Hi, I started podding in April of this year & am very happy with the entire system & results. Occassionally I’ve accidently ripped a pod off & now only have about a 3 or 4 pod “buffer” until my next shipment of 3 boxes arrive. Gradually the extra box of pods I was sent in my first shipment is dwindling down. I fear I may run out of pods at some point & have to start using insulin pens to tide me over til my next shipment. Sooooooo, my question is: how can I get some additional pods? Can I just buy some from insulet? Thanks! john
Have you talked to Insulet to see when the next batch is set to ship out to you? I’d call them and ask what your options are (such as buying a box to make it to the next insurance shipment maybe?).
I’d also see how your script is written from your doc. I’d get it rewritten (if it’s not already this way) to say you change pods every 2 days, even if you really change every 3. This will provide you with more pods in each shipment, and then you will gradually build up a little padding of extra pods for those “oops” moments 
You may also try talking to your local rep before you offer to purchase a box. If you tell them you are low on pods and your next shipment will be coming in x amount of days, they may be able to work with you to give you a couple spares to tide you over (and it would save the hassle of trying to buy some out of pocket, etc),
My son is 6 and started wearing the pod in March. Being an active little boy we’ve knocked our fair share of pods. We got down to like 1 pod. Luckily we have a friend locally who uses the pod too, so we borrowed a couple until our came. I know that I’ve called Insulet before and they sent out one box early for me. But we ended up calling our endo and getting our script changed to switching pods every 2 day instead of 3. We still only change every 3 days, but this gave us 5 boxes instead of 3. It’s really helped the stress levels if he knocks a pod off or if we have a pod failure or something. Hope this helps. : )
I have gotten pre approved from insurance to change my sets every 2 days instead of three which allows me to order 5 boxes of sets vs 3 or 4. I have not checked to see the difference between sets and pods but I assume it would be the same. Why don’t you check to see if your dr can write the script to where you are allowed one extra box per quarter and that way you have some cusion.
I noticed that somebody on ebay is has 40 pods for sale & is offering them for $25 each. Do u think this is a bad route to go?
I also ran into this problem, and my endo wrote insulet a script saying i switched every two days. Now I have a good sized buffer, and never even get down to one box of pods left.
I called Insulet to request an early shipment and they suggested changing the script. The agent actually volunteered to contact my doctor and request the change. I received 5 boxes of pods instead of 3 a week later!
Let me ask a question>on the upcoming (March 2011) anniversary of me starting on the omnipod system, will I get another shipment that includes 4 boxes instead of the normal 3 boxes as I did on my very first shipment? john
(1) I didn’t receive an extra box when I reached my one year anniversary.
(2) I try to keep my pod on for the 8 hour grace period. This has permitted me to build up a small reserve. I got my most recent shipment when I had about 15 pods (1-1/2 boxes) left.
I also try maximize pod life to the 80 hour limit. Why waste insulin and create extra trash if you don't need to? It doesn't always work out with the timing, but this is a great way to build a reserve of pods over time.
I ended up purchasing a box of 10 extra pods from somebody who offerred them on ebay. I have peace of mind as well as a 30 day added buffer now. I paid $200 for the box, out of pocket obviously.