I had a pod that completed a bolus then just went into a long beep that didn't quit until the pod was smashed.
Has anyone had that happen? does anyone know what could have caused it? How often does it happen?
If you look at your PDM, it should give an error message. Go to "My Records". Click on Alarm History. If there was an error, click on the info icon and you'll get a number. By the way, I've never been able to get Insulet to interpret that number. If you call Insulet and IF the alarm happened prior to 48hrs into use, they should replace the malfunctioning pod. I've had my pod alarm during a bolus a couple of times when I was mirowaving. That's pretty scary to me for other reasons. If their was an occlusion, that message should have appeared on screen. As for frequency ...not many times for me. I've been a happy podder for the most part. My only series of bad events seemed to be involving pods with a lot number ending in 666 SERIOUSLY!
I have had the continuous thing only 2 times in 2 years. Insulet replaced them, so it wasn't a big deal. I have no idea what causes that.
I've got one doing that right now. The funny way to fix it is to freeze it. So mine's sitting in our freezer right now. I took it out, and after it thawed it started up again. I'll probably dismantle it later to take out the speaker connections. They are quite easy to take apart, because there's just a rubber gromit holding the top of the pod together.
You can also stop that infernal beeping by sticking a paper clip in it...just where, I'm not sure.
Like Shadow, I've had that happen 3 or 4 times in as many years. Twice it was during activation and Insulet replaced them. I just chalk it up to mechanical error when it has happened further into the 3 days. I use the freezer also, and then toss it into the trash on trash day. Hopefully, I don't alarm the sanitation workers!
The long beep seems to mean the pod has died. I've only got it when the pod runs out of insulin or when I let the pod run the full 40+ hours. The latter happens whenever I travel because I like to replace the pod in the evening, so I let the pod run to the long beep to catch up with the time change.
In all those cases, however, the PDM could still communicate with the pod and was able to shut off the beep.
The reset hole is probably too small for a toothpick, and I wouldn't fancy trying a sewing needle (too much point on the other end). I think it's probably a lot easier just to pop the clear bottom off with something flat and (for safety) blunt then pop the battteries out. The bottom is just a push fit, held in place with a silicone gasket. Removing it exposes the needle, inside the canula, but it's still recessed inside the cloudy top body so you just need to know it's there to avoid poking it into your finger.
John Bowler jbowler @ acm.org
I have used a needle to stop the long beep. It works, but in one case, I had to leave it in the pod until the battery died.
If a pod won't stop beeping, I just pry the two halves apart. Sometimes I can do this by hand, sometimes it takes a screwdriver worked around the perimeter between the two halves of the shell. There is a spring that provides power to the speaker. Remove the spring, and the pod will not make any noise.
If you pop open a pod, there are two springs that are used to contact the speaker. I'd just remove the springs. They should just fall out.
Edit: Just saw Jim's response below. :)