In Canada the pump is also called VEO http://www.medtronicdiabetes.ca/en/paradigm_veo.html
When I was introduced to pumping in 2001 we had no computer to " research " ...actually I don't think there were many choices in Canada . Tubing is no concern ; I did pull out an infusion set , when pulling up my jeans once and have eliminated this problem by taping the set with IV3000 .I trialed the Omnipod at least 3 yrs ago ..I believe the pod size was larger than today's model .I , and I am not a small woman( 5 feet .7inches ) , found it akward being placed on my arm .Decided to stick to the brand which I know best : Medtronic .
a big plastic blob...zoe, that's funny, i call it my plastic barnacle.
I have both and have used both although not successfully (yet) or for very long, both have pros and cons. I don't like the PDM - meter with Omnipod, it's very unreliable and I don't like the way it calculates IOB and some of the other features. I don't like the tubing either but for some reason I feel 'safer' with the medtronic and would probably get used to, as zoe suggested, the tubing. Also, i don't like that one can't pick a cannula size or insertion with the PODS; it's one size fits all and I get so badly bruised by just injections alone, for thin folks with some muscle it seems to bruise the heck out of me and can sometimes be a bit painful.
I did also try a demo for the Omnipod once and I did not like that once you slapped it in place that is where it stayed. It was just stuck on (no infusion site applied), but when I got invited to a BBQ I wanted to wear a tank top and that thing was like a freacon beacon on my arm. LOL The tubed pump can be moved and worn wherever you want and depending on your activity and choice of dress.
Reliability is too big an issue to write off because ultimately no pump is worth owning unless it is reliable. There's a lot of suck when a pod fails early (as there would be with a rare terminal pump failure). You end up losing a good amount of insulin, and then the pump needs to be replaced immediately. My impression that what pod users consider good reliability isn't considered good to pump users.
The Pod has a one size fits all with infusion sets, and with other pumps there are many different types. Some of us need it to go deeper into the skin. The one size fits all doesn't work for some of us, and then we are left asking is the cause bad infusion, bad site, defective pod, the insulin, or my body.
The Pod is supposed to hold up to 200u, but my experience and understanding is that you really have to stop about about 190 because if you put anything over 200 into a pod, the pod fails. With human error if you try to put 200U into a pod, there's about a 50/50 chance of doing this.
I didn't find that it reliably worked for 3 days. Apparently many consistently get 2 days out of them, and then switch pods. Frankly, it becomes a more expensive option at that point.
The pod has a big footprint and needs be moved every 3 days (in a perfect world). For me I wouldn't get used to it catching on clothes, I would have to use hypafix (or other) tape over it. I've got a lot of body hair, so the placement area needs to be shaved with a pod.
The pod itself has no controls, you NEED to use the remote to bolus. The remote is quite bulky, and doesn't simply fit in your pocket. Additionally, the PDM has an open port (no cover) and doesn't appear remotely water resistant, so while my pod is water resistant, I have to carry around a $500+ remote that isn't. I live near the ocean/beaches and I doubt it would last very long here. Then because the pods themselves aren't terribly reliable, you need to carry around 1-2 of them plus extra insulin.
Oh and my recollection was that if there is a terminal pod failure, the pods alarm goes off and is pretty loud, so if you are in public and don't have the PDM nearby, well good luck.
Finally, the PDM was also the blood glucose meter and in theory one could avoid carrying that around, but my recollection was that the PDM required a lot of extra button pushes to verify who was using it. Seemed like I couldn't simply enter a test strip and find out if I was having a hypo...I had to verify that it was me trying to test, and then I could test. Aside from wasted strips, I consider hypos somewhat of an emergency situation and if my concentration is messed up from a hypo, I don't want my meter to make it harder for me to test.
For me I didn't like all the crap I would have to carry with it, and it wasn't reliable. Now I might have been able to try and work through the reliability issues for a few more months if the PDM wasn't so bulky, didn't suck batteries, was more rugged, and perhaps was cheaper, but I couldn't find a work around with that either.
Anyway, for me reliability was a problem, but I think the PDM was really the dealbreaker. I also wanted to go with the Pod because I live in a beach community and didn't want a $5000+ device tethered to me while playing in the waves, but because of the above issues, the POD wasn't a better alternative.
I've used a tubed pump for the past seven years and have simply never had any "reason" to want a tubeless pump. The OmniPod was not available in Canada when I first went on the pump, and I've just had no real reason to consider it. In seven years my tubing has been ripped out from catching on things maybe three times. I clip the pump to my pocket and put the tubing either under my clothes or in my pocket, and I have never had an issue with it. Plus, if I want to move the pump it's really easy to move (for example, when I'm sleeping I clip it near my belly button so I don't roll on top of it).
For me the real reason I would never (yet) consider a tubeless pump is environmental concerns. I can't bring myself to use disposable insulin pens or Inset infusion sets because of the waste (although I hear you can recycle Insets if you get the needle out). I will carry paper and pop bottles around all day until I find a recycling facility for them, rather than throw them out. There is NO WAY I would be able to use the OmniPod without a major ethical dilemma within myself.
Secondly, I have heard horrible things about the OmniPod's reliability. I have heard numerous accounts of people going into DKA because two or three pods in a row didn't work. If I am trusting my life in a device it NEEDS to be 99.99% reliable (I know nothing is 100% reliable all the time). I haven't heard any of these types of accounts recently, so maybe they have improved the product. Regardless, I don't hear numerous accounts of people on tubed pumps going into DKA (developing ketones from a bad site, yes; full-fledged DKA requiring hospitalization, very rarely).
There is also the issue of not being able to move the OmniPod, it's lumpy appearance under clothes (although that's a pretty minor one), the wasted insulin if a site is iffy and needs to be moved, being limited to only one type of infusion set, and the (very likely in my case) possibility of forgetting the PDM at home and then having no ability to bolus or adjust insulin at all.
But mostly, I've just never had any strong annoyance with the tubed pumps (and I am wireless for practically everything else!). The tubing stays tucked away and, unless I take it out on purpose, I don't even notice it.
I prefer the small footprint of an infusion site on the body vs the pod and the pump that I can move around as I need to especially during exercise. When I wore a trial pod I kept banging into stuff with it plus I developed a rash. I’m sure placement is something I would adjust to over time and pick better spots for insertion but the rash probably not. Infusion sets come in multiple lengths and multiple types so really tubing very quickly as others pointed out became a non issue. Because I chose a tubed pump I actually have more options in the long run in terms of cannula length, size, material, and angle of insertion.
A big negative of Omnipod’s design for me is that you can not suspend or bolus from the pod itself so if your PDM was forgotten or misplaced temporarily you cannot do anything about insulin delivery.
Also for me right now an absolute deal breaker for Omnipod are their future plans for sensor integration. I would not want a sensor integrated into the pod as I currently average 10 to 14 days from a Dexcom sensor.
When I first got a pump, in 2008, is when I started hanging out online. Before I'd done that, I went to the doc and was like "I want a pump" to which they replied "Medtronic" which I signed up for without really thinking about it but it worked great for me right from the get go and I read a lot of posts online about people having issues with pods wasting sites, etc. and was like "why would I do that?". For me, it's always been really easy to clip to my belt loop and belay the extra tube around the loose end of my belt, I've had no issues with getting it to work with clothes or anything like that. It works great. I've had great control. Sometimes I wonder but it would be an effort to try another flavor and all that and I'm sort of lazy about it.
I wear a tubed pump and have since 1/2000. I find it funny when Omnipod folks say they would not want to be "tethered" to a pump. Guess what? You are tethered to a pump. It may not have a tube but you are still attached to it!!
I do not want the sleep problem with the pod. I do not have to worry about placement of the small Quickset insertion for sleeping. I can sleep on it with no problems. (I know some say they feel the flow is bothered when they sleep on tubing but that has never been the case for me, and i am not a lightweight person.)
I also do not want the pod lump under clothing. I do not mind if my pump shows, clipped onto my waistband but the skin insertion site is flat. I do not want to knock a pod off which I know I would do much more often than I do with my pump a couple times a year when the tubing catches on something. The tubing is easily replaced and I don't waste insulin. I use the 300 reservoir Medtronic. If the pod only holds 200 units, that alone would be a no-brainer for me.
With all this, I did not even mention reliability. I will say that I have had NO reliability problems with Medtronic. In 14 years, I have only had to have one pump replaced by the company due to a technical problem. That was years ago. What is not to like about a tubed pump? Well, I would like a few more features but that is not your topic.
I really don't understand what difference it makes to you what we "tubed" pumpers like if you are happy with your Omnipod? How will you use the information in terms of your pump use? My observation is that no person can change another person's opinion. The person only changes their view when some personal event affects them in a way to change their perspective. You are happy with the pod and I am very OK with that! I will just stick with my own tether!
i agree with this. what's the point of this post if the poster LOVES his omnipod? We all have different needs/wants in terms of treatment, whatever works, ya know.
Uh, because he asked us why we like tubed pumps? I don't know if I can say "prefer" since I've never bothered trying an Omnipod but I *really* like my pump a lot!
Yes, me too. And I'll add another reason could be that there is no other option today for an un-tethered option. Yet, anyway. Is there? Seems the DOC is looking for our thoughts on it though, doesn't it??
As usual, I have more questions than answers!I tried to edit my last paragraph so it wouldn't sound critical but the save failed. Just didn't see the point but I did respond to the question. Nothing was said here, however, that has not been said hundreds of times before. Still, OK to repeat if needed.
For me, a tubed pump allows me to use slanted sets, manually inserted, which I really prefer over auto-inserting.
I personally tried the Pod for a month, and returned thankfully to my minimed after that period. here some reasons:
- At that time, i had already used minimed for 8 years, so i was so used to the whole pump system, i would forget the PDM, had no watch or flashlight when i needed it ( i use my pump as a clock and flashlight) and so on.
- i am really skinny and i really couldnt find a good spot for this bulky thing, the only thing that kinda worked was my arm, but even there i had struggles.
- the thought of a cannula that can be bent really bothers me, i prefer my metal sets i can put in on my own without anxiously awaiting the shoot from the pod.
- pod failures. my pump never fails, i can always restart it and it works perfectly fine. also, the pod alarm is so loud, i always thought i had a tinnitus when it beeped.
- the fact that i can combine pump and CGM is really cool, i dont wanna carry on another gadget extra for CGM.
There were also pros for the pod, its not that i hated it, but when i had to make the decision i just listed pros and cons, and the pros for the minimed overweighed, so i stuck with it and i dont regret it.
Oh yeah, clock/ flashlight would be a huge deal! I also agree with the ultra-low failure rate on manually inserted sets. I use Silhouettes which are plastic with a metal inserter but I have had excellent results, like <5 "failures" since I started using them in the Summer of 2008. Learning a sense of a new machine would be very daunting. I have switched to the Bayer meter pretty recently and am still getting used to the rhythm of the sucker compared to the more manual OneTouch meters I was used to. I don't want to upset my applecart with a new pump.
I guess the original question is "absent reliability" but for me the solid reliability of the Medronic pumps is a big selling point. I can focus on other challenges of diabetes than "is my BG yutzed up because my pump is yutzed up somehow?". I don't *ever* do that.
Regarding the throw away reason: I am not sure, but when i tried the pod out, i had to send every used pod back to Insulet who would recycle parts of the pod. although i am not sure how much was recycled and how much this "send back thing" was just a marketing thing to satisfy the customer who wants to be friendly to the environment. Isn't that the case in the US/Canada?
Anna-Kate,
With my Accu-Chek Spirit Combo (and all the earlier editions of this pump), I have a back-up pump designed to run for up to 6 months. So if my pump fails, I simply remove the insulin cartridge from the failed pump, place it in the back-up pump and continue my regular routine.
Dave, this was a huge "feature" for me when I was out of the country for many months at a time. Also, space was at a premium and the thought of storing 6 - 11 months of pods was a non-starter. Add the inherent waste stream to the equation, including wasted insulin, and I never got to ever considering the reliability questions.
So, a tubed pump was certainly the right choice for me. Glad that the Omni-pod is available as a choice for others (still wish there was less waste, though!).
Infusion sets are about $17 each, last I calculated.
It's reservoir size for me. I cannot do something that will require a pump change ever
1-1/2 to 2 days. I do like the Omipod and would use it if the reservoir were larger. It is also a matter of insurance. Omnipod woudl never be supported by my insurance at that rate. They have a 3 day minimum.
Oh yeah and the flash light would be like Awesome !!!!!!!!
rick