I was forced to get the 630 g but now they are giving me options. I want to keep my ping until I can’t use it anymore. My question is to keep the 630g or switch it out for the Omnipod.
omnipods have a lot more failures than pumping with a good set and any modern MM pump.
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Thanks. Good to know. I really appreciate the advice.
Omnipod will send you a sample kit to try. It’s not functional, but you wear the pods and see what you think of the look/size/feel at least.
Incidentally, my trial pack never made it all the way to the house, though. Fed ex told me it was undeliverable, though I have no idea why because my current pump supplies come just fine.
Some people love the pods. My attempt at using their Animas customers trial program got all botched because they did not ever get me a proper insurance quote (and the program ended at the end of the year, when insurance was changing for me anyway.)
Some people love certain things. And some despise those same things. My point being that after having spent a lot of time on many diabetes forums since before Omnipod was on the market, I’ve read countless complaints about Omnipod issues. I won’t bore with sample details. Searching with Google will bring up the info from all over the 'net. Many people got into them because they hate having tubing between the set and the pump. That’s one reason many tried them (and some still use them). Whatever floats your boat!
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Has this been verified in studies, or is it anecdotal?
Note, too, that sometimes what are called “pod failures” in forums like this are in fact “user errors.” If your pod falls off because you bump it on a doorjamb or yank off a tight shirt too fast, that’s not a pod failure. The pod may be on the floor, but it’s still functioning properly.
ETA: And if it is a legit pod failure, Insulet will replace the pod for free. They will also replace pods you have to swap out early because of discomfort or some other reason you couldn’t wear the pod for the full three days.
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We have a friend whose baby was started on the pod two years or so ago. They said failures were pretty common, but things have improved. My CDE said the same thing. You just have to consider all aspects, since insurance coverage seems to be different from place to place, and you are tossing insulin out if you dont use it all up every three days (if the required number of units to fill is higher than what you consume.)
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I’m sure it’s anecdotal; however, my personal experience is that I had more failures (of all kinds - Pod and user) with Omnipod than I have with tubed pumps. I had the “beep of death” happen. I had one fail to deploy. I had a lot of occlusions. I’ve had some such problems with my Animas pump, but far fewer.
I think the occlusions/lack thereof are directly related to delivery speed - I use the fast delivery on Animas and that usually works. Also, when I get a “local” occlusion with the tubed pump, I can frequently massage the site, prime and reconnect without a problem - with the Omnipod, it’s time for a new Pod - no going back. Since these types of occlusions happen (for me) almost exclusively in the middle of the night, one lets me fix, roll over and go back to sleep, with the other is a mid night “set” change.
Ad yes, of course, I had “user errors” - with both systems, but, again, the cost of a yanked site with the tubed pump is a new site only - no need to reload a cartridge, waste (or try to recover) insulin, etc. With the Omnipod, the cost is greater - new Pod, wasted insulin.
Note, Omnipod did open some new ideas for me - like arm sites - and being tubeless is certainly a benefit for many, especially kids and older adults, and perhaps people in certain professions. I’ve managed to work well with the tubes - most of the time - but there are definite advantages. Personally, I’d like more options in terms of canula type (straight, angled) and length. Shorter, straight sets seems to work best for me - and clearly not for others. (The Cellnovo pump intrigues me for this reason, though it’s not available in the US.)
I may yet go back to Omnipod, given current choices, when I can no longer stay on my Animas Vibe, but we shall see…
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Anecdote is often a disparaging term in discussions like these. I fully understand that “one person’s story” is not equivalent to a well-conducted scientific study.
Scientific studies, however, take considerable money, time, and other resources to conduct. So this means that studies are usually set up and executed by profit-making entities expecting a real return on their investment.
Studies with no obvious corporate beneficiary are just not performed nearly as often as the corporate funded ones. So, that leaves us, the patient community, to seek each other’s counsel. We tell our story (anecdote) to each other and sometimes it helps the recipient and sometimes it doesn’t. I personally have enjoyed tremendous benefits acting on someone else’s anecdote. One example is my adopting of a lower-carb diet when there was precious little by way of well-done studies.
Just because something is an anecdote does not mean that it’s not valid, just that it hasn’t been subjected to thorough scientific rigor. Of course, I weight the evidence found in a well-performed study much more heavily than an anecdote but I will not totally discount the anecdotal experience of other people in the diabetes community.
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Sorry, I did not mean the word in a disparaging way, and I wasn’t suggesting rigorous, formal, expensive studies be conducted. There is nothing wrong with “anecdotal” in the sense of “This is/was my experience with Omnipods.” I am, though, suspicious of statements along the lines of “Omnipods have a lot more failures.” Do they? Has anyone tallied the complaints in forums and elsewhere against complaints about other pumps? Or is this just one person’s un-backed-up impression?
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“one’s person impression”?? ah, no on all the forums I’ve been on discussing pumps, the Omnipod users reports of failures were rampant and MM failures (I’ve had at least 3 since 1996) are far fewer. Both pumps have been represented by forum users in the discussions I am referring to and so few reports of MM failures, compared to Omnipods.
You seem personally offended that I might mention the long history of failures with 'Pods. It is what it is. I’ve always discussed my MM pump failures, as they had occurred.
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I don’t know if that’s been done. If it had I don’t think it would hold much weight against a good scientific study. I agree that one person concluding that Omnipod “have a lot more failures” should be treated with skepticism. But, how many anecdotes does it take to gain enough credibility for one of us to take a chance with a personal experiment?
My personal experience with insulin pumps is long. I started on a MiniMed pump in 1987, and except for a five-month MDI trial in 2016, have continuously worn an insulin pump. That includes a several month trial of the Omnipod back in 2012.
My anecdote with Omnipod had me dropping the O’pod after several months due to occlusions and failed pump sites. Compared to my long-time tubed pump experience, the Omnipod performed poorly for me. I know I’m just one anecdote but significant to me. When I wrote a piece here about my experience, I tried to emphasize how my experience does not trump everyone else’s experience. I heard from many happy O’pod users in that thread. If my experience equalled theirs, I might still be using that system.
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Let me make it clear: I’m not saying that no one with an Omnipod doesn’t like it. I KNOW there are those that absolutely dont want to use anything but.
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It’s apples and oranges, because the pod is both an infusion set and a pump, whereas with a tubed pump, the two are distinctly separate.
What tends to be called a catch-all “pod failure” is often no such thing – it turns out to be a problem to do with the pod’s adhesive or cannula, or the site is uncomfortable or the pod got knocked off. The pod itself has not “failed” and is functioning just fine.
Similar problems with a tubed pump’s infusion set would never be called a “pump failure.” They tend to be called something like “infusion set problems.”
In neither case has the pod/pump failed, but because the pod combines the two components, it’s easier to categorize any problem as a pod failure. Which means that, yes, it may appear Omnipods have a lot more failures. But while there aren’t many reports here of tubed-pump hardware failures, there are lots of discussions about problems with infusion sets.
(By the by, I have used several brands of tubed pump since 1980, and I have been on the Omnipod for just over a year. I never had a pump hardware “failure” of any kind, and I have never had an Omnipod alarm or error code – maybe I’m just lucky. I did have painful or irritated sites with all the various brands of tubed infusion sets I used – especially in the early days when they were just needles at the end of an infusion tube – and still do occasionally with the pod.)
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Which is why I suggest pumpers switch to Sure-T’s LOL! I can’t stand most sets out there, for use with MM pumps. Too many occlusions or just uncomfortable.
this is like arguing religion or politics. I’m done arguing the point of whether or not “pod failures” is a figment of my imagination or not. Let’s move on!
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That could well be true, but it means that people who have a tendency to have “infusion set problems” are very ill-advised to try Omnipod - as a “site” problem is a lost (or "failed’) Pod.
I did have a nasty “site problem” last week - inserted the site and wanted to SCREAM in pain!! And, no, it wasn’t a momentary thing - I needed to RIP THAT SITE OFF before I ripped my leg off! 
Glad it wasn’t a Pod that time! Yikes!
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Great explanation. Totally makes sense. As we have never used the Omnipods, I would not have had the perspective to see this.
I made the switch from a Tslim to Omnipod about 8 months ago. I’m a very slim guy about 6 ft tall and 157 lbs. I was having trouble some times with infections in infusion sites and a lot of bad absorption because I have no body fat to inert into. I got tired of sticking myself all the time also and being sore at the site a lot of times. I would have good numbers from one infusion set and bad from the next. I tried three different sets and had some type of problems with all of them and a lot of sets being removed and replaced. I finally switched to the Omnipod 8 months ago because of the advise of my new CDE and I Love it. No more infections, no more painful insertions, no more tubing and I leave my Controller on the counter most of the time so I have lightened the carry around load. I have also cut down on the changing of the infusion site time considerably as there is no tubing to fill. Fill the pod stick it on and hit the button for the insertion and you’re ready to go. Also one of the best things is I’m able to use my arms now and getting better numbers from there than I was from my stomach. Just my experience, I say go for the pod. It’s not the latest greatest technology wise But the numbers are what it’s all about IMO.
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