new pod plus 200 units of insulin. Both the pod and the insulin are ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses due to transitioning between insurance companies. Grrr…I do love my pod but sometimes I wish it wouldn’t present so many challenges. Personally I don’t think the new PDMs are nearly as reliable as the 1st generation is. I am on my 3rd second generation PDM. Anyone else had poor luck with their PDMs?
I’m sorry! I know I have those days too!
Usually if it has been less than 12 hours I am OK with “recycling” my insulin…
Bummer!
Pod on!
Yes. Ours is very spotty turning on. My son has learned to roll the batteries to make it work. We called it in one night because it wouldn’t work at all twice in a row and I thought it was totally dead. They overnighted one to us, and it was worse than the first one, so we sent the new one back and kept the old one. Better the devil you know . . .
I like your sense of humor … Better the devil you know. Great comment…Thanks 
Makes me feel a little better, not that you have had trouble too, but that I’m not alone.
To be truthful, I’ve never had much luck in retrieving the insulin from inside the pod. I’m not very talented technically and maybe that is why I can’t get but just a little bit out of the old pod. My 10 year old grandson could probably do it if he lived in my town.
It does seem that people have more trouble with the new PDMs than the old. I hope the Insulet folks fiqure out the problem and then let us know. Hopefully these issues will not be present in the new technology coming next year…we’re all looking forward to it.
I completely agree with your frustration! Last night the PDM wouldn’t take a meter reading…at my 4 year old daughters’s midnight check. No matter how much blood it never went to “checking”…finally after what seemed like trying a hundred strips and abusing her her poor bloodied fingers I tried a different freestyle meter (same strips) and it came right up…so the PDM can’t check BG anymore. Of course I called and they will send me a new one, but now we’ve lost all our records/settings. VERY FRUSTRATING!
Makes me wonder…with so many software/hardware issues with the PDM (we’ve had a ton - PDM shorting out, batteries lasting a day or two, PDM error -Remove pod now)…how reliable is the entire system? I honestly have lost count what number PDM we’re on and my daughter just started in January 2010. Could the insulin dosage sometimes be off? A scary thought. I know it kept me up last night after this incident.
But we do love the Omnipod 95% of the time. When it works, it’s amazing. And there is no over choice right now so we’re not going anywhere. And my daughter NEVER complains about the pod - which is a blessing.
Jennifer - I’m really sorry about your experience with these frustrating issues concerning the PDM. It is bad enough that I have these issues as an adult, but when it involves a 4 year old child - that is a completely different story. As a Grandma I would be downright angry if it was my grandchild involved. Your daughter is one very special little girl ~ give her a big hug for putting up with this darned disease.
There is a very slight chance I might have a chance in the near future to have a conversation with someone in the marketing department at Insulet. IF I do, I’m going to strongly suggest that he reads the posts here at the forum in regard to the OmniPod’s use by real people who have real problems.
The OmniPod is the only game in town right now when it comes to a wireless, tubeless insulin delivery system. It will be a very interesting scenario to watch if and when the Solo ever gets FDA approval. And Yup, I still love my OmniPod but sometimes…?
Thanks Mayumi. It is tough (but honestly most of the hassle is on me) but she is great. Of course I would trade places with her in a second. But I will say the Omnipod makes her life normal. She eats/plays/sleeps just like before D (with minor tweaks). My hope is that as she grows the technology will just get better and better and even more user friendly.
But I’m kind of resigning myself to the fact that we’ll be using a new PDM every couple months or so.
The lucky part of this is that she doesn’t experience the frustration. If she were an adult and having to make the calls, deal with the reps., etc. I would scream. But that’s my problem and I’ll do it gladly for her as long as she needs me to
It really helps to know others have the same issues we do - makes you feel less alone! Although I don’t wish these problems on any one else either!!!
Wow, Jennifer. I very much admire and respect those of you dealing with all of this for your children. Your daughter is a lucky child. I think you are right in thinking the technology will only make it easier as time goes on.
Thanks. But I am so inspired by so many great moms and dads on this site with T1 children and hearing all the stories of those who have had T1 for many years and are doing so well. That’s all we want for our kids!
Yes, as a matter of fact, today I had to call Insulet. I will be getting my 4th PDM. The PDM I presently have , I’ve been using for maybe 6 weeks!
I never had the “old” PDM…so I cannot compare. I like that they are taking care of business promptly, but I wish they could find the problems with these PDMs.
The New PDM is to arrive tomorrow. We leave for our summer trip on Sunday…We will be traveling in Canada for 6+ weeks. I hope I have no problems with the new one!
i’m on my second gen PDM…and I’ve had no problems! (knock on wood)… I also am challenged when it comes to drawing old insulin out of the reservoir…which reps consistently tell me is easy. My wife can do it…and she actually loves doing it! (I guess it is kind of fun for her) I find, however, that insulin drawn back out and used over again loses its potency, almost completely! So…we arent doing that anynmore (much to my wife’s displeasue…and MINE thinking about the waisted insulin). I have to abort a pod before its 3 day cycle at least 2 times a month. You guys who deal with the company and challenges therein for your T1 kids are INCREDIBLE! YOU ARE THE BEST PARENTS! I SAY THIS KNOWING THE AGGRAVATION DEALING WITH INSULET/INSURANCE CO’S , ETC ETC. ETC. tThe ulitimate difficulty, however is deciding when to let them do it for themselves! it will be a difficult life lesson in dealing with this &^%$ desease! It’s going to have to be harder thaan the sex/drugs talk! PEACE TO YOU ALL!!!
I just had a fun experience with the same error message. We were in another state for a volleyball tournament and on our first night there, my sons PDM got that message and we had to reset the PDM. Trouble was, we lost all his settings and I didn’t think of bringing a copy of the settings with me for this trip. I had extras of everything but not his settings. We had to spend about 2 1/2 hours with Insulet on the phone trying to retrieve his settings. We did the best we could and luckily they seemed to work for him. But that was after he dropped to a low of 25 and then later a high of 450. Yes, it was an extremely stressful night.
Hilary -
After spending that long on the phone with Insulet, I think I would have been sure to ask for a new PDM to be shipped to my home overnight FedEx so that when you did return home you might be lucky enough to receive a PDM that actually worked and was dependable.
After the tech support person at Insulet had me reset my PDM (which I didn’t know would erase all my settings) then she told me “Oh, btw, I hope you have a copy of your PDM settings”. So my settings and all my records are gone. I’m currently dealing with trying to find a source to buy pods out of pocket because Medicare will not cover it. My last box of pods cost me $375 which I cannot afford very many times.
It seems that Insulet definitely wants customers to use their product but ONLY if they are less than 65 years old. I don’t know, maybe Seniors are no longer considered valuable members of society. The PDM they sent on June 18th is the very same one that gave me the PDM error message. Now that one is turning itself on and I am going through batteries every 3 days. I just can’t seem to win these days. 
I can totally understand your frustration. My son has been on the omnipod for almost a year and we are on our 3rd PDM. I am considering now spending my own money to buy another PDM in case something like this happens again. Seniors are the most valuable members of our society and need to be treated that way!!
I have named my PMD “Mr. Ed” for the talking horse. I must be lucky, because I have had my OmniPod system for over two years, and have the same PDM. I have had very little problems with it. Only have had two times when I have had to reset it. My only real complaint is I wish the pods were more flat…
I am glad for you Anna and for the good luck you’ve had with the OmniPod system. Like my post said … I love my OmniPod but…when I turned 65 and had to go on Medicare everything in my life changed. Medicare will NOT pay for the OmniPod. My last box of pods cost me $375 out of pocket and I can’t afford that kind of expense for very long. I have two months worth of pods left, and then it is either back to MDI or switch to a traditional pump which Medicare may or may not pay for. For me it is a crap shoot either way. My original PDM is still working, I am on my 3rd PDM of the 2nd generation ones.
Sadly Insulet does not seem to care if someone has to go off their product. They do try their very best when a prospective consumer indicates an interest in using their product, but when you turn 65 you are SOL.
Mayumi-
I have no idea what it is like to be in your siruation, I have had THE WORST of luck when it comes to my D. The worst complications, including a brain hemmhorage/stroke, disabling retinopathy, etc. and I cant imagine going back to day to day shots! That would make me nuts. I dont really have any suggestions, except I am starting a debt recovery service at my website http://www.supportersofsurvivors.com, if you go there and enter your contact information in the “Contact us” section I will conact you directly,…what I am thinking is maybe you can charge all your supplies to a credit card and then we can help get you out of the “debt”…NO CHARGE for this service! You do not have to lay out a penny! We are the furthest from these scams all over the net! Pls visit and lets discuss your situation and what we at “Survivors Network” LLC can do for you!
My PDM turns itself on and off ‘at will’. I saw it do it this afternoon at least 3 times while I was eating my lunch - and I wasn’t even touching the PDM. Called Insulet and guess what? The ‘rep’ told me “you aren’t the only one with this problem”. She is sending me a new PDM which should arrive tomorrow. So for the 2nd time in less than one week I get to enter all my settings into the PDM AGAIN!! I have to rethink my position on this system. Like Dee, this new PDM will be my 4th one and that is getting to the point of being ridiculous. At least now I know why I’ve been replacing batteries every 3 days