I plan to start the Omnipod in the coming weeks. My question is if I take 44 units basal and on the daily I might use 10 to 30 units of bolus. Would the Omnipod last me for 3 days if it only holds 200 units?
@borijess If you do the math, I guess the answer is maybe. Your maximum daily insulin is 74 units. 74 x 3 days = 222 units, which is more than the 200 units your Omnipod holds. If you use your minimum daily units, then you may squeak through. Or you might have to change out your pod early for a refill.
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Do you end up using more or less insulin on a pump?
I’m my own experience (2 weeks on the Tandem with Control-IQ) is I’m using 30-35 units a day, versus previously I needed combined Toujeo and Humalog on MDI of 40-45 a day. So yes, I’m using less insulin overall. And my sugars are consistently better. One thing, I’m chasing lows and highs less, so less often orange juice or extra mini-boluses. But the insulin I take seems to be absorbed /utilized more effectively as well.
@borijess, you could also do some boluses by injection, particularly larger doses. The Omnipod shows how many units remain (and there’s a small buffer amount that it doesn’t show, I think it’s 4 or 5 units), so you could base your “bolus or inject?” decision on that, and still keep to your scheduled pod replacement time.
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i was only on the pump for 5 years and personally was not a fan, however, with your 44 units of daily basal, realistically and mathematically, you’re looking at 2 days. you’ll probably find you’ll need less basal especially during activities, but corrections will also need to be considered. my drs told me many of their patients will combine tresiba or some sort of basal along with the pump which might be something to consider…it also seems like you might only use 10-30 units for boluses because your basal is too high…have you tried a fasting basal test? usually 24hours at a time is recommended… i strongly recommend a cgm though… a pump without a cgm=hypoglycemic coma
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Definitely less, for me. It can be programmed to be more accurately responsive to your actual basal needs over 24 hrs, whereas with a basal insulin you’re trying to do it with a single injection, so the resolution, to use that term, is not nearly as fine.
I cut my daily dose by20% when I started pumping. Mostly because I would over correct on MDI and need to eat carbs then correct again.
You might have to start from scratch to get your basal insulin correct. Yours is a little lopsided.
Rule of thumb is half basal and half bolus. So if you are taking 75 units a day, your basal should be around 37.
I think that once you set your basal correctly,you will use less insulin overall.
Make sure you tell your doctor this so he can write the prescription such that you may be changing your pods every 2 days instead of three so that the Rx will be a large enough amount to cover you for 2 days changes if that is the case. Also since your are new you may have a few application issues as you are learning what works best for you so it is better to have more than less
@borijess you might find that your tdd changes as you migrate to a pump, since you will gain finer granular control. I wouldn’t sweat the 2or 3 day change issue. Have your Endo write the Rx for a 2 day change so you can stockpile the difference for a rainy day and call it good. Just my 2¢
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I use roughly the same I have been art 50-60 daily units for years. What can change your dose is losing weight.
i think if I were you (this is just me) I would not count on having a lesser overall dose.
Maybe not, but know that your dosage will likely decrease somewhat when you change to a pump. Maybe not enough to pull you through 3 days.
There are more concentrated insulins that you can use if this is a problem.
Concentrated pen insulins (above U100) should not be used in pumps because user must know how to translate for proper dose, and pump may not have precision required. Delivery by pen compensates to deliver correct “volume” per unit, but all pumps assume U100 insulin concentration.
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A lot of people pump u200. You just need to divide dose by half.
People who are using taht much insulin are not that sensitive to it, so if there is imprecision, it really won’t be dangerous
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I was on MDI for 36 ish years and went to t:slim a little over a year ago. I used to inject about 110 combined basil and bolus units so kind of a lot for my frame ( I am not a big person). With pump I average around 60-65 units a day so a significant reduction.
I agree with what others have said. When I switched to Omnipod from MDI my overall insulin use went down by at least half. I think getting a steady basal dose was a big factor for me. When I had my pump training, my CDE stated that 25% of her clients were on a concentrated insulin. It’s just math. Very workable if your Dr supports it. The suggestion to use a shot in lieu of the pump for mealtime is excellent and would help get you through the transition to see what your basal and doses will be after starting the pump. Good luck!
I have had a similar experience. I have tandem t:slim with control IQ. I use around 25 units per day, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. I usually put around 180 units of insulin in my cartridge. Recommendation is to change cartridge every 6 days, but sometimes I go 7 days to avoid wasting so much. This works for me.
Wow, I was told to change the complete set every three days. Although i have gone as long as 4 days. And isn’t there a problem with the insulin interacting with the plastic in the cartridge after 4 or 5 days? Maybe I’m all wrong on that!
3 days is max for me because my site gets inflamed.
I’ve heard that insulin breaks down in plastic, but I’ve never experienced that.
I just change everything every 3 days.
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I change my insertion site every 3-4 days and fill my cartridge every 6-7 days. My diabetic nurse educator told me 3 days for the insertion site and 6 days for the cartridge when I first got my pump 6 years ago. I haven’t noticed a problem.
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