Hi All,
I will greatly appreciate your experiences & valuable input as omnipod users on this issue .
My daughter is about to turn 2 (1.9y)& we're considering all pump options .
We really liked omnipod as a pump without a tube & with its easy to insert &smaller size new pods .
But we still need as many inputs as we can get , good & bad .
So what do you think ?
I can't imagine that a tubeless pump would not be considerably more convenient to use on an infant than one with a tube.
Hi Avi e,
I am an adult using the OmniPod but hopefully some of this might be helpful. I want to tell you that my heart goes out to you. I remember when I was dx at age 10 and how overwhelmed I was, I look back now and say I was fortunate that I was 10 and not just turning 2. There is hope that one day none of us will be challenged with diabetes but until then we'll just stick together and battle the challenges one day at a time.
I am guessing that for a toddler that keeping the infusion set or pod secure would be one of my biggest concerns. The OmniPod is the only device that I know of that is concise and compact without any extra things to grab on to. You can also use decorative wraps or tape to cover the pod to prevent a little one from grabbing a hold of it. The adhesion is quite good which is great to prevent any insulin leakage and challenging when you have baby skin.
I have had great improvements with my skin conditions since using the OmniPod and no visible scarring from my pods. No skin irritations while wearing them. Removal of pods is not painful for me and I don't do anything special to do it but I could imagine that for a little one removal might be a little invasive and could be irritating to to the skin.
Sometimes I remove my pods in the shower or bath and they do come off easier. For my kids anything that that requires a little more than the usual effort and I'm worried about their sensitive skin; I spray rubbing alcohol first and let it sit for a few minutes to remove the adhesive before removal. Just trying to be careful that there are no cuts or abrasions in the area if I'm going to use alcohol. You can also use warm water with salt or nail polish remover with acetone or even baby oil before removing any adhesive item. There is also an adhesion removal spray at the medical supply stores if needed.
I enjoy being able to go to sleep with no tubes or pumps to find a home for. I am comfortable sleeping on my pods. I use the contours of the pods and angle them just slightly to find the best spots to lay on them. Showering and bathing is effortless for the most part. I'm a little gentler around my pods to keep them secure but I wash up without really paying much attention. They stay secure after getting wet.
The best part for me is not having to disconnect except to change my pod. I feel my sugars elevate when I go without insulin even for short periods so I love that I'm connected to insulin all the time.
The cannula is 6mm long which I believe is one of the shortest for depth and it is angled which might be a little more comfortable than 90 degree sets. On the Canadian version of OmniPod, I am able to use as low as .05 units per hour for a basal and a bolus which would be an important feature to check to see if the increment is small enough for someone who is young whether it be OmniPod or another pump. I'm not sure what the common dosing basal and boluses would be when you are almost 2 years old. The boluses have increments of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 units.
The pod is very light weight for me as an adult and I have heard the same for children that wear it. It weighs just under an oz w/o insulin. Most of the time I don't even notice it's there unless it clicks or beeps.
I find the reminders and alerts useful not annoying and I'm able to customize most of them depending on what I'm doing or where I am. I really like that I bring only 2 backup pods and some rubbing alcohol with me where ever I go. Their compact and everything fits in a small purse. All the things for my change are in my pod pack and my PDM case. I can change a pod in about 2 minutes and have done it camping by flashlight even. It primes itself so I mostly just need to put the insulin in the pod and push a few buttons.
The hands free insertion feature is really helpful for me for additional site accessibility and I would imagine that for a toddler it would be even more helpful for other reasons. Once you affix the pod you have two hands free during the insertion process especially to hold your little one. The pain is sharp and quickly gone but needles aren't a treat for anyone even if you can limit how painful they are. I know I always want to try to comfort my kids when they have to get a needle. You can use orajel and other numbing agents too. They might help a bit. I used Emulgel when my daughters got their ears pierced, its an anesthetic gel for numbing the skin. The hospital used it when my son got blood work when he had his tonsils out.
I could give you more info if you like or if you want to ask any questions please feel free. I am not a HCP so I am not sure if there are any specific reasons that would restrict the use for someone who has diabetes at age 2. I can tell you if there was no medical restriction given to me and I had to make the choice for my children I would be confident using the OmniPod. This device has been remarkably well suited for me.
In the beginning I had some failures but I think they were more user error as a beginner since now I don't have the same issues at all. There are on occasion that I have had a pod fail but OmniPod has replaced it no questions asked and there was an alarm right away to tell me something was going wrong, so I simply changed the pod. I had one in the last 20 pods and it failed during the priming process not while it was on me. With the extra freedoms I have now, I cannot say that I would trade that for a traditional pump but you really have to find the device that is best suited for each individual and the needs of that person.
I cannot imagine a little toddler running around with a pump attached when there is an option like the OmniPod. I think it is a vast improvement over how things used to be. Even the Animas rep admitted to me when we were looking into a pump for my son that all the companies will be going tubeless. It is the wave of the future. So we decided we might as well get on the tubeless bandwagon sooner than later. So happy we made the choice!
I actually have used a pump with a tube on a child about your daughter's age. It isn't really that much of a hardship. What I did was, I sewed pockets on the backs of my son's shirts and PJs and cut a small slit, about 3/4 of an inch long, through the pocket and the shirt's back. The tube and clip went through the hole, and the pump and extra tubing stayed tucked into the pocket. It had the added advantage of keeping the pump away from anyplace the child could mess with it (my son likes to press buttons!) and out of the way of being bumped or dropped for the most part.
So, whatever pump you decide to use, with or without tubing, there are ways of dealing with the inconveniences.
The only problem I have is, my son is now almost 7, and after having a pump for almost 5 years, now he doesn't want to switch over to wearing the pump on his belt. He is so used to having its weight on his back that he says it feels funny to wear a shirt that doesn't have a pump pocket!
Hi Joe ,
I agree totaly that tubless is much better for tolders.
however I’m worried to commit & thats several reasons why:
2)in my country the insurance covers exacly 10 pods pet month & if they fail you have to buy it from your own pocket(which is a pricy buisness).
3)the local omnipod &pod providers has poor service (as i heard also insulet has the same poor service)
Did U encountered this issues ?
Is omnipod worth the risk?