Hi all, we have been using freestyle strips the new teeny ones that need practically NO blood! my daughter loves them because she doesn’t need near the deepness of finger prick as before and it hurts a lot less! We had one batch that had half old and half new ones even. i just looked on omnipod’s site to deal with our software problems and noted that they are not recommending to use the new strips yet. Anyone else using them? i guess we are throwing caution to the wind? they seem to work well…
I can’t bear to make her go back and use the old ones that hurt more and use more blood???
We are using them. I called Omnipod when we couldn’t get the old ones at our pharmacy. I was told that they are approved to use in the freestanding meter, but not the PDM. However, the two meters are exactly the same.
Some folks notice a difference, but we haven’t. We have been using the new ones for several months.
I talked to the Abbott people and the Omnipod people at a conference recently and they both basically said it’s an FDA issue so they can’t recommend that you use them. But without actually saying the words “go ahead and use them,” they both communicated to me to go ahead and use them. We’ve used them since they came out (which is a while now) and haven’t had any issues - A1c seems the same, they are in line with our CGM, and the few times I’ve tested them against the old strips they’ve been very close.
Great to know! That relieves me so much! We didn’t notice any difference either, and it really makes it easier for me to test her at night while she’s asleep! What conference? sounds interesting!
I agree with Natasha. I use the new strips, and have since they came out. Here's the situation on the technology, and you can be the judge of whether you plan to use them or not. The new freestyle strips (and if you search for this in the omnipod forum you will find several lengthy discussions about this issue) are made by Abbott to be compatible with older models such as the freestyle Flash and the freestyle Freedom. The omnipod uses the same testing hardware/software within the PDM.
Now if you look closer at the difference between the new freestyle strips and the new freestyle lite strips, well, you'll notice that there's NOT a difference (other than they come in different colored boxes and vials). This is no accident. The strips (although this is unofficial from the company until a time at which the FDA approves this) are the same (tear open a new freestyle and a new freestyle lite strip and compare their insides...they're the same strip). The new lite strips are made to be backwards compatible w/ all older machines as well (and the omnipod falls under this category b/c it's the same flash/freedom platform).
So while neither company can come out and say it yet, the new strips (whether freestyle or freestyle lite, as long as they have butterflies on them) should work in the older machines, including the PDM.
I currently use the new strips and do not have any issues w/ them. And yes Natalie they're much more convenient and helpful than the older version! I'd hate to have to stop using them!
It’s the Children With Diabetes conference called Friends For Life - and it’s in Orlando every summer around July 4th. We’ve been twice and it’s fantastic. It was started by parents of diabetic kids a number of years ago, and now they get celebrities and experts (including doctors, researchers, adults with diabetes, psychologists . . ) to give talks, and tons of companies come so you can try different pumps and meters etc. They also have child care and session specifically for the kids - both with and without diabetes. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to go!
Before we knew that lite strips existed we accidentally used about a vial and a half before I realized they were the wrong ones. I also got the Abbott guy to basically admit that the only reason there are two kinds is for shelf space. Twice as much for two “different” products, but they come out of the same machine into two different vials and boxes. Sneaky sneaky.
ha ha, oh, good I thought that might be ffl, we heard about it and I have already promised kennedy we can go next summer, looks like a great excuse for a vacay and potentially empowering for both our family and my 11 year old who is really quite capable and ready to learn!
Well, I had always thought that I was using the old regular freestyle strips (We started Omnipod July 1) that I get from Medco as with our intial order I made that clear to them
It turns out on further inspection of the last shipment and the intial shipment that we have been given and are using the new strips.
No problems encountered. And didnt even know I had the wrong ones till 6 weeks ago.
