Started Omnipod!

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
21

I have used the OmniPod since 2009. I started with the Eros and changed to the DASH system two or three years ago. I was surprised to read comments that some people feel they have to have the PDM with them at all times. NOT TRUE. I leave my PDM on its charger on my dresser in the bedroom and only take it off the charger when I have to go somewhere. Then I slip it into a pocket or purse. By leaving the PDM plugged in most of the time, I never have to worry about it being charged, and I always know where it is located. Since the PDM is used only to program the Pod when you start a new one and for boluses during meal time, having it in one place works well. I can walk into the bedroom before meals to take my bolus before meals. If I take a walk (which I do twice a day around my neighborhood), work outside in the garden, or visit with neighbors, I never take the PDM with me. Why should I? The basal rates are programmed in, as is the wonderful temporary basal that I set before I start my walks, so all is fine.

I have the benefit of being retired, but if you have to leave the house for work each day or for extended periods of time, think about buying a second cord so you can plug it in at work. Then charging the DASH is never an issue. I have never even considered a portable charger system since I have never needed one. You can check with Insulet Corporation to see how long a fully charged DASH will last.

Each night, along with the PDM charging, I also plug in my Dexcom G6 controller, my iPhone, and my Apple Watch. Another great thing about the DASH Pod coupled with the Dexcom G6 is that you can get G6 readings on an Apple Watch. I love being able to just glance at my watch to see what my blood sugar is through the G6.

Another benefit of the OmniPod is working with Insulet. Each time I have called them – and that has not been very often in the last 12 years – they have been polite, friendly, and helpful. They are great to work with, and I have never had a bad experience in contacting Insulet.

As for sites, I agree with others that the more fatty parts of the body work better. While I am not heavy (5’ 2", 118 lbs.) I still can find some parts on myself that work well as “fatty areas.” After I stick the Pod on, I squeeze up a bit of flesh until the cannula clicks in. Due to scarring in my thighs from 40+ years of MDI, I use four sites for my Pods: upper abdomen on the right and left sides (under my bra line), and lower abdomen on those same sides. Rotating those four sites works well. I am a back or side sleeper, so I have no trouble lying on the Pods ever. I reserve my arms for the CGM.

I wish you all the best as you continue to get to know the benefits of working with the OmniPod. Pumping is wonderful, and when the new Pod5 is released (hopefully by next year sometime), I definitely will be interested in giving it a try.

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22

My ultimate hate for Omnipod was related to bruising, pain, site leakage, and less precise settings compared to my tubed pump. But I did love being tubeless.

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23

I’ve using Omnipod for 3 years. It is
much better than tubed pumps I used for 20 years. No need for overwrap. I use skin-tac on the adhesive. It works great. I swim and exercise a lot and have never had a pod come loose. I wear mine on my thighs and dexcom CGM on the back of my upper arm. It’s good to rotate sites for the pump as fat deposits can develop over time. You can Goggle Omnipod 5, which is supposed to be out soon, perhaps first half of 2022. It is going to let you give bolus from your phone and you’ll no longer need to carry the PDM around. It is also supposed to be closed loop. You’re on a great path.

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24

I have to pry an Omnipod off of me and I don’t use Skin Tac or overpatches for it. I also swim for 2-3 hours at a time, although my swimsuit helps keep it held against my skin when I swim. But when it’s time to change it, I still have to pry it off of me.

Now the Dexcom needs all sorts of help to stay on me past 2 days lol.

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25

Thanks for all the helpful comments. It’s interesting how loyal we become to our chosen diabetes management strategy. I’m really grateful that there are so many options out there.

Im concerned about site locations. My first pod site was painful to the touch by the third day, and my skin was weirdly tough just below the PDM when I took it off. My second site was on the back of my arm, and that worked really well. However, it also is the best place for my Dexcom. I’m a little concerned about using that spot for pods.

The third site was on my hip, and that didn’t go well at all. It seemed like the site was slow to start working, and then 24 hours later I was having trouble getting my bg levels down. I realized there was a red tinged water mark on the visible white adhesive. I also had a red swollen mark on my skin next to the pod.

I replaced the pod, and put the new site on my belly. So far that’s working well.

I’m most concerned with how my skin around the site reacted. I don’t remember my sites with my old Minimed pump having reactions like that. Yet, I built up quite a bit of scar tissue from those over time.

I am having fewer lows than I was previously. I like being able to adjust my basal easily. However, it’s not always clear if the basal adjustments are needed because of my monthly hormone cycle or because of issues with the site.

Maybe this is part of my problem, but I didn’t have this issue when injecting Lyumjev.

I want to give the Omnipod a solid try, but I’ll admit that I’m already starting to miss MDI.

26

I’ve never used anything but the pod, and I’ve been on it more than 10 years, almost from the time they came out. I’ve been through several cycles of bad pods, where malfunctions were common, to the current Dash system where malfunctions are rare. For the past several years, I have used the backs of my upper arms, rotating from right to left with each pod change. I’ve also used my abdomen and inner thigh, but I’ve now got a CGM on my abdomen, and for some reason the inner thigh area seemed more prone to irritation. I charge my PDM overnight and have never had a problem with it running out of a charge. I keep a cord at work, if for some reason it runs low, and it charges quickly so that just hasn’t been an issue for me. I love the pod and wish you success with yours.

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27

You aren’t using Fiasp, by any chance, are you? That exactly describes my experience with Fiasp in pods.

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28

I’m using Lyumjev. Lyumjev is to Humalog what Fiasp is to Novolog.

Using Lyumjev was part of the appeal of having a pump. It works incredibly quickly- like I see a difference in 10-15 minutes.

I have some Humalog and Novolog in my refrigerator. I’ve never used Novolog before, but I can give it a try in my next pod. Maybe it’ll work a bit faster than Humalog for me… I doubt it’ll be as fast as Lyumjev though.

Might as well give it a try to see if the sensitivity problem is due to Lyumjev.

29

I got samples of Lyumjev at my last endo appointment. Earlier this week I tried it in my Tandem pump. I had a dinner bolus and a correction bolus and about 2 hours after starting the Lyumjev had the most painful pump site I have ever had. I already had a large raised red welt. I keep hoping for a faster insulin for my pump but I don’t think it will be Lyumjev. I do hope I can use it occasionally for injections but maybe a pump site was too much insulin in one place for my body to handle the Lyumjev. I am fine with Humalog so I wonder what the additive in Lyumjev is.

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30

A vasodilator to relax blood vessels so that absorption is quicker, and sodium citrate to raise the pH in the injection area.

I’ve read a lot of complaints on D forums about injection site pain.

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31

I hardly know what that means but it was a bad fit with my pump. Interestingly this afternoon after a stubborn post-lunch high, I took an injection of Lyumjev. No pain at all.

I’ll try it again in my pump someday and choose infusion set sites that are less sensitive. I get my best absorption on my upper abs but the most skin problems. Lower abs have somewhat worse absorption but more durable skin.

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32

This is a sentence fragment. It doesn’t make any sense as you’ve written it.

Are you attempting to suggest that you can prevent Lyumjev site irritation by using a device called a vasodilator? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Is this a prescription device?

33

“This is a sentence fragment. It doesn’t make any sense as you’ve written it.”

I believe Erics response is to the question in prior post, on Lyumjev additive.

“A vasodilator to relax blood vessels so that absorption is quicker, and sodium citrate to raise the pH in the injection area.”

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34

Been using Omnipod for several years coming from a Minimed 600 series (forget which model) and I absolutely LOVE it. I’m highly insulin sensitive, so I use the omnipod for basal and bolus via Fiasp pen for meals. Even then I’m lucky to get 48 hours out of it. I use either side of my stomach and rotate sites regularly. I love being tubeless. It is also very easy to fill. Support has been excellent the few times I had apod failure.

35

Oh I see.

My wife is a pharmacist and she reviewed the insert in both humalog and Lyumjev and the pH level is listed as being the same in both. Very curious.

36

Let me fix my sentence for you.

In response to the question about its additives, Lyumjev has a vasodilator to relax blood vessels so that absorption is quicker, and it has sodium citrate to raise the pH in the injection area.

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37

That makes a lot more sense :slight_smile: Thanks Eric.

I wonder what the significance of the pH is. As I stated previously, it looks as if the pH levels in Humalog and Lyumjev are the same (according to the medication insert)

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38

In case anyone was curious, Novolog isn’t causing the same inflammation/sensitivity issues.

Novolog is slower, but I can inject with Lyumjev or go for a walk if I need my insulin to work faster. Assuming things continue as they are, I’ll continue with the Omnipod for the immediate future.

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39

I use the Dash and recently switched from Fiasp to Lyumjev and have had some of the same epxeriences as you. I wrote this in another thread about Lumjev:

"I just switched 10 days ago from Fiasp to Lyumjev in my Omnipod Dash to see if that could fix some issues I´ve had lately. (I´m not in the US and it´s not approved where I live).

My sites lasts only 48 hours no matter what insulin or pump I use (Humalog/FIasp) and with Lyumjev this seems to be even worse. I get small hard lumps from the infusion sites and my first site on my arm from ten days ago is still there. I´ve tried my abdomen twice (better results) and today I put a new pod on my thigh. So far abdomen and thigh works better than my arm site.

Fiasp duration time was for me 5,5 hours, with Lyumjev it seems to be 3,5 hours. I also had to adjust my basal from a flat rate of 0,35 to a flat rate of 0,45/0,5 (the jury is still out on this). I adjust my basal according to my monthly cycle, but this is the most common basal rate. I think basal rate vs insulin duration is hard to crack as I´ve not tested this properly other than “so far it works”. The shortened duration time could also just be a result of an active inflammation at the infusion site.

Generally it seems like Lyumjev is kicking in after 30 minutes.

Breakfast is different from the rest of my day and I always have to prebolus for breakfast doing two things. Doubling or tripling my basal rate for 1 hour and bolusing 1 IE at the same time. Depending on my morning this insulin takes anywhere from half hour to one hour to conquer my morning insulin resistance. When I see this starts to happen I bolus and eat. This works most of the time and I start to get a hang of it with Lyumjev too.

The rest of the day I usually just bolus and eat, but with Lyumjev my blood sugar spikes horribly like I´ve never seen before if I do this. And Lyumjev works like water if my BG rises too fast and the BG lingers high for hours. Not usual for me.

It seems like I need more insulin compared to Fiasp and I guess it takes time to figure it all out. I´ll give it some more time to see if the lumps disappear. My sites itches too and sometimes my skin gest red and a bit swollen outside the pods edges espacially the side where the cannula is.

It will be interresting to hear other experiences as people start to use Lyumjev."

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