I’ve been using OmniPods for about a year with great success. About three weeks ago I started having a reaction where ever the pod was placed - itchy, red, sometimes swollen and oozing. I’ve taken the pod off and gone back to injections for the time being. I’d really like to be back on the pod. Any ideas or suggestions?
hi,
this happened to me too 
if you look back a few months, there are some posts about this and what people have tried. My skin has gotten really sensitive to the adhesive. (at first, i could just peel it off in the shower and was fine, with no redness or marks.) I’ve ended up with kind of a ridiculous process to avoid most of the reactions–I spray the area where i’m going to put the pod with benedryl (you can get small spray bottles of it at target, etc.), let it dry, and then put the pod on. sometimes if it’s on an area where there is still some redness or dry skin from a few weeks ago, i use iv prep on top of the bendryl. When i take the pod off, i have to use unisolve and peel it off really slowly, but still end up with a huge red mark and a lot of itching. i’ve found that if i cover the area with aquaphor lotion immediately, it helps a lot. it’s very greasy, so be careful that it doesn’t get on your clothes!
go back a couple months, i know there were a lot of suggestions for different things, and hopefully one of them will work for you!
alli
Jean - I am in the same boat as you with my skin going crazy itchy, red, swollen and oozing! I talked to my doctor and she said that she is hearing a lot of this lately with OmniPod. They say they have not changed anything, but I can’t believe that after 1 year that my body has decided to react to the pods. I am going to try Alli’s suggestions below, but could use any other people’s comments. Good luck as I need as much help as possible!
FWIW, my skin is red and irritated every time I remove my pod after the usual 3 days. Personally I think the company that makes the adhesive has changed something!!! I started the OmniPod 12-15-08 and I’m approaching my 1st anniversary. Never had skin problems until about 2-3 weeks ago. In spite of what the company says, I think somethingabout the adhesive has changed…otherwise WHY would so many of us have problems???
Wow… this really does sound like something has changed with the adhesive. I was told the same thing when I called the company, to talk to my doctor and look on the web site. They wouldn’t say that there was any change or many other people complaining. But if there are so many of us having problems all starting around the same time, there’s got to be more to it. Maybe I’ll try contacting American Diabetes Association to see if they have any ideas or if they’ve heard of any changes. In the meantime, I’ve been back to taking injections. I just couldn’t take the itchiness anymore. I’ts such a bummer though…I really really really want my pod back!
Alli - Where do you get the aquaphor lotion? I think I might as well try that, since nothing else is working. Thanks - Kris
Hi guys -
I’ve been offline for a little while and just saw this thread. Was at Stanford the other day and one of the researchers (we’re in a CGM study) said that they have been getting complaints about OmniPod & skin reactions. Apparently, OmniPod won’t say this officially but the scoop is that there was a batch of Pods that were made with too much adhesive on them. Call Insulet and tell them and I’m sure they will replace them. We haven’t had this happen to us yet but apparently it’s a new problem.
Hope this is helpful.
I talked to OmniPod last night and was on the phone with them for about 45 minutes. He said that they have used the same adhesive and have not changed anything. He asked about 100 questions and said this was good information for them. He said that they couldn’t replace the pod and it wasn’t defective. I told him that I have heard of a lot of people having these reactions and complaining and discontinuing the pods. He said that everyone reacts differetly to the adhesives so that is why they suggest the barriers. I told him that if I was going to react I would have thought it would have happened right away, not after 1 1/2 years. He is going to have a “pod expert” call me next week to see if they have any other ideas. He was really nice, but I’m not sure how much longer I can take this skin irritation. (I replaced my pod last night after 1 1/2 days). I also tried the spray benedryl and the aquaphor lotion and that didn’t work for me. Any other suggestions? Need help!
Hi -
Have you used a cream called CeraVe - it’s really excellent for fixing skin issues - I use it alot on Will. Go to www.cerave.com - you can get it at Walgreens - we use the jar of cream because it’s heavier, etc.
Regarding the skin irritation - could you put tegaderm (like a big bandaid) down first and then the pod over it? I’ve never heard of doing this but it might work. Would be worth a try.
Hang in there! I’m sure they are told not to tell you that the adhesive is the issue.
I have not tried that cream yet, I have a Walgreens right down the road, so I will give this a try. I was thinking that using tagaderm might be my answer, they suggest something called Bard Protective Barrier Film, but this is a wipe, which I have already tried one of these. I’m just wondering if the Pod would go thru the tagaderm? I love the cordless pump, but I’m already starting to look at other pumps. This is absolutly driving me up the wall. Thanks for the info!
I talked to OmniPod last night too. Her suggestion was to have my doctor write a new presciption for changing the pod more frequently. That sound awfully convenient for them…to have to make more pods. But I have not used the pod for about 3 weeks and let my skin all heal up. I put a new pod on for the first time this morning. So far, so good. Knock on wood. Maybe like Susan said, there was a bad batch that was made. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this pod doesn’t cause a reaction. I’ll let you know.
I would love to change mine every day, but I can’t afford to keep changing them that often. Now if OmniPod or the doctors would pay for these lovely things, I would think about it. I’m wondering if I just need to let my skin heal up at this point? I haven’t given shots in about 10 years or more, so don’t even have a clue what to do. Guess a call to my doctors office is in the cards for Monday. I will keep you updated! Did your rep say anything about the adhesive on the pod?
I am really lucky that my insurance covers my pods (after I reach my deductible, which took 6 weeks with all my medical needs). But I still think its pretty fishy that their suggestion is to use more pods…just helps them no matter who is paying for them.
I had to call my doctor last month when I took the pod off to let my skin heal. I couldn’t remember my ratios and needed all new presciptions for needles and insulin for injections. It was a pain, but worth it to let my skin heal… and it took about 3 weeks to heal (nearly) completely.
All the OmniPod people have said about the adhesive is, some people do have skin reactions and to look on the web site for suggestions of products to deal with it.
Keep me posted, and I will let you know how things go for me too.
Well, I last almost 2 days with the pod back on and again have a red, swollen, itching, oozing spot. I’m planning to call my doctor tomorrow. Maybe I can get that texaderm patch. And I’ll ask him if he’s heard anything from OmniPod.
Jean - I only lasted 1 1/2 again! So frustrating. I bought tegaderm skin film (2"x4" - fits perfect) tonight at Walgreen’s and am trying that. So far I have had it on for 2 hours and no itching. Cross my fingers. Let me know if you hear about anything from your doctor. I am going to call my doctor tomorrow also and have the back-up in place in case this doesn’t work. I can’t believe I might have to go back to shots, but tonight I have three large bandages on my backside (2 on my lower back and 1 on my butt). They are at the point of not healing now. Probably have infections. Not good! Let me know what your doctor says. Thanks - Kris
Kris,
may I ask, did you cut a hole for the cannula to go through the tegaderm or did you just insert straight through it?
I thought I would just try putting the pod right on the tegaderm, but I just received an occulsion, so it must not have worked. On to another pod. I’m just trying to figure out how to do that?? Maybe take the tegaderm and place it on the adhesion of the pod and cut a hole then? I’ve got to try something. Darn thing is driving me crazy. I’ll keep everyone updated.
This may or may not help you…but Tegaderm also makes a hypo allergenic version called Tegaderm HP. I was treated with the tegaderm HP when I had my PICC line put in on 10-20-09. I had the original tegaderm put on over the IV site and my skin broke out big time. The nurses changed the dressing to the tegaderm HP version and things calmed down quite a bit.
I don’t understand how Insulet can ignore the complaints of so many of us consumers in regard to the adhesive issue with the OmnIpod. When I take the pod off I have a visible outline of where the pod was attached to me. It does not go away overnight either. Makes you wonder if other options are more viable. Personally when the other brand of wireless pump comes out from Medingo, I am going to do all the research I can. I’m tired of dealing with the run around I get from Insulet.
Thanks for your reply Mayumi. I have lasted about 12 hours using the Tegaderm. I have a call into my doctor just waiting to find out what to do next. I also don’t understand OmniPod. With all of these people having problems how can they say it is us?! I have not heard of Medingo, going to check it out. Thanks for the info!
The adhesive on the free sample demo I received from Medingo is labeled “hypafix” which I think is the same as used by Omnipod. Adhesive rashes is a tough issue that CGM users can also experience and is complicated by the fact that everyone’s skin reacts differently. Some people don’t get rashes but the pod or CGM sensor won’t stay on. Hopefully the future will see the development of different adhesives sort of the way people can choose among different infusion set types for tubed pumps.