Its so interesting to hear everyones opinion and experience with the pods. I have been on the pod for almost 2 years. It started out great, i recommended it to all my diabetic friends. But after a while I started having problems & they haven’t stopped. I was on a different pump for 15 years and never had a problem. I switched because I was so excited to have the freedom of a wireless and waterproof pump. I’ve been back & forth what is more important, the freedom or the reliability. Just this past week I ran in to a problem that aggravated me to no end! My PDM flatlined, it no longer was giving me insulin & it completely lost its memory. After quite a while on hold (while my BS is escalating from lack of insulin) I finally was able to speak to someone and she tried to reboot my PDM with no success. She then informed me that it lost its memory and they would have to send me a new PDM. Did I mention I am 7 months pregnant and it has become my full time job to keep my A1C 6 (or under) and keep myself under control (in addition to mothering my other kids). Because of the holidays it took the PDM 3 days to get here, 3 DAYS!!! I don’t know about any of you - but do you have a back up plan. It didn’t seem to faze anyone at insulet that there was a 7 month pregnant lady without her PDM. That to me is very concerning. When I was on the other pump and needed a replacement (once in 15 years) they called the next day to make sure I got it & to see if I needed any help setting it up. I just wanted to share my story, its been really bugging me. I’m not sure if I should go back to the other pump or stay on the pod. What’s the most important thing here? I don’t know…
Ellie,
While I totally sympathize with you, especially being a “special needs” patient (pregnant), I’m not sure what you expect from Insulet in this situation. I suppose the hold time could be better, although you don’t say how long nor what day it was (Christmas?) so even that is hard to judge. Personally, I’ve never had to hold more than 5 minutes when I’ve called them.
But you yourself said that it was because of the holiday that it took 3 days for the PDM to arrive. Insulet does not control the USPS or DHL or whomever delivered the package; package delivery on Christmas and surrounding days is always disrupted; I’m sure I don’t have to explain why.
Did Insulet delay in getting the replacement out their door? Did they not use the fastest shipping method (overnight/next-day/whatever) available? If so, then you have a legit gripe. But if the delay was during shipping during the biggest mailing/shipping days of the entire year… well, I don’t know what you expect them to do.
When I had my PDM replaced a few months ago, it arrived in 2 days; it would have been next-day except that I, too, called right before a holiday (Labor Day). I was very happy that they were eager to replace an expensive device at NO COST and with almost no questions (other than the same effort to “reset” the PDM, which took all of 3 minutes over the phone). Try calling your computer or mobile phone or other electronic device manufacturer to complain about a failure and see how their response compares!
Like I said, I sympathize with your situation and completely understand how desperate it can feel in the moment. But I’m also trying to be honest with you. You should ALWAYS have another way to deliver insulin at home, no excuses. This is an electronic device and they do fail sometimes. And you have not said enough to know if Insulet could have done significantly better.
Eric
I hear you. I called them the Monday before Christmas. It got here on Wednesday. I just feel that there should be a back up plan on their end in case of emergencies. Like you said, it is an electronic device and (now including you) I know a couple of people that have had this problem. It happens to be I do have a back up plan in case of an emergency, but with the problems I have been having with all the malfunctioning pods I am already aggravated with the company, so that’s where I am coming from.
My educator said that some people buy an extra PDM to keep as a back up which i think is a bit expensive. BUT they are supposedly going to come out with a new PDM and I’m planning on keeping my old one as the back up. Also I wanted to ask if there was a way you could get one from your rep or someone in the area?? I know that you already have a new PDM but i was just wondering for a in the future case.
Ellie-
I am sorry that you had issues with the PDM. The only problem I experienced is when the PDM reset itself for some odd reason at the airport. Usually when I have an issue, Insulet overnights my product to me.
Wow!! That’s a horrible story!! I’ve never had any problems with Insulet - in fact, dropped my son’s PDM and broke it and they replaced it the next day overnight. You should make sure that you have a local sales rep that you can call if you have a problem like that. Ours is in Seattle (we’re in CA) but she’s the regional person. When we went on vacation, I called her and she sent me a backup PDM to take with me. I’m sure you could have called a regional person and they could have provided that service for you. Maybe because of the holiday they were short staffed? Although that’s no excuse, you would think that with your pregnancy, they would have bent over backward for you.
I’m sorry you went through that. I hope you are ok now. One thing I would suggest to everyone - write down all your settings for the PDM in the order of which they are asked during the setup. I did this and printed it out and carry it with me in the OmniPod case. If your PDM fails for some reason, you can reset it by putting a straightened paperclip in the back - it clears out the memory and you have to reset the entire PDM but if you have the paper with you, it takes about 5 minutes to do. I learned this the hard way (when I dropped the PDM while on vacation in Mexico) so now I always have that paper with our backup stuff. It’s also good to establish a relationship with your local sales rep so that if something happens and you need additional supplies or a backup PDM, they can get it to you right away. Our rep is great. Our son is about to turn 3 years old and I"m overly paranoid about having all my supplies, etc. We celebrate our first year with our OmniPod the middle of Jan. and we’re still very happy with it.
Congrats on your pregnancy!!
Just to clarify, my issue with a PDM as that it stopped reading test strips; it was still functioning perfectly for insulin delivery, but I had to use another meter. Even so, Insulet sent a replacement immediately.
I have had my Omnipod for 14 months now. I have never had a problem with my PDM. My only concern has been a reaction I have had to the adhesive on the pod. I did call and ask about what to do, and while they gave me some ideas, I had a feeling they were reading from a script. Has anyone else had any problems with skin reactions? I am using the protective barrior preps that were recommended to me, but sometimes the itching is so bad I can not stand it. I change my pod every two days, and it seems that once I get it wet in the shower, that is when the problem occurs. Can anyone help?
I have a backup plan, just to go back to shots as needed. I have been on the pod for about six months and have never had to do that. Insulet always overnights anything that people need. I have had some defective pods with the first shipment I got. I am still on my third shipment (3 boxes of 10 pods) and have had only one defective pod. The first pods all just had that clicking sound, but I used them until I found out that I wasn’t supposed to. I got replacements for all of them and I didn’t have any problems with “under-delivery” as they said. I believe that Insulet should provide a spare PDM for every user. I t would come in handy for many of us if we forget ours, or it breaks. I think I heard that a replacement for a PDM not covered under warranty is about $300 or so? that really isn’t that much, but I think Accu-Chek Spirit gives you a main pump, and a spare pump for 180 days, and that is a PUMP, not just a remote…
My thoughts
-Daniel
I use Smith & Nephew Skin Prep. I have it itch sometimes, but it is always on the 3rd day (the day I change it) and it isn’t bad, it just itches for a few minutes. You should just try as much stuff as possible I would say, to find what works for you. I have used Tegaderm and IV3000 and Skin Tack. I still like skin prep the best. The only problem I have (I don’t know what the removal is like without skin prep) is that there is a jelly residue that I sometimes get. Other than that, I find that skin prep is the best thing that I use. Hope this helps!
-Daniel
Glad I am not the only one with “the itches”. I did order some protective barrior wipes and while not 100%, they do help somewhat. I try to coordinate a pod changing with my morning shower, and that means I only have one day where it gets wet. I am sure if more of us complain, maybe the company will try something different. I love my Omnipod, and do not think I could go back to tubing!
I had a problem over New Year’s when my pod went out while riding in the car to Isle of Palms, SC, about 3:30 from my home. I was about 30 minutes from my destination, and it was about 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 30. I called Insulet from the car because I had brought only one backup pod for the three-day trip (I was on Day 1 of the pod I was wearing), and I wanted to have a spare pod in case the backup failed. They were very cooperative and immediately offered to overnight a new pod, but it couldn’t go out until the next day (New Year’s Eve), and with the New Year’s holiday, it wouldn’t get to me until Friday. I then asked them to have the rep for that area to call me with the name of a local clinic from which I might obtain a spare pod. They called the next day, but the clinic had no pods on hand. A rep from Charlotte also called and offered to meet me halfway with a pod, but I decided to take my chances. A post on this board drew a response, as well, but again, I could have driven home in about the same amount of time (thanks, however, for trying). The only thing that really disappointed me about the whole ordeal was that New Year’s Day delivery apparently was out of the question. I would think that might have been possible. All ended fine, as I had no further problems, and the replacement arrived Friday morning – not long before I headed home.
Exactly. I’ve had horrible problems with my POD. Occlusions, random beeping, malfunctioning, exploding, giving my skin a beating. I decided to switch pumps and go to animus. I’m on Lantus, and injections, but they hurt, too. My pump hasn’t come in yet, but I hope it does because my skin absolutely needs help!
i know this is a year old, but i have a love/hate relationship with my pod!!! i have had soooo many failed pods…PDM errors…occlusions…you name it, i’ve had it…i’m so frustrated that i really want to switch pumps…i’m glad to hear that more people experience problems with pods and not everyone is happy!!
myriah
Exploding?!?!
What do you mean by that?