You gotta be connected to the internet. Insulet sends a (cell phone like) controller with the 5. You need a separate cell phone for the Dexcom app. You can’t run the 5 with the Dexcom receiver, you have to run the Dexcom app on your cell. Omnipod 5 runs thru the cloud, so if you loose internet connection, I assume you can still deliver insulin, but you loose the AI functionality. For us, it shouldn’t matter because we plan to run manual.
Walmart thinks they can consistently supply Dash pods and they had them in stock when I checked. I requested an RX for syringes and Dash pods be sent to Walmart. An RX for syringes was submitted, filled, and picked up Walmart. So, now the only hang up is an RX. I called the clinic, waited on hold for half an hour, and made another request with a nurse. I might be close to home free.
There will be a ■■■■ ton of mandatory training and appointments in order to upgrade to 5, so it is a labor intensive strategy to fill a pod script, but it might be best way to go. I dunno.
The O5 starter pack comes with the PDM but you can forget about it pretty quick if you use either the andriod or iphone app. If you use the O5 app on a phone the app will connect to the pod and get the dexcom data from the pod. As shown the dexcom can also connect to the phone and the dexcom app or nightscout or whatever.
The O5 algorithm runs on the pod just like all the other AID pumps in the US. Its just basic math, no AI, and doesn’t need the internet. This is the huge advantage these pumps have over looping because the on pump software is way more reliable than a cellphone. Admittedly this doesn’t matter if the algorithm doesn’t work for you. The app or PDM will complain if it hasn’t connected to the Omnipod cloud once every 7 days.
I loath going into Wally World but their pharmacy ain’t bad.
What do you mean by O5 algorithm. I don’t wanna run no algorithm…at least not upfront. If I get thrown into jail, or if I have a stroke or a seizure, I would consider “trying” this O5 algorithm…whatever it is. I am NOT willing to use so much as a bolus calculator. I don’t want any IOB calculations. I want pure manual mode.
I am willing to do a two week test and set my basals. I haven’t done that since I upgraded to dash. The week I got kicked off of dash onto my omnipod classic, the numbers looked pretty good. But I should still run a 2-week test.
Its all for nothing anyway if they don’t issue a new dash pod Rx.
One of the pharmacists joked that I should buy all my supplies, over the counter, at Walmart and then send the receipts to my insurer for reimbursement. It’s funny. I might. I need to get some additional details about this law. I really like this new law you found. It removes a lot of animosity I felt towards healthcare…not all, but a lot.
Look how many of these prescriptions are diabetes-related. That’s too many prescriptions for them to lord over me. I want an amendment to this bill that says they have to prescribe year long, or permanent lifetime prescriptions. You think I could pull that off?
Yes to both.
The Om 5 can run on “manual mode” 24/7, makes it work with your basal settings just like the Dash. This can be done with either thr PDM or the iphone app. (Sorry, I know nothing about the other phone os capability). You can bolus using the pod or using syringe and vial, does not matter when in manual mode. And the dexcom does not have to be connected to the pod software, it can be independently CGM ing 24/7.
Thanks, John. Just checking.
I don’t want to get strong armed by my insurer out of making my own treatment decisions. I worry sometimes that they will stop writing RX’s if I don’t operate the pump via the algorithm. They can do stuff like that by putting pressure on the Doc. I feel like they use the “paperwork madness” of 7-9 prescriptions as a means of strong arming me now because some piece of paperwork is always out of order with this many scripts.
Your post sure got a lot of feedback, which is good.
I am on Medicare and they tend to expect multiple visits a year to a PCP or Endo when paying for T1D-type prescriptions. My Endo reviews the last two weeks of data from my Dexcom CGM, we discuss if any changes to my meds and doses are needed, and we are done in less than 15 minutes. I am not sure, but I think I have 3 appointments with her per year. So I personally would not be upset if my insurer expected me to see my doctor several times a year, and last July was a long time ago.
I was a happy customer of Walgreens Pharmacy for several years, but they were clearly increasingly understaffed and overworked (though the employees were working as hard as they could to provide good service).
I switched pharmacies – Wellcare with pickup at the local Safeway Pharmacy, and CVS. I have had no refill problems since I switched.
I recommend you spend your time getting an appointment with your Endo or PCP, then investigate if there are some other good pharmacies in your aea.
I know this Walmart can do dash refills. They had them in stock when I went in. Walmart has the most sophisticated distribution networks in existence. The pharmacy tech was hot ■■■■ when I went in there. She knew everything about everything.
I refuse to go to more than one endo appointment per year to fill scripts. I think can make this happen. I have a few different strategies to try. There better not be a law on this.
I hope I never live long enough to be on Medicare.
Healthy, working age adults do not take four work days off a year to see an endocrinologist. That’s absurd. You would be fired. I don’t think they should even be able to ask me to do that. It’s an unnecessarily high burden and it doesn’t benefit me in anyway.
I didn’t do that as a kid - I had once annual appointment and all the scripts were good for a year. I’m a grown adult now.
Show me a law that says that I, as a diabetic, have to attend four visits to an endocrinologist per year. I don’t think it exists. It’s demeaning. We all know that a Doctor hasn’t adjusted my insulin dosages in 30 years. Endo visits don’t provide me with any medical benefit, except occasional lab work and script filling. We all know that to be true. What possible medical benefit could there be?
The only medical benefit is that they don’t take away my insulin, insulin delivery system, and Dexcom. It doesn’t seem medically responsible for them to take a Dexcom away from a T1. It seems medically negligent. Isn’t that kinda what this law is implying…implicitly?
What medical justification could there ever be for knowingly sending mohe0001 intentionally down the black path? That’s the executioners path that ends in death. The green path is the only path where I could conceivably survive.
I guess the difference, after nearly 60 years as a T1D, is I get value from these discussions with my Endo. But you make an excellent point about having to take time off.
Ever since Covid, all my 15 minute Endo appointments have been virtual (using Zoom). She did say though, that Medicare is talking about ending reimbursements for virtual appointments later this year, but you are not on Medicare, so you might consider asking your Endo about online appointments. Hopefully that would result in less time off, perhaps only an hour 3 times a year.
I have to say that when I was working, my company gave us some paid days off due to medical reasons. Short times off did not require a letter from the doctor. I worked with professionals and we did not abuse this benefit.
But I know that would not work at some companies or for some jobs. Ideally you can find a solution. Good luck.
The pharmacists say that the scripts exist to prevent fraud. I think they can still do this without limiting access to a script.
It’s not JUST the four days off of work. It’s the 2 weeks of data collection and analysis I do prior to an appointment to reset all my dosages. They don’t do that. I do that. YOU HAVE TO DO THAT before starting an APS system. That ■■■■ has to be finely tuned. It’s not easier to be on a 5. It’s harder.
That bill brings with it a certain amount of economic freedom that I have never had before…and medical leverage. The world is different now.
Walgreens might have closed out the script.
The insurer called and told me to schedule with a Doc. I did.
I wrote and called to request a script for syringes and the Dash.
If I get a script this week, I can try to move forward. If not, I guess I have to find a new Doc. I dunno. I’m still working on syringes.
I switched from Walgreens to a local shop a couple years ago and have had zero problems since then. I have had zero incidents where I needed something in the middle of the night, but even if I had, that prescription can always be sent to any 24-hour pharmacy in the case of an emergency (by whomever is covering the doctor’s nighttime answering service.) I have had no problems getting my pods or dexcom sensors or anything of that sort. Walgreens is on the verge of failure for a host of reasons, so I would abandon that sinking ship while you still can.
Also, I thought it was well known that the insurers require a minimum number of visits with your endo per year. For me, I think it’s a minimum of 2. It’s just part of the deal, and similarly, I have to see my rheumy at least twice a year to get RA meds covered. So that part, I think, is not out of the ordinary.
You think so? It seems like it, but they say otherwise. There are so few pharmacies left. I don’t know what will happen if Walgreens fails. It will be big trouble.
I’ll call and ask them. I have commonly had a Doc only require one annually in the past…either from an endo or a family practice.
If I let them have their way, they would have me taking a day off of work for some appointment or other, 8 times per year. I can’t accommodate that. It makes you look completely disabled or like a child sneaking off with a Doctors note. It’s absurd.
Strangely, the insurer says that they don’t require any number of visits per year. Of course, the practical reality is that the Doc is gonna write a one-year script, so your gonna have to do one visit per year. I’ve never seen an insulin prescription that lasted 5 years, but such a thing might be possible to obtain.
I don’t think I really believe them. But, I’ll accept that answer for now.
I’m still waiting for approval to get access to the pharmacists secret forum. I’ll ask them is Walgreens is failing and see what they say. I want to establish a digital communication channel between them and us so we can ask them occasional questions and tell them how we intend to bring down the PBMs. https://www.truthrx.org/forum?feedType=all-posts
