Hi we have had the omnipod now for a little over 6 months. My son has complex needs. He cannoy walk or talk and we are not sure of his level of understanding. The past few weeks he has started to pull his pod off. We sometimes go through 3 a day. I am at a total loss. We have tried sports tape, micropore tape, plasters, medical tape and when his arms heal we have vet bandage to try. I love the pod and the freedom he can have with it but he just will not leave it alone. His arms are torn up fron pulling it off and i think we are going to have to throw in the towel and get a new pump which i dont want to do. We are in the uk so there is only so much the nhs will shell out. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Have you tried placing it where he can’t reach it quite as readily, like the higher part of his lower back perhaps? My daughter no longer uses her arms as Pod sites (because she uses her arms exclusively for her Dexcom sensors.) Plus she says that she was more aware of her Pods when she used to wear them on her arms. She describes being somehow able to “feel their presence” more when they were on her arms (perhaps because they were within her peripheral vision?) Plus if you only use your son’s arms, you are risking developing lipoatrophy and lipodystrophy.
I don’t understand how switching to a tubed pump will prevent him from ripping out sites that he is capable of reaching.
I agree with @rgcainmd. It doesn’t seem like the type of pump would matter if he keeps pulling it off. Maybe MDI are better for this situation? I have found that if I place a pod on my son while he is asleep (and is in a location that is hard to see), he doesn’t realize it’s there for quite a while.
I’ve never used an Omnipod, but I think the others have offered some valid suggestions and try placing it more in an area that is harder to reach. Is it possible maybe your son has some kind of sensory issue, and the Omnipod just is really irritating to him? I’m not sure how successful a tubed pump will be if he’s ripping out an Omnipod. A tubed pump I think is going to be even more easy to rip out. I’d try a different location for his Omnipod, maybe where it is more difficult to reach, watch to see maybe if he’s even in a more difficult to reach location if it is seeming to be bothering him. My guess is maybe it is some sensory issue, or else he’s just able to easily reach the pods, and doesn’t understand he shouldn’t be ripping it out.
Sounds like he’d just be better off with MDI (multiple daily injections). I certainly understand your desire to have the latest and greatest for him, but if he doesn’t tolerate an omnipod he probably won’t tolerate any other pump either. I don’t think that’s a huge loss though, I choose MDI over pumping myself…