Hello all,
I’m new to the forum/site and am on the fence about switching from shots tothe omni pod system.I was wondering if those of you who have tryed and or currently use this system could tell me some of the pros and con’s of this particular system. thanks in advance
Pros - my daughter’s AC1 went from a 10.3 to a 6.7 in two and half months. She keeps track of her carbs a lot better since there is a built in carb/insulin ratio - as long as she is really accurate with the carb count, the insulin matches up really well. No more having to wake up at 10:00 pm because she forgot to take her night Lantus shot. No excuses to not do shot right away “I didn’t want to do my shot at lunch because there were too many people and I forgot later”
Cons - we’ve had to throw away a few pods that error’ed out (and all the insulin in it) but so far we’ve been really lucky and that hasn’t happened more than twice. Sticky glue marks left over from previous pods! We need to buy some special remover for that.
i thought of that and was thinking maybe rubbing alchol and or nail polish remover to get rid of the residue. if you could try it out and let me know how it works, and congrats on the a1c results.
I’ve had only a couple leave residue, and they make a little moistened pad called uni-solve (looks like alcohol preps) to clean off the gunk.
Pros: Any pump, IMHO, is better than shots. I have been pumping for 9 years, the last three months of which, I’ve been on the Omnipod system. It’s accurate, it’s simple, and it’s quite advanced as pumps go. The customer service has been easy to work with for me, personally. And my endo is a huge proponent of Omnipod.
You will no longer have to take a long-acting insulin and you will receive continuous insulin so that it’s better absorbed by your body throughout the day.
It’s low-profile (and next year, with a new pod design coming out, it will be even flatter) and can be hidden beneath clothing easily. I wear mine on the small of my back, on my rear, and on my lower and upper abdomen. Most of the time, I can’t tell it’s there.
My A1c did drop when I went from shots to pumping, but that was so long ago I couldn’t tell you what the jump was. I did, however, drop from 6.1 to 5.8 when I switched from my last pump to the pod though, so I guess that’s a good drop. 
Cons: If I have a pod have a problem on Day 1, I remove the insulin with the fill syringe so as not to waste it and I fill the new pod with it, but if it’s later into the wear, it does suck to have to throw out two days of what you know is liquid gold.
I have had 2 fail during the prime sequence and have had to remove the insulin (and reuse it) and discard the pod. But unlike my CGMS company (Freestyle), which overnights you any replacement sensors right when you call, Insulet waits to send you replacement pods until your next order. That has caused me a problem in that I am trying to make a three month supply last until the end of this month (due to insurance issues) and will run out of pods before I can count on my insurance to pay for a re-order. Not a problem I foresee happening again, per se, but definitely one I didn’t think how to prepare for. If my new insurance were up and running, I could have just re-ordered a couple weeks early without a hassle. Bad timing on my part and my enrollment period’s.
Yes, you can wear it almost anywhere, but even Insulet admits that some places are more prone to occlusions (blockage) than others - particularly the arms and legs, which my endo asked me to avoid for the most part. Some people love using their arms and legs though. To each his own!
Some athletes (like Team Type 1 cyclists and several ironman triathletes) love the pod, but others complain that sweat causes them to dislodge. I have only had one fall off due to sweat and I was wearing it on my stomach while working at a day camp and I was gross and nasty.
I recently blogged about my experiences with OmniPod: http://bewarethepenguin.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-experience-with-omn…
Also, if you haven’t already you should join the OmniPod Users group: http://tudiabetes.com/group/omnipodusers