So am trial with the Pod and have made three changes so far. However on two of these three I've had pod failures.
One after sticking it on it would not fire up the cannula so replaced it.
One after loading insulin and priming it let out loud beep and told me it was no good and needed replacing.
So I have four pods for recycling and one in use - two of the four pods are fails. Is this normal to have so many failures (not impressed).
No. It is not normal.
In 3 years on the pod, I have never had the cannula not deploy.
I usually have 5-6 pod failures per year. (i.e about a 5% failure rate) and they are all replaced by Insulet.
Make *sure* you do not fill past 200 U on the new pods. That causes a high probability of failure during priming or immediately after putting it on. When I stopped doing that, the failure rate of the new pods improved dramatically.
My son is also a newbie and has been on pod now for 4 weeks. We have not had any pod failures at all...he is loving it. I am sure we will get a failure eventually but not had any are on our 2nd box of pods. Did you maybe get a bad box?
Nope, not normal. But there is usually a learning curve too, so give it time.
I have been on the pods since Aug I have had 3 failures, two with the old pods one with the new, I would never go to a tube pump, well maybe if I had to and it was a choice of that or needles again. LOL. I love being a podder. Sometimes ppl seem to just get a bad batch be patient.
I agree with others that you have to be careful and get a good technique down when you replace a Pod; eventually, doing so will be easy and natural. Things to consider: be sure that the insulin is at room temperature, keep the PDM right next to the Pod you are filling, and never fill above the 200 limit. I was told to keep the Pod nestled in the Pod container while I was filling and priming it, and that seems to keep it in place and makes filling easy. Just take out the needle mechanism, put the Pod back in place in the container, and place it right next to the PDM. I always fill the Pod slowly rather than trying to "squirt" the insulin in to it. Keep trying. The Pods are worth it, and you will get better. Also, others are right that you may have just gotten a "bad" batch of Pods.
I will tell you that I have been on the Pod for five years now, and I have only had one box of "bad" Pods in that time. When I called Insulet, they replaced the entire box even though I did have five of the ten that worked. Like HPNpilot, I generally have only about 6 Pod failures a year, so having a 50% failure rate is very unusual.
I hope that by now you are having more success and are enjoying your new life with a wireless insulin pump.
This is not the first I hear of the cannula not deploying on the new pods. You really have to call these pods in.
I had great success with the old pods. However, since December 15, 2013, I've been using the smaller, new (improved?) pods I have had 26 pod failures and have returned over 50 pods. I have advised the customer representatives that I feel that the spring action of the cannula is not as strong and it is not going under my skin like the old pods. My number has sky rocketed and I hate to see what my A1C is. I am working with my endocrinologist's office. I am awaiting calls from the OmniPod field representative. I am also awaiting a call from OmniPod management, as per the customer service representative who I spoke with at 6:00 AM. By the way, since April 1 (3 days ago) I have gone thru 7 pods and it is only 7:50 AM.
I had 1 pod - in many years - that did not deploy. It just needs a couple of taps or finger flicks and it should pop. SherryAnn had great points - warm insulin (I just warm up the syringe full of insulin) slow fill. Screamers happen, but they are getting rarer.
I just put my 4th pod in within 2 days. I need to call Omnipod and let them know. I had a similar thing happen in February and they replaced 5. It is frustrating though as they don't replace the insulin lost (nor the sense of security in feeling like I can rely on my pump).
Everytime you have a pod failure call OmniPod. Reason one, they will replace the pod. Secondly, they need the data. Thirdly, let them have your failure history on record in their computer. Finally, keep a record of your pod failures. I do and I list the following: date, time, lot number, pod sequence number, reference code from PDM (in My History - All Records)and the name of the customer representative. I keep this on the last page of my tracker. Since I had so many pod failures recently, I ran out of room in the tracker and have it on an index card in rthe tracker. Maybe if I become ambitious, I will put together a spreadsheet of the data. Yes, I still love my pods.