Hi Steve - Yeah, I had one pod that informed me that it deactivated just after I finished filling it. It only happened once to me but it seems you really hit a bad string. At least the Insulet customer service is not stingy with their pod replacements. But getting the pod replaced was not as important to me as dependability and consistency. I'd much rather prevent the failure in the first place.
I wish you luck with whatever you decide to do.
By the way, I'm nearing the end of a three day site run on my return to the Animas Ping. My CGM shows a flat line at 102 mg/dl. The site is obviously not stale and I sure do like not dancing to the absolute 72-80 hour O'pod duration limit. So far, so good. I hope my luck holds!
Terry, I haven't had the problems that you had, but I have some feelings that are similar to yours. I am opposite your situation in every way. I was diagnosed in February at the age of 25. I did MDI for 3 months or so, then was approved for the pod. I couldn't wait, because I would be able to be a lot more "free" and not bound to all the shots. Well turns out, being free is all relative. I have quickly found out the fact is no diabetic is free by comparison of how I was before I was diagnosed.
I am extremely active, which is why I was attracted to the pod in the first place. But I inevitably would knock off a pod a month, sometimes I would do this when I am out and I didn't have the necessary back up supplies to change pods. Couple that with always doing math to figure out where I will be when the pod will expire, and the pod is a persistent bugger (I mean really, what isn't with this stuff.) Besides the pods being knocked off occasionally, I have had no problems whatsoever. I consider myself lucky. But I decided to go on a pod vacation. I had a few leftover flex pens of levemir and novolog that have expiration dates, so what the heck. To my surprise, I have really enjoyed the "freedom" of no pods. Yes, we all know the disadvantages of mdi vs. pods, but I had a peace of mind knowing that everywhere I went, the insulin I needed was right there. There are so many examples that the pod, although it's not a major nuisance in my life, is a very minor one. I didn't realize after I added up all those minor ones, it equaled a small headache. Now I know after a few weeks or months of mdi, the headaches of that will show its head as well. I guess I have found there's no perfect answer. I'm assuming I will go back on the pump and just take a week vacation every few months or so. I'm going to go on mdi as long as I can stand it just to make the best decision.
Hi Benjamin - I'm glad to read that you're willing to experiment with different treatment modes. To be successful, a T1 diabetic needs to find a happy balance between living life and paying sufficient attention to the nuts and bolts of diabetes management. Since you now have experience with both MDI and the pods you can see for yourself the pros and cons of each. And you can factor in your own personal preferences and lifestyle values. You've also made yourself proficient in both modes and can then switch back and forth to suit your needs.
Each of us has our own unique situation and body. You've just started your diabetes "career" while I've been at it for 29 years. Because of that long duration (26 years of insulin pumps) I know that I have trouble with consistent absorption, particularly on certain places on my abdomen. That was part of the problem I had with the Omnipod but not the whole thing.
I've returned to using my four year old Animas Ping pump and I'm experimenting with some different infusion sets. I'm also going to experiment with using some new sites on my lower back. I talked with another T1D who has successfully used these sites. I'm trying to rehab my abdomen with massage and using a loofa sponge when I shower.
I've placed an order for another Animas Ping. With it I get the option to upgrade for $99 to their next generation pump, the Vibe, when it comes out, hopefully early 2013.
The Vibe will come with an integrated Dexcom G4 CGM. I already have the G4 CGM and it's working out well. When I upgrade to the Vibe, I'll have, in essence, two receivers, the Dex G4 stand-alone receiver and the Vibe pump itself. This will give me two receivers to use at night and then I'll most likely just depend on the Vibe pump/receiver to serve me during the day.
You sound like you have a good attitude about taking care of your diabetes. That is a critical attribute. Good luck to you and thank you for reaching out to me. I fear that I've offended a few people on this site and I'm very happy to give some feedback to someone like you. I'm not that different from you, just a few decades older! I was diagnosed with T1D when I was 30.
We are having the same issues with the Omnipod, and they have started to happen more often than they ever used to. I think that my daughter has been using it for over 3 years now, I'd have to check. I am having to change the pods out early more often than not, and also the highs after changing are more often now too. They don't happen every time though, so I don't feel like I can have her bolusing just because it is a pod change. Sometimes it is right away, sometimes not for a few hours. Just really unpredictable, and this never happened with tubed pumps.
I fought hard to get this pump covered for her, because our insurance didn't want to cover it two years ago when we had to change plans. I am trying to wait for the Vibe, because with her disability, she may make a mistake entering the dose on the Ping. Since she has the Dex 4, I don't really want to go back to Medtronic. She also used a Cozmo, but of course that is no longer a choice.
One problem may be that we can only use her arms for sites. Now that we are using Silesse, maybe I could try another area. The itching was horrible with anything else that we tried, on any area except the arms. I rotate as much as possible on her arms, so I am not convinced that is the issue. Especially when I seem to be seeing more posts about this lately. There is a thread on the CWD parents board right now also.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am considering the OmniPod and, if I do move forward, I will at least check into my insurance company's policy on getting a different pump if it doesn't work out.
MaryMary - I went to CWD site and read the comments of mostly mothers with T1 children. Like motivated T1D adults themselves, parents of children with diabetics exercise an incredible knowledge of living with T1D.
Parents reporting pod change highs and occlusions supports my hypothesis that something yet to be sufficiently understood and identified hampers Omnipod therapy for a significant slice of T1s.
This is a complicated issue. I know that site absorption problems also occur with other pumps. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the Onnipod is the inability for the user to switch to another style infusion set.
I also plan to use the Vibe when it comes out. In the meantime I have placed an order for a new Ping. By the way, the use of the meter remote is not required for Ping use. I stopped using my meter remote a few months after I went on the Ping in 2008.
Good luck with finding a routine that works for your daughter. Your devotion to your daughter's welfare is amazing!
You're welcome, Mike. At least you'll be aware of the issues before you make the typical four year warranty commitment that most of us with insurance have to make.
Hi Terry - My problems with the Omnipod are continuing so I am going back to my old Paradigm until June. I'm researching the Ping and the Vibe and would really appreciate your input as to the overall benefits you have experienced with the Ping. Thanks!!
Hi Terry, I looked it up and she has been using the Omnipod for 3 1/2 years. We have never had so many problems and with all of the posts that I am seeing I really think it may be the pods themselves. I tried an ab site today and within two hours she started to climb. She did a correction at 3pm, but by 5:30 she was almost to 300. I simply cannot and won't accept that. I think that I may have to start being a lot more aggressive with increased basals for 5 or 6 hours along with a bolus of 1 unit. Since she has the Dex, she can always turn it off if she starts to go low.
The reason we did the cut the cord program was that I was afraid that no choice of infusion would be a problem. She is ready to go back to a tubed pump and I'm not worried about the remote. I have real reason for concern though if she has to copy the bolus. She tends to reverse numbers at times and even will leave off a number when I ask her what her bg is. She has scared me many times saying that she is 32, instead of 132, etc.
I wanted to update that since the initial high after putting this pod on her stomach, it has been great. I am hopeful that we can just keep being more aggressive to keep these post pod change highs in line, we will stay with it. I don't give up easy on something that I really like. I had no idea before that people were doing such large basal increases, and now that I have done it, I won't be afraid to do it again.
I can't cite any specific strengths of the Ping system, just that's it's overall a dependable performer. The things I like about the Ping are features common with many pumps, like it's calculation of customized carb and meal boluses.
One thing that I do like about the Ping compared to the Medtronic pumps is that the Ping uses any standard luer lock infusion sets. I'm not limited to the ones chosen by the pump company. This has been nice recently as I've been experimenting with different sets.
The Ping, as well as the Medtronic pumps, has proven durable for everyday use. I have used both brands over many years.
I do have a few complaints about the Ping. It's belt clip is poorly done and requires extra attention every time I have to attach it to my belt. When I'm out in bright sunlight wearing sunglasses, the screen is not visible at all.
Hopefully, by the time you make your next pump decision in June, the Vibe will be out in the U.S. and you can get some feedback from more users here.
It's now been two weeks since I returned to the Ping system from the Omnipod. My average BG has fallen and glucose variability reduced. I'm happy with the results and feel that I made a good decision for me, given my personal experience.
I'm glad to read that you're making adjustments to counteract pod change highs. It's hard to confidently make aggressive insulin changes as that tactic can backfire and cause a hypo. But you have to respond to pod change hyperglycemia or spend many hours high with each and every pod change. That is definitely not good in the long run.
Thank you , Terry, and I'm glad you made the best move for yourself and that you are getting good results. It's an extremely individualized decision. There are so many variables. Educated trial and error is the only way to find what works for us. I'm glad I gave the Omnipod a try but it didn't work out for me for all of the reasons we've discussed.
No need to "with all due respect," everyone has their own experiences. I am happy with the performance of pod as well, just not sure if I'm sold on any medical device bigger than a dex sensor on me all the time.
Just to understand, which is the ratio between your basal and total insulin daily dose ? I guess the higher the basal the worse high you get on pod change. Do you change pod just before a bolus ? They say it helps, cause a bolus gives enough insulin to "start" the site and giving a little more insulin is less prone to hypo.
Not sure if the question was for me or not, but my daughter's basal at the time of her pod changes is 0.6. I really don't think that is a factor though, because parents of little ones with super low basal rates seem to report much higher numbers, some all the way to HI on their meters.
I did just have an AHA moment though. These problems for us seem to have gotten worse since she stopped taking Metformin. That may very well have something to do with it.
Hi Benjamin, I have just started wearing the next generation pods. They are about 2/3 the size of the old ones. Still bigger than the DEx sensor but aonther step forwards in the right direction in my opinion.
