I am real new to pumping.
And never even heard the word “occlusion” before this message board.
But - now I have a couple of questions for Podders.
I just put a new Pod on - looks like there is about a tiny dot of blood in the cannula.
Will the system tell me if it is an occlusion - isn’t it supposed to beep or something?
Could there be an occlusion and no warning from the system?
Could giving myself a bolus - blow it out?
Do I just have to wait and see if my BS goes up?
Thanks so much for all your help - I cannot put in words how much I appreciate it,
Susan
The pods are designed to detect occlusions and will sound an alarm that is impossible to ignore when they do. I suppose it is possible one could go undetected, but I think it would be pretty rare since that is essentially a failure of the system and I can’t imagine the FDA would approve a device that was prone to failure.
Personally, I mostly ignore small amounts of blood on or around the cannula when I see them (rarely); maybe just do an extra test or two that day to make sure BG doesn’t go up unusually. I can’t recall ever seeing any correlation to small amounts of visible blood and pod performance, in 7 months I’ve been on the 'Pod.
Eric:
Thank you so much for you helpful answer.
I’ll keep an eye on it - and test my blood - but I an much less stressed about this.
Sitting home alone on a Sunday night, worrying, is not fun.
Having you guys out there - makes it so much better!!!
Susan
I get bleeding at the infusion site sometimes, but it never affects my readings. It is not really something that I like to see, but it doesn’t do anything to me. It does not beep unless it is blocked, most of the blood is just around the cannula, not really in it.
Hi Guys:
Well, I am so lucky to have you available.
Eric & Daniel - you were absolutly right.
I tested my BS about every two hours - all night - and my little Pod is working just fine.
This is a most interesting learning experience.
Thank you again,
You really make a difference in the Girls life.
Susan
I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve made the right choice. I have yet to make it for 3 days with a pod. The 1st one lasted 10 hours, the 2nd for 26 hours, and the 3rd one for 48hours. Teah, the lenghth of time is creeping up- but this is getting kinda’ old.
They have all said “Occlusion”. The one this morning - I was just walking across the room. I don’t think I’ve done anything to dislodge them- and the cannulas were all in place. Is there a trick that I don’t know about to keep them working?
Wow - Leigh - sounds weird.
- Did you call Insulet - they have been wonderful to me.
- Have you spoken with the person who trained you?
- Are you being sure not to place the cannula over any spot that may not work so well, any brown dot on your skin or scar tissue?
- Are you trying it on your abdomen? Easiest place for me.
- Are you sort of “pinching” up the skin where the cannula goes in - seems to get in better that way.
I am sure other people here will have better thoughts about this than I do.
But thats all I can think of right now.
Once its working right - it is absolutly wonderful.
Keep trying!!!
Susan
No, I haven’t called them yet, but I guess I’m going to have to. I’ve been doing all those things, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
I’ve got this one on my R) hip. We’ll see how it goes.
Face it- I’m the epitome of Murphy’s Law.
If you have it on a place where there is a lot of movement – bumping, muscle contraction, rubbing from clothes, etc. – that might be your problem. For me, the easiest spot is the abdomen. Where have you been placing yours? One more thing, make sure you get a replacement pod for all of your failures. Call Insulet with the lot number, and they will send you a replacement.
OCCLUSSION
This is becoming my greatest concern about using my Omnipod. I have been using the Omnipod for about 24 days and have had to changes pods 4 times because of occlussion. I am beginning to think that my body and the Omnipod don’t go together. I have tried both the abdomen and recent started with the thigh. Spoke with Insulet and again told me to pinch up and me to change locations. I don’t know at this point what I am doing wrong , but my failure rate due to occlussion is getting high.
Have you ever used a pump before? The only thing I can figure is that maybe some people’s blood coagulates too readily for a thin cannula. Maybe taking a baby aspirin a day would help?
I know how you feel. I have worn the Omnipod for 24 days and have had 4 occlussions. Today I started wearing it on my thigh and within 4 hours I had a occlusion ( 60 mile from home with 200 blood sugar). Ths only positive thing is that Insulet is going to send me replacements.
Yes, I pumped with a minimed 3or 4 years ago.Never had anything like this to happen. I’ve placed it on either side of my abdomen and on both outer thighs. Insulet says they’re going to call the service rep ( of course I left her card at home this morning- you can bet that her # will be in my cell this afternoon!).
Anyway, Insulet is going to replace the pods. I’m going to ask my CDE to write an extra bottle of insulin a month, because I’m kinda’ worried about running out!
By the way, I’ve been on low dose asa for years. The opthalmologist says I have venous stasis and that’s supposed to help. If it does, I’d hate to do without it! (I know, I need some cheese to go with the whine today- sorry.)
If I have a pod fail that has a significant amount of insulin in it, I remove it with the syringe to put in the next pod.
Do your pods have a clicking sound when you inject the pod with insulin? Do you fill the pod up with plenty of insulin? I don’t really want to ask you things that you do, but suggest things that you might not be doing…
It dawned on me to do that AFTER I tossed the 1st one. One of my Homer Simpson moments (Doh).