Well, I have been wearing the “dummy” pod for 2 days now and so far I love it!!! I have had no issues with adhesion. Of course I can’t make any conclusions on pod failure or high BGs because it is a “dummy”, so I guess I will have to try a real one to see about that. I am going to see my Endo tomorrow and get her opinion on it and see if she will sign my paperwork to get this thing started. Can anyone tell me how long it usually takes to get everything done? The warranty on my Paradigm runs out in November so I am trying to get a good head start on it. Anyway, wish me luck with talking to my Endo tomorrow. I hope she doesn’t give me any flack about it.
Send her to the board. We’ll talk to her. 
Just my 2 cents: I have been on the pod for 8 months and love it. It’s my first pump, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Insulet’s customer service has been great. I didn’t have any issues with the adhesive for several months. It’s really humid where I live in the summer and a couple of months ago I had to start using Skin-Tac to keep the pods in place. It works great and I use De-Solv-It to help remove it. I think people get very attached to their pumps and their routines and the only way to really know if a particular pump is for you is to try it out.
Thanks. She was very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but she said she would suggest I find someone who can help me with it since she is not at all familiar with OmniPod and she is going to help me research and find someone that can help in my very rural area. I’ll keep posting with my experiences.
this is what is happening to me!! it almost hurts when changing pods! i have found that if i change pods after i take a shower, or get a handtowel wet with luke warm water and get the pod adhesive wet, it seems to come off better w/o feeling the “rip” of my skin! lol
myriah
Hey,
I just want to start by saying Im GLAD I ran into this site. The opinions of everyone are a great help and its good to know your not alone with problems. I’ve been a diabetic for 24 years and Im on the Omnipod. Its my first pump and I love it but, I also hate it sometimes. Ive only been on it for 5 months so far and when I was asked about what kind of pump I was intrested in I said to my nurse it HAS TO BE WIRELESS. With the work that I do and the outdoor activites Im involved in I needed something that wasnt going to have the potential of ripping out. I was also concerned with what would happen if I was sleeping and I ripped it out in my sleep. I toss and turn, something being attached the way it would have been In my opinion would not have worked. One of the reasons why I kept to using the insuline pens. When I found out there was a wireless one I was at my doctors the next day asking all sorts of questions. Some of which couldnt be answered because I needed more insite from other people ( again thank you this site is awsome! ) I love the omnipod because of the freedom it allows the user to have in everyday life. Its great for when I want to swim, when Im working out, it doesnt budge when I sleep. I do a lot of lifting at work…it never gets in the way. Ive never had it fall off.( Even after my friends 2 year old did the “Whats that” YANK! ) Ive never had a pod failure yet tho I have run into some minor issues with the insertion site ends up bleeding and I end up finding dry blood when I remove it for when the 3 days are up. And YES to who ever said removing it in the shower is helpful…I found my first day tryin to remove it a hassle and ended up soaking it. My concerns that I have with it now is that Im noticing its leaving canal sized scars all over my insertion sites. Which is a small price to pay for the freedom I want. The other is Im having a problem with the adhesive aggitating my skin. I go to remove my pod and I’ll have irritated rashes near the insertion site and towards the bottom half of the pod. And they last for days. I had my pod on my backside 9 days ago and the skin feels extremly patchy and it itches like hell. I move the pod to my thigh and the same thing. I call up the company and I was advised to use something called Bard that or IV-Prep. I cant find them anywhere. I was hoping someone had an idea. Using witchhazle or cortizone isnt helping much.
On another part of the topic - Having two insurances is a HUGE help for anyone who wants the Omnipod. Im lucky to have two because me and my husband work at two diffrent casino’s so Im double cover’d but for those who are not I would highly suggest looking up for state insurances ( if you can aside from work insurances ) Im not sure what the ratio costs are out of paycheck but for me both insurances for two people costs us less than 100 bucks a month. When I got onto the pod I paid absolutly nothing out of pocket for it and my insulin is cover’d as well. Its definitly worth the effort to at least look into the information. You never know you might end up saving from the cost of the pump, doctor appointments and any other random stuff that may call for it.
Hi Kristina,
I’ve been using Skin Tac (another IV prep that helps hold things in place) and was having a rash when I pulled off a pod (even when I used the adhesive remover that was designed for Skin Tac) that would stick around for a few days and was really uncomfortable. I was pretty sure that the rash was from the skin irritation that occurred from getting the pod off and not from the adhesive itself. I started using De-Solv-It to remove the pods. It’s citrus based and completely natural. I saturate the pod right before I deactivate it and then I let it sit for a few minutes and pull it off while my new pod is priming. It comes right off and I’ve had no skin irritation at all. I highly recommend it. It is sold at some Walmart stores but I had to call around my area and find a hardware store that had it (or you could buy it online). Here is the company link with retailers.
As for the Bards or IV prep, you’ll probably have to get those online. I’ve incorporated links to the company websites with the product names. If you do a google search for a specific product, you’ll come up with lots of online medical supply houses that will sell it.
Good Luck!
Just thought I would chime in about experiencing irritation after removing the pod - my son, Will, is 2.5 years old and has been using the pod since Jan 2008. We really like it but were also experiencing the same type of irritation. What I do is put some neosporin on after every pod change. By the time I need to rotate back to that area, it’s cleared up.
Also, you might be making the problem worse by not using an adhesive remover to take off your old pod. I buy Medi-Solv in the spray bottle online. Spray it all around the pod and while you are preparing the new one, it will work to dissolve the adhesive of the old pod. By the time you are ready with the new pod, you can easily lift off the old pod. Wipe the area with an alcohol pad to clear up any stray adhesive and then put on the neosprin.
Hope this works for you. Take care!
Thanks for the suggestions I’m going to try the neosporin for now ( because I definitly have some right now! ) until I can find the other things mentioned. =}
I am a Paradigm user, and found out about the OmniPod from the internet. To be free of tubing, what a thought! I contacted OmniPod, spoke to a young man there who seemed to know his stuff. I then went to my Internal Med PA to talk to her about it, and she gave me the ‘dummy’ pod to check it out.
I called OmniPod back after a few days of thinking it over, and found out they weren’t in my insurance network, so I put the idea on the back burner when I was told by the nice young man he would call me back when they got in my network, which they promised would be in a few months.
A few months ago, if that, I got a call from OmniPod, telling me that they were now in my network. Talk about excited!!! FINALLY, to be going tubeless!!!
WRONG!! The very next day, I got another call from a VERY apologetic OmniPod person, who informed me that the woman who called me the previous day, had given me the WRONG information, that indeed they were NOT in my network, and that she was deeply sorry. I just told her that I sure hope they didn’t give the wrong information like this to parents of young children.
I will stick with the tubes, at least I don’t get MISinformation from Medtronic.
Thank you for having this forum for pump users to help other uses, and get information for themselves!
Hey folks,
I’ve been using the omni-pod insulin pump for a little over two months now, and I have run into good as well as bad things. The good far outweighs the bad, considering I don’t have to carry around a Humalog pen anymore, and when asking someone for a writing utensil, I don’t receive the “what’s wrong with the pen in your pocket?” response. LOL! Anyways, I can say that I have never had a pod remove itself from me or anything of the sort! The only time I ran into an issue was when I rounded a corner too soon, and didn’t realize that the pod was on that arm, and even then, the adhesive didn’t break free! (cannula came out though). I haven’t had a single defective pod, however I did have a PDM error, which thanks to OmniPod support, was figured out, and I had to change the pod a day earlier than scheduled. Overall, it’s an amazing system, and they have a CGM out for it now, but it requires another handheld PDM… I already have a cell phone, and my OmniPod PDM, one more might turn me into Batman, but who knows? Let me know if ya have any questions, I’m more than up to answering anything ya throw out there about it Thanks guys!
> the adhesive didn’t break free! (cannula came out though)
Jon, when the cannula came out did you feel the insulin wetness and know if had come out or did you figure it out from your BG testing? That’s my biggest concern right now. What if the cannula comes out and I don’t immediately realize it? I would start to go hi and might not even think to check until my BG was above 200 - maybe higher depending on how things had been going. And of course worse case what if it happened while I was asleep? Would my BG go through the roof and get DKA before I woke up and realized what was happening? I realize the infusion sets on traditional pumps can get kinked/come out while sleeping so it’s not a problem exclusive to the OP but it’s still a concern of mine.
Well to be honest, I’m kind of unsure as to why I knew… as there could be a few reasons. I’m a very skinny guy haha, and I don’t have too many site options. When I went to do research on the OmniPod, my endo told me that I really couldn’t wear the pod on my stomach… as there isn’t enough subcutaneous tissue. So that being said, I’ve only worn the pod on my arm, and even there I have very little, and it sometimes hurts I feel more than it would on the average person. (more than willing to deal with the small amount of pain for the trade off results) Soooo, what I’m trying to get at is that when I hit it on the wall, it hurt enough for me to check the infusion site. OmniPod’s design of the system has a clear window where you can actually see the cannula inserted into the skin (now if its on the back of your arm, or leg, or stomach, its probably a little bit harder to see). Anyways, I looked in the window and saw the cannula had clearly removed itself, so that was a pod change. As for when I sleep, if I roll over onto it, it actually tends to wake me up, as it is again a little painful. I’ve adapted when I sleep so that I don’t accidentally roll over on it, and that’s helped alot.
Hope this helps, are you currently on CSII or are you on shots still???
Jon wrote’
they have a CGM out for it now, but it requires another handheld PDM… I already have a cell phone, and my OmniPod PDM, one more might turn me into Batman, but who knows?
Just tell people that you just beamed down and are taking some readings for Captain Kirk. (or any other Star Trek captain you choose)
I think i’m finding out that those who have pumped before don’t especially like the Pod as well as those of us who have never pumped before do. Do you find this to be true? Honestly I would have never chose the pump if I had to deal w/the tubing so the Omni Pod is literally just what the Dr. ordered!
This is really good info on the Pod. I am a CDE w/Type 1 for 36 years (yea, parents, I’m sure this must be hard-at any time, but when I was diagnosed all the literature available included information on sharpenind your needles and sterilizing your metal syringes-that said, yep the technology DOES seem to lag behind the ‘market’-but lets face it, having an iPod ‘dump’ or ‘sync’ all of it’s data without you really wanting it to isn’t going to kill anyone-having your pump do something like that WILL-let’s hear it for the FDA-geez, how often does anyone say that?!?! not me, that’s for sure!!)
OK, back to the point-this is GREAT info. In our practice, we pretty much use Minimed exclusively-with nods to Animas (I’ve SEEN the PING-and BOY, am I interested!!) They brought the Pod to our office, and as a LONG TIME pump wearer (BTW, the adjustment phase to a pump seemed to be a lot longer for me than others have-but maybe I’m more critical) and I, as a Minimed wearer, COULD NOT imagine having this BULGE attached to me-I have never had MAJOR problems with wearing the pump; though, as a thin female, and abdundantly single and dating when put on the pump-it WAS a fashion consideration, though, after some research and shopping-I found that short skirts (pump on the waistband) &/or a thigh holster (no date EVER objected to me hiking up my skirt to bolus at dinner)
HOWEVER, I’ve had 3 female patients go off their Minimed pumps through having toddlers hang feet into their tubing, or grab at it to get mommy’s attention, etc. Heck, the only problem I had like that was having a boyfriend’s 6 wk old kittens chew through my tubing while I was sleeping (settle down, middle America, I’m now a happily married 46 year old)
So, eys, I researching this more thoroughly now. The feedback is GREAT. The issues with infusion/insertion sites can be an issues with any pump, at any time. The pod malfunctions do concern me-ALOT. and, as a fully grown woman who has a heck of a time keeping track of her cell phone-I too, find it worrisome to not be able to bolus if I forgot my-whatever the “boluser” is called. Heck I have meters EVERYWHERE-car, office, purse, upstairs, etc-and NO, this was something I was doing WAY before I became a CDE. After all those years of urine tresting, and then NOT checking my blood sugar because I really didn’t know how to use the info-now I can’t live without a meter! -So, no, it’s not just kids that are up a creek if they lose an electronic device-I can tell you right now-the POD is not a good choice for me-but I do have to consider this for my patients.
So, thanks guys & girls-
I wrote back in August about how the Omnipod was not working for me, so I contacted Insulet and, after some debating, I got them to agree to refund the PDM and an unused box of pods. That was August, and by that time, they had had the products back to them for almost 2 months. So, here I am in OCTOBER, almost a full 4 months since I sent back the items to them, and still no refund check. This with multiple calls during the weeks leading up to now. I have gotten so many excuses and talked to so many “Customer Service” people that I almost know everyone in the billing department. Some of the excuses: The person handling your case left the company, so we’re trying to catch up on all his work; it’s up to the billing department; I’m only part of the billing department, I don’t handle sending the checks out; even though you paid with your credit card, we cannot refund to it, you will be getting a check soon; I’m still trying to find out what’s going on; etc etc etc. I just wish this company would send me the refund check that they promised me 4 months ago so that we can both put this behind us. Nobody there has ever given me a straight answer. So now they have both my money AND the equipment, which has probably already been given to another diabetic and is being used right now.
I try to have faith in people that they will do the right thing. I guess it’s because they don’t feel screwed over and aren’t depending on a refund check to pay for stuff. I am trying not to get involved with lawyers, but I will just to get my money back. Hopefully no one else is dealing with what I am right now. I look back now and just wish I had never even thought about trying the Omnipod. So, another round of calls to Insulet today to hear more excuses.
My daughter (age 6) had similar reactions to the adhesive. We now put down a layer of tegaderm and place the omnipod on top of it. The tegaderm is much gentler on the skin. Showering, bathing and using unisolve helps as well.
Sarah
I’ve been using the OmniPod for nearly 2 years now. I have had nothing but a positive experience with Insulet staff and the pump itself. I wear the Pod on the bad of my arms which is great for me. When i first started I would use my stomach but it got in the way when sleeping. I often forget I even have a Pod on or even which arm its on. I find myself waving the PDM around until it communicates because I don’t know which arm its on.
I can’t remember the last time a Pod has failed on me. Granted there have been the occassional times when I cut a corner too close and have ripped the Pod slightly but it continues to work and I don’t have to change it out until it expires.
I’ve pretty much done it all with the Pod on… everything from swimming, hiking,Tour de Cure 100 mile bike ride all without a problems. I believe its a great insulin pump and I can’t wait for them to come out with a small PDM.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your input. I’m glad the omnipod is working for you.
I must be incredibly unlucky then since I just had another pod fail during priming yesterday. Luckily I was at home, so no big deal, just prime another pod and chalk up another 1/5 of a bottle of insulin lost.
Although I will get a replacement pod from Insulet in 7-10 days, I really am questioning the convenience of using a tube free system over a more conventional pump. To me, it is a real inconvenience when I’m not at home and a pod fails. The question is how many pods does one carry around with them just in case of pod failure or pod nonadherence: 2 or 3 or more?
I don’t have the answer nor do I think I want to lug around 2 or 3 extra little bricks just in case one of them decides to take a nose dive.
There was a preceding comment that really sums up the varying support for the Omnipod on this blog and that is those of us who have experienced a more traditional pump with tubing before switching to the omnipod system have for the most part not had the degree of failures with pump therapy as have occurred with the omnipod system. And when problems do occur, my experience has been much more positive with regards to rectifying the problem with a company like Minimed, than with Insulet.
Again, this is my experience only but appears to ring true with other omnipod pump converters.