Not happy with the new PDM

After having used it for some month now I am getting annoyed. Every time I quickly wat to check my BG I should not forget to first identify myself on the PDM. Something I often forget and costs many teststrips. I don't see the purpose of identification. Hope they will change it.

I could be wrong but I think that is a fail safe that the FDA required because of the increased signal range. So you don’t accidentally “connect” with another pod and bolus another person. Seems silly but that’s what I heard.

Yeah I heard that too! Bah! I get it but it will take adjusting for sure lol

But how does that apply to simply checking a BG ? There is no risk there.... and frequently getting a BG number is a matter of some urgency, as when low.

If the pods and the PDM pair together, the distance should not be an issue as a pod could only be paired to one PDM at a time.

The Omnipod and PDM are linked together until the PDM is used to deactivate the pod; if you lose or change the PDM you have to change the pod too (it can't be taken over by your new PDM).

Based on reading the UK user manual (since I live in the US and the pods aren't available here yet) the purpose is apparently to ensure that a diabetic who picks up another diabetic's PDM doesn't accidentally kill the other.

John Bowler

Can't you just pull the test strip out, identify yourself, and push it back in? I don't use the FreeStyle test strips, my insurance company pays (only) for Bayer ones, but with the Bayer Contour USB I often have to pull the test strip after inserting it (before bleeding on it). With Bayer I can't do the blood thing until it lights up - if I do then I lose the test strip.

Nevertheless it sounds like this is going to be excessively annoying for a lot of people, and the person at risk if it is turned off is the person who turns it off, so it clearly should be optional (though this may be a US-centric viewpoint, and we haven't yet seen what the US PDM does).

John Bowler

No, unfortunately your suggestion does not work.

Well I have tried to "kill" my nextdoor neighbour. She is wearing pods as well. And guess what: she survived.....

I guess that's a good argument for the ID; you wouldn't have done that with the new PDM.

I suspect the same end can simply be reached by painting lurid colors on one's own PDM, or, maybe, custom skins (not an option yet, but definately a future possibility.)

John Bowler

It doesn’t cause me any issues. Without turning the PDM on, I insert a Freestyle test strip. The PDM comes on, asks me to confirm my ID, and then it carries on with the usual blood test routine (i.e. shows the code of the strips and then asks me to put a blood sample on the strip). Then I prick my finger and carry on with the blood test. I don’t have to remove the strip.

Good for you. However, when I am in a hurry I forget to confirm my ID and put the blood on the strip immediately like I used to do with the "old" PDM. Apparently a custom hard to change. And again, why confirm an idea for a simple BG test?

Barend per your profile pic, I suppose it's "hard to teach an old dog new tricks" ;)

I agree that the confirmation page sounds annoying. I am interested in seeing what similarities or differences the US version has in it--and for our sake hopefully they forgot to add that little confirmation screen 'jewel' into ours lol.

Good luck in your efforts to remember to confirm the page before applying blood to the strip in the future sir!

I taught this dog despite its age many new tricks...... But then it was the dog.......... :-) .

Isn’t it just one button press? Doesn’t seem that hard to get used to.

That’s what I was thinking. And besides, shouldn’t you always check the screen of the PDM before applying a blood sample to the strip incase the PDM hasn’t registered the strip for whatever reason…?

Yep, I've lost a few stips due to not checking the screen before I try to take a BG. Gotta pay attention, and maybe this new procedure on the new PDM will help me somewhat.

You have to insert your PIN, more than one button.
Insulet perhaps could have programmed an exception for BG taking, by letting you do it without identifying and locking any other subsequent menu choice by requiring an ID, but I think they were required to do it during the approval process, so it was easier (and safer for approval) to do it first of all.
It's a minor issue anyway ...

Reading the UK user manual there is nothing about PIN insertion - just an OK to confirm that this is your PDM.

Indeed, the acronym "PIN" doesn't occur in the UK user manual copy that I have - dated 2011 ENT450/14518-5C-AW Rev A (from the last page), bar code 7 613117 007485.

Do you have a more up-to-date version? Can you post it?

John Bowler

I'd have the same issue with the Bayer meter I use, however it simply doesn't work if I insert-bleed; I've always had to insert-check-bleed. Still, the Bayer works fine if I insert, check [fail], pull out. It's weird and I would say terminally broken that the Omnipod meter doesn't allow you to pull the strip out once it has been inserted.

I guess the Omnipod is more reliable that the Bayer product (Contour USB) which quite frequently freaks out after the test strip is inserted (maybe four or five times a year.)

John Bowler

If I had something that was reliable I wouldn't check; if I got a failure rate lower than I do with my Bayer Contour meter, maybe better than 1 in 1000, then I would just push it in, bleed on it and hope. It's not the cost of the lost strips (since my insurance company pays for them), it's the inconvenience of having to repeat that makes me delay for the "insert blood" message on the Contour USB screen.

The cost with an extra button press is higher. I'm normally standing there with blood on my finger, finding another finger to poke the pod would be very annoying.

John Bowler