How many pods a month do you guys use? I'm preparing for my first Omnipod experience and am trying to figure out how much insulin I'll need based on this. I'm wondering how often they fail or leak and if you change them every 2 or 3 days.
Any other advice for a newbie? Thanks!
You can wear the pods up to 80 hours if you have enough insulin in it,. I don't have problems with failing or leaking. It CAN happen I guess. I've been wearing/ using the Omni Pod for 2 1/2 years.
Don't think negatively...Once you get it adjusted to you, and you to it, you will love it.
Good Luck
Thanks, Dee! Very good to hear about your not having these issues. Just hoping to prepare for it in case :)
I wear my pods for 3 days. I change them when they are convenient for me (sometimes before or after the 72 hours). At the beginning I was very nervous about some of the issues that are very common with learning a new insulin regimen (occlusions while figuring out what sites work for *me*, uncomfortable locations, etc. They were all my own user error). Anyway - I was totally freaking out about the number of pods I was using and what would happen if I ran out before the auto shipment came. My rep put me at ease and let me know that Insulet understands that there is learning curve and wants to make sure that I had success. That means that if I continued to have the same issues (let's say occlusions) they wanted me to meet up with a trainer to make sure I was figuring out why. After the first 2 to 3 weeks, I had it down and the issues/problems decreased. I am confident that as I understood how to use this system, the wrinkles ironed themselves out.
All this is to say that it's normal to question your stash of supplies at the beginning. If you truly are going to run out, contact your rep or CS and they should be able to work with you to make sure you transition into the new pod successfully.
Oh - and I would not want to change pods every 2 days if I didn't have to. I would run out of real estate very quickly!
Good luck!
Hi Annie,
I've been on the OmniPod since 2007 and I LOVE MY PODS. lol It's a little bit of a learning curve just like anything else but if anything goes wrong just call the number on the back of your PGM 24/7 and they'll talk you through it. Your doctor should be able to do the same. I change my pod every 3 days so it's 10 pods a month but I only have 100 units of insulin in them. I never had a problem with leakage although sometimes the catheter crimps and a little blood fills the window but that doesn't happen often. Just remember if something goes wrong with the pod, don't throw it away and look at the error code on your pgm, call insulet and they'll have you send it back to them and they'll replace it. I threw a couple of them away and they still replaced them for me after I read the errors to them. They're very good about that. You'll also get a pretty thick instruction manual which is easy to follow and you have all of us here!!! Good luck.
THANK YOU so much for asking this question! I am also starting on the Omnipod soon and had similar questions.
I was so excited to start on the OmniPod System. Just the thought of no more shots in my belly for 3 whole days and the catheter insertion is painless.... just a little pinch and aside from the insulin features there's also a food library incorporated into the pgm in case you don't know the carbs you're eating. It's extremely helpful. Good luck to you. :-)
hey annie,
I'm using the pod for 4 weeks right now and I started with it at the hospital.
I stayed there for 2 weeks and everything was fine...but back at home i had a little trouble with it-
leaking and crimbling canula, high numbers, pod errors, ketones etc.
But since one week it really works better. I found out the right places, got a CGM Dexcom for one week and became less excited or fearful about it. I guess if there are mistakes at the beginning it's just because you need to learn to manage the system and get convenienced about it, then it will all work.
and think positive and do not put too much pressure on you (sorry I'm from germany...my english).
I did this because of planning pregnancy, working a lot etc. and I guess this caused the stress and some mistakes with the system.
good luck and much fun with the pod
Once you get your ratios/basals established....usually takes a little ttweeking, you'll find that you'll be using a lot less total insulin than previously. I take note of the average total inslin for the previous 3 days and add a litttle more than that amount to the pod. This has worked out quite well for me. Don't want to waste insulin!! I have great success with the pod. Wishing you well.
For several years Caleb changed his Pod every 3 days. Since using Apidra it's now every 2 days. I've found pros and cons to this. The cons are we have to do changes more often and we use more of everything. The pros are that we almost never have any insulin delivery issues, including kinks, and his skin/sites heal much more quickly.
Good luck!
Just a warning that our Pharmacy Tech called because he thought my son was going to overdose on the amount of insulin we were getting in our 90 day supply. It was a lot more than on his MDI pens because he was changing his pod several times a week in the beginning due to the learning curve. We were also storing an emergency vial in the nurses office and athletic training room at school.
He now has put a note on the RX that my son is pumping so that each time they don't have to call and verify the dosing. We have recently reduced the dosage on the RX because we no longer fill with all 200 units and don't have so many occlusions where we lose the insulin in the pod.
Good luck.
Thanks, Kate! That is reassuring that they will work with you if too many of these things happen!
Awesome! Thanks, Janet!
Let me know how your experience is, Rachel! I'm starting this coming Monday.
Don't you love the Dexcom, Franzis? Could you only have it for a week? It will help me keep an eye on things, thank goodness!
How long were you in the hospital for it? They don't do it that way here. I'll work with a nurse for a few hours and then go home.
Thanks, Janice! yes, I've read your insulin needs go down mysteriously with a pump. Thanks for the well wishes!
Thanks Annie, but let me know how your experience is, I should be starting on Tuesday!
Lorraine: why are you guys using Apidra? I wonder why you have less insulin delivery issues (and how common that is).
Hi Hockey Mom,
My endo put a larger number on both the insulin vial and the quickpen (for emergencies). A big difference than before! It will be for 41 units/day instead of 14 units/day. He also had to mention that it was for both the pump and emergency supplies, to make sure my insurance didn't see it as "duplicate therapy".
hey annie,
I loved the Dexcom but it' s not my personal one. my endo-team has got one and then people sometimes get it for one week- like just for rent, to see how the numbers are. there are always problems with the insurancs and paying for the dexcom. How does it work by you? Do you have a personal dexcom and change the needle every seven days?
Usually there is the possibility to change to a pump without going to hospital. You'll have to work with a nurse and your endo and every day find out the ratios, the basal- rate and so on. But I suffer from very hard lows with faint and seizure, so I needed to go to the hospital.
But right know it works very well despite all the christmas candy and punch :).
I just had 4 lows in 4 weeks and before changing to the pod I had at least one per day.