Hi,
My Endo suggested I start thinking about trying a pump and this seams to be a good one.
For those who use it, is there a feature that you would like to see that it doesn’t currently have?
I’m terrible about checking BG and would love something that did that auto for me too, is that wishful thinking?
Does anyone know if a new one is coming out this year? I wouldn’t want to invest in one, just to have a newer one come out shortly after. (Just like all my other electronic toys seam to do!)
They are supposed to be brining out smaller pods and linking the Dexcom CGM with it at some point, not sure when though the FDA in the US is causing them some problems, to they are trying to come to Europe first as they think it will be easier to get it passed here.
With regards with what I want, I would like to know how much insulin is left within the pod itself, rather than having to go through and count up the past couple of days insulin usage, all other pumps as far as Im aware have this feature, but not omnipod. Also maybe a 2 way PDM so it will show you how much insulin is going in with the bolus, rather than just saying delivering.
Also, software that you can download your PDM to so you can track your BG and Insulin usage, not something new! you guys in America have it, just we dont in the UK! and the US co-pilot extension doesnt work with UK models because they are different to the US ones ;-(
I’d like to see Mac-compatible software.
Like dbolding, I’d like to see an actual insulin reservoir volume rather than 50+ for the first two days and then closer estimates, as well as real time delivery information on the bolus.
I’d like to see the tape around the nose of the pods extended just a hair.
I’d like to be able to prime it manually after insertion without it adding to your IOB (for those of us who have the post-insertion spikes).
Having been on the other pumps as well, the lack of these features has not been a dealbreaker for me. None of the pumps are Mac-friendly and the other pumps have their own issues that Omnipod doesn’t have.
Hey DBolding, I’m not sure if your pdm is different, but mine tells me how much insulin is in the pod on the green menu bar at the top. For example, right now it shows a small bottle of insulin and says “50+U”. Last night when I changed it it ready “7U”.
Hi Kate. It will stay at 50+U until you have under 50 units. I’d actually like to know how much is in there rather than just knowing it’s over 50 units. Say it has 71units I’d like to know that instead of jus showing 50+u lol. I had a medtronic pump previous this and even that would tell you what was left so no reason this cannot just needs asoftware update
Melissa, if you tell the PDM that you are going to eat now, and then just enter the amount that you want to bolus, it will not consider the IOB. The pod only subtracts IOB from corrections, not for food. So if you tell it that the insulin that you are giving yourself is for food, you are good to go.
Parent’s do the opposite when they want all of their kid’s insulin counted as IOB. They put everything in as correction doses to accomplish that.
One thing that I would like Insulet to do is to allow more ratios. There are only 4 allowed, and that is simply not enough for my daughter. I knew it going in, but at times it is difficult. Her needs vary greatly during the day.
Mary this is true that it would not count it as IOB if you entered it as carbs. But it’s a give and take (everything is, isn’t it?
If someone’s doctor were tracking his or her carb consumption closely, then depending on one’s I:C ratio (for me in the mornings it’s 1:6), quite a bit of extra carbs would end up “showing up” in total daily totals on pod change days (for me I sometimes have to give a 2 unit bolus after a pod change, so that’d be 12 extra grams of carbs on the daily total).
It all depends on what you’re wanting to track, and how closely you’re wanting to track it…I’m not saying this is a big issue by any means, just that there is a different perspective to every situation.
Newfer like DBolding mentioned, Insulet has plans to release a smaller pod, but that will likely only occur once they have FDA approval for a new PDM that also has CGM integration w/ Dexcom. It will likely not be available until sometime in 2012 at the earliest. I am not holding my breath for them right now, so if you want a tubeless system like the Omnipod, then I’d go ahead and get it (at least I would if I were in your situation).
As far as a feature that I wish it had, I think I’d like a vibrate function on my pod rather than beeping alone (but I realize the mechanisms needed to make it vibrate take up space, so that option is probably not a very likely one in the near future).
I’m not sure if you mean you have trouble remembering to check your BG, or just that you don’t like to check your BG so you prefer not to maybe as often as you should. The PDM does have the functionality of allowing for “reminders” to be activated, say 2 hours after a meal, if you are just in need of a reminder to do the actual test. I don’t personally use this function so I’m not sure how user-friendly it is, but everything else about the UI of the omnipod seems extremely user friendly and intuitive (so I doubt there would be any issues
I can’t even imagine having a doctor even look at carb consumption. I have been to quite a few different endo’s in my day, but only at diagnosis did they suggest amount of carbs to consume. And that was a ped endo, and it was way too many. My daughter gained weight because it was far too much food. When we eventually saw an adult dietitian, she suggested even less. Since then, no one has ever even asked about carbs, and that is fine by me. My daughter also uses a ratio of 1:6 in the morning, and right down to 1:15 by lunchtime. I figured all of that out on my own. The endo’s just write the scripts and order the blood tests. I am hoping that the new endo that we will see next month can do a bit more for us, but no one knows what is going on day to day like the person that is living it, or in my case, managing it for someone else. I have never allowed an endo to make changes based on bg numbers alone. When I see a pattern, I make the changes, so by the time the endo sees the numbers, the change has already been made. Melissa’s needs are continually changing, both basals and bolus. Lately, more than ever, and it gets tiring. I think that the thyroid meds are to blame.
thats strange! when I enter carbs it uses it as IOB! Even if I give myself a manual bolus, and then later on use the wizard it will calculate the IOB even from the manual, maybe the Europe and US versions are completely different?
I have my BG reminder switched on, once you have gone through what your BG is, carbs and calculation wizard it will ask if you want a reminder, a simple yes or no, if you choose yes it will ask you when, and then you just go up in 0.5 hours a time. I dont really use this though, so normally just press no! I should turn the function off as Im not using it, but just to lazy, lol
One last thing for now which I would LOVE would be different canular sizes! it inserts at an angle and gives you 6.5mm in the skin, I was used to using a 9mm 90degree insertion before this, so sometimes I question if its deep enough, and when I go high it really plays on my mind, so different angles and canular lengths would be good!
So when you are entering carbs you are not ALSO entering a blood glucose value? If the Omni does indeed track IOB for carbs for you that would be excellent- hopefully they will make this change in the US. This has been my biggest crticism of this system. I know you can get around it by entering the whole bolus as a correction but this won’t work if you want to do a combo/dual wave/square (or whatever it is called) bolus.
when I test my blood, it has a next button, I press that and it asks if I am going to eat, I press yes and it asks me to enter the carb amount, and then it works out my dose. Then once the insulin is in me it shows IOB and the amount given, it will also use this for further calculations say I have dinner and bolus for it, then desert and bolus again it will use the IOB to suggest the next dose. It maybe different as the Europe version does not have the food library either.
My CDE tracks my carbs, my insulin, my BGs, everything. Particularly before/during/after my recent pregnancy. So yes, that’s why I don’t do it that way. But it would work well to avoid IOB. I agree with that. It just would present a different problem in my logging than the one that’s there now.
I really don’t think that the European version is any different. There has been MUCH discussion about this over the years and it is a deal breaker for some people. You only get IOB on the screen if you are giving a correction at the same time as the bolus, but the carbs are still not considered as IOB, just the correction. You can try this yourself anytime you are not giving a correction dose. In fact, even if you need a correction, just tell the PDM not to use the bg number. Go ahead and give the bolus suggested for the carbs only. When it is done, look at the status and it will say 0.00 IOB. You can then add in the correction. You can google this and see lots of talk about it, by just the question Does Omnipod track insulin on board for carbs? I will try to post a link here where some parents are talking about how they get around this for their kids.
I currently use a MiniMed 722 with good success. As the warranty is running out:
Is the OmniPod a good replacement?
Will Medicare cover a change of pump which is out of warranty?
Will they cover the OmniPod? (I have secondary insurance form BC/BS of Texas).
Does OmniPod give any credit for the MiniMed?
I’m sure someone has been through this, so I thought I’d ask here, as the sellers always tell a good story!
I love my pods. Every pump has pros and cons, but for my lifestyle, this pump has been an extremely positive experience.
Here’s a current offer that Omnipod has for people already on another pump. It looks like it actually expires tomorrow (but I’m sure if you called them and talked to them about it you could possibly get the deal extended…maybe?). Omnipod won’t want your MM, but you having already pumped and that you want to “switch” should be worth something to them (esp. given their current “deal” they’ve got going).
However, I am not sure on the status of medicare covering omnipod. It’s my understanding that they do not (b/c they don’t consider it a pump for whatever reason…the “newness” of the omnipod is also one of its biggest limiters right now). Hopefully someone else around here who deals (or has dealt) w/ medicare could confirm/deny this. If this is the case, you should investigate what kind of coverage BCBS may be able to provide for you.
I like that I can have different basal rate programs set to switch to as needed, rather than reprogram. I wish that included in those different basal programs I could have carb-insulin ratios, as during times when I would switch to a different program, my carb ratios generally switch also.
I am SOOO ready for the smaller pod! I was at a wedding the other day, and a friend pointed at my arm (I was wearing a sweater) and asked “what’s that?” I automatically answered “It’s my pod”. She looked at me, only a little confused, more amused as she knows me too well and said “Your i-pod?” At which point I had to switch my brain into real mode and answer the question better!
