I changed my pod about an hour ago and it failed to do the two beeps after I filled it with insulin. I had this happen right after I started using pods, and I threw the unit away that time, assuming the pod had a defect. I was wondering what I should do this time, when I decided to search the forum. I found a discussion on this issue from two years ago. The consensus seemed to be that it might be an issue caused by the old (deactivated pod) being in range of the PDM. I think my “old” pod is almost always nearby when I activate a new one. Does anyone know what might be causing this issue and what, if anything, I can do to prevent it? Or is it just a "bad"pod?
Also, one person posted on that thread that you should never use a pod that fails to beep. I guess that is obvious (why try to save the pod at the expense of a problem), but can anyone confirm this is the right practice? As an experiment, I bolused and it seemed to work fine.
At the last pod change, the same happened with my daughter. The pod failed to beep; but I went ahead and used it anyways thinking that I will check her BG in about an hour and see. She had a light snack, and and hour later her BG was within range. She wore that pod for full three days.
Ok, if you can bolus it and it seems to work fine you could theoretically use it. The problem seems to just be a piezo failure. Does it beep otherwise?
Well… if the piezo is not working then there could be a safety issue. If the piezo is not working then if there’s an important failure the pod will try to “beeeeeeeeep” to warn you but it won’t be able to. You will only find out about it when you get a “Status” with the PDM.
I recommend that you don’t use it, and ask Insulet for a replacement pod.
Thank you for the replies. I just tested and my BG is in the target range, so it appears the pod is delivering insulin. I had not considered whether the piezo could have failed – which would definitely be a safety reason not to use this pod. I delivered a very small bolus and the piezo is working, so I can rule that out as the explanation for the lack of the two beeps. I am also pretty sure that I would have heard the beeps, since I changed the pod at home, in a quiet environment. So I guess I will wait and see what happens.
We just started on the Omnipod about 2 months ago. I’ve had at least 10 pods not give the two beeps when I injected the insulin. We’ve never used the pods that don’t beep. It doesn’t seem worth the risk to me. Insulet has replaced them all. I’ve asked friends, NPs, etc and I’ve been told that I should leave the pod in the plastic packing and place it on a surface where it won’t wiggle around while I’m injecting the insulin (I’ve been using a towel). Also, that I should make sure not to twist the needle and inject the insulin very slowly. Also, there’s the obvious solution of making sure the insulin is room temp. Seems a little like hocus pocus to me…however, since following these instructions I’m on a two week stretch of success. Can’t say I’m convinced yet that these changes have done the trick, but it seems to be working for now.
Omnipod will replace pods that don’t do the double beep. That is a fail and even though some of those kind have worked for my son… they tend to fail and if they fail and don’t alarm that is very dangerous. If you choose to use one… just keep at least a 3-4 hr check on it and don’t totally trust it to alarm if there is a fail.
I am very basic about these things. If it doesnt beep it doesnt go on. Also, as my youngest boy pointed out, that within 3 hours if your sugars dont drop, then change it. I have a CGM, that tends to not be wrong over the 4 hour window. So I would advocte changing Pods if something looks wrong - ie user. I have had the same with CGM that wont calibrate. The best is to change. Bearing in mind I am in the UK and pay for all CGM, and get little back on Omnipod. However, when both work, my life is great and at normal levels with everyone.
I had that happen last week.
Sometimes the beeps are very soft and hard to hear, but if I can’t hear it, I consider it a fail and don’t use it. It isn’t worth the stress and risk.
I called insulet and they had no problems issuing a replacement. I’d recommend that practice to anyone. Why play with it when there is enough to manage nd balance in our lives, and replacing it is free?
A couple of times now when this has happened to me, I slowly back the syringe out again(not all the way) and reinsert. 2 out of the last 3 times (this does not happen to me too often) the pod ends up beeping twice as designed. When my pods have not beeped, my PDM acts as if it is still waiting for me to fill insulin. Hope this helps.
This has happened to us a lot recently as well. One pod gave us the double beep 15 min after filling it with insulin and we had already pulled the insulin out of it, filled and activated a new pod. Who knows… Insulet will replace them so might as well let them.
OK, I just would like to check one thing. Everybody here is aware that you must fill the pod with at least 85 units before it will turn itself on and do the double beep, right?
No, the clicks that you hear when the pod delivers a “pulse” (0.05 U) are caused by the turnig of the drive mechanism - the toothed wheel, the drive screw and the plunger inside the reservoir.
The piezo should sound like a “beep” from a speaker.
I’ve been using the pod that didn’t beep for two days with no issues. BG are within the normal range and, as I mentioned earlier, the pod has beeped when it should, such as when insulin is delivered.
I appreciate everyone’s comments and input (even if I didn’t follow the advice of the people who said to stop using the pod). This is a great forum and I feel very fortunate to have this resource when questions arise.
It does seem like a number of people have had this problem. It would be interesting to know if there is anything we could do to prevent it in the future.
In your case, since it’s beeping normally now, I think you either didn’t hear the beeps (sometimes they are soft) or there’s an intermittent software issue with the pod when it powers up.
