I’m either irritated w/ Minimed b/c of this recall or I’m ready for a new gadget, don’t know which but when I got the email from Insulet about the $299 start-up kit for current pumpers, I got all excited. I want to hear from people who switched from the Minimed to the Omnipod (b/c I’m a current 522 user). My biggest question is how to continue using my CGM since my receiver is a pump that would be constantly beeping “LOW RESERVOIR” at me since I’m not using the pump capacity.
Oh - and I also mainly want to hear from the ladies. I cannot for the life of me figure out how I would wear about 85% of my pants - that thing looks like it wouldn’t fit under some of my skinniest pants and I really, really love to use my thigh as an insertion site.
I personally do not like the idea of the omnipod "egg"sitting on my arm, or leg, or back or belly.or butt. Now this is from someone who has a used nothing but MM pumps, for 6, going on 7 years. I would not change to an Omnipod,. I hate to sound so vain, but I do not see how you can be even vaguely “fashionable” with an egg stuck on you. Mos tpeople think my 522 is a pager, when it is visible. When somone asks about it, I just say “i I have diabetes This is an insulin pump that gives me my medicine”.With sleek pants or dresses., I tuck it in my bra
I guess I would not mind telling people that the “Omni-egg” is a pump, but it still looks a trifle weird to me. Now if a complete, fully functional, artificial lpancreas that looked like a miniature YODA with a light -saber came out, I would certainly wear it regardless of the stares and questions… But since you have an option,… I would stay with the MM pump.
i had a few demo pods and the thing is huge. i put one on my arm but it hit every wall i walked near and i put the other one on my stomach, i wear loose shirts but you could still see the pod. and the pod and adhesive only has two spots where its glued together or whatever.
I’m not one of the ladies, but I did make the switch to the OmniPod after 20 years of Medtronic MiniMed pump therapy.
There were a few conversion issues (putting the pod in the right place, getting used to wearing a pod versus an infusion set), but now that I’ve been podding for a few months, I would NEVER go back to a tubed pump. Here are my reasons for loving my switch to the OmniPod:
It’s totally liberating. Not having to carry around that blasted pump 24/7 has been fantastic at work and especially sleeping at night. A tubed pump is really a ball and chain, and you do not appreciate just how much of a hassle it was until it’s gone.
It’s easier. The menu interface on the OmniPod PDM blows the Medtronic interface out of the water. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot more intuitive than Medtronic’s archaic interface.
Cannula insertion is a lot simpler. The OmniPod takes care of the cannula insertion automatically – there’s no separate Sof-Serter to deal with.
I love being able to wear the OmniPod in the pool or in the shower without having to go through the disconnection hassle. On the weekends, I spend a lot of time in the pool, and it’s nice to not have to keep receiving insulin and to not have a pump on me.
The pod is a bit larger than an infusion set, but don’t forget that smaller pods are also on the way within the next year.
I KNOW where you are comin’ from, Davey… I would surely lose a PDM… I can lose ( and have lost/misplaced) glucometers while out and about. I have no desire to have a PDM/glucometer/pump controller that can get lost. Being “tethered” to my 522 is not like a ball and chain…No, I am not getting any kickbacks from MM, and neither is Dave, but I am actually quite pleased with the product… Now where are the ladies who are on the Omnipod, who can answer Kimberly’s question ( yeah, we females think about overall appearance issues while pumping )?
The MM pump is solidly built piece of technology. I’m sure that when my warranty runs out and I buy a new MM pump (or any other pump), I can still use the old pump as a standby. I doubt you can do that with the Omnipod - what with the disposable pump and limited battery life and non-replaceable battery in the pod. Even if you do have some spare pods lying around after your warranty is over and you switch to a different pump, the pods will die out eventually and leave you with no back up.
Another thing to consider is the cost - the Omnipod pump is like the inkjet printer. Get the printer virtually free but pay through your nose for the ink cartridges.
The Omnipod pump has many advantages in that it’s a revolutionary product and many people like the no long-tube aspect. However, from a purely practical point of view, you can’t beat a MM pump. I guess the same advantages apply to other conventional pumps from Animas and Roche.
I agree with Dave. I’ve only had my Ping for 3 weeks but it’s the first 3 weeks since my diagnosis in 2003, that I’ve had any BG control. I had a Demo Pod and opened it and looked at it for days. I just couldn’t figure out where to put it so it didn’t show or hurt. Like Brunetta said, I didn’t want that egg on me. During all that non control I’ve lived with on MDI, I have developed bad neuropathy that is trying to spread up my legs now, beginning kidney problems, eye problems, etc. and at this point, I’d wear an actual BALL & CHAIN if it would control my BG and lengthen my life. The first few hours on my pump I had a moment of realization that I would have this thing connected to me for the rest of my life. It was just a moment as I had not thought about it like that. Well, connected I will be as it’s working like my body used to work and that design can’t be beat so being connected to something is a tiny price to pay.
Keep 'em coming. Although I am really wanting to hear specifically from women who don’t wear very loose clothing and who have switched from the Minimed guardian system to Omnipod. I’m beginning to think that this category of people does not exist.
Two things, also: 1) the tubed/tubeless thing is really of no consequence to me - I keep my pump clipped to my bra so the only time I see the tube is when I pull it out or am not wearing clothes and 2) although I would love to have a waterproof pump for literally 2 weeks out of the year (beach vacays), the waterproof thing is really not something I care about either. Dave - I know, I know, but I’m not chancing a void on my warranty by doing something they explicitly say not to do.
Kimberly :You may need to go to the Tudiabetes Omnipod Users Group and read their discussions to find what the female users of the pods say. I am sure there have to be some ladies there who do not continuously dress in loose fitting sacks or baby doll tops…( maybe?)
If you’re following the discussion in the Omnipod users’ forum about battery changing scenarios, you’ll see another reason not to switch to the pod. If you delay in changing your batteries on the PDM (and not the pod…you can’t change the batteries on the pod anyway) and the PDM dies, you get pod failure, too! Why is that? How does it matter to the pod that the PDM dies? That means you lose that pod and even if you had just slapped it on, you have to change it out. That’s my understanding of how it is but I could be wrong. After all, you can forget the PDM at home and your pod keeps chugging along and gives you the basal.
No such problems with the MM pump. Batteries, died? Just put in new batteries and keep going. No lost equipment/insulin. No reinsertion of infusion set. No stress about batteries and having to constantly be aware of battery status.
I think I’m finally over the whole “new gadget” thing. I’ve got an insertion set on my back, a sensor on my stomach - which means no tubes visible anywhere - and have had absolutely spot on readings on this sensor since I first inserted it yesterday (that’s actually a new thing for me - I have not had one reading that is not w/in 5 points of what my CGM reads), so I’m happy w/ the 522 again. Unless the shisters at Minimed decide to delay my next shipment of sensors. Still really irked by this whole “every 3 weeks” thing.
I’ve been using the OmniPod for a little over 1.5 years. Sometimes I get just two notifications that the batteries are getting low before the PDM won’t fire up. Even when the batteries are so dead that the PDM won’t turn on, I just put in a new set of batteries and it works just fine.
According to the Users Guide, the pod will continue to deliver basal insulin regardless of whether the PDM is nearby or not. You don’t have to waste a pod if the PDM batteries go dead.
Back in February, I had my first (and only) PDM failure. Right in the middle of dinner at a nice restaurant, the PDM started beeping like crazy. When I checked it, it indicated a PDM failure and said I should deactivate the pod immediately. When I called customer service, they said that I really didn’t have to deactivate the pod, pointing out that the pod doesn’t need the PDM to continue with basal insulin.
There’s a little icon on the PDM that shows how much juice is left in the batteries. Mine last about three weeks and since I always have extras with me, changing the batteries is not a big deal.
