Okay, it's been a year and while there has been some good things about OmniPod, the cons have outweighed the pros. Probably a combination of first time ever using a pump, first year of college, stress of dealing with college, pods, etc. and sensitive skin - the rashes are the tipping point. Yeah, we've tried the wipes to remove the glue, tried lotion, tried prescription lotion - I think my daughter is just stressed and she is glad to be back on pens.
The good news - I think she is more responsible now and knows that even with a pump your numbers can creep back up if you don't pay attention to it.
The bad/good news - we switched meters (Contour USB --downloading was another issue with OmniPod) so now we have tons of extra strips that don't match our meter. I'm one of the lucky ones - my insurance pays a good portion of her strip costs. We are saving one of her old mini meters and a box of strips for an emergency...but strips expire so it makes no sense to keep all of them.
Is there a program set up anywhere to donate strips? They are the FreeStyle strips (not FreeStyle Lite).
There is no where to donate or sell them within TuD. You might try donating them to your endo or other physician. As long as they are unopened boxes, I think they would be open to taking them. If not them, I think you should try finding a local free clinic. Or maybe look up a doctors w/o borders type of organization. They would gladly take strips.
I hope that your daughter is able to focus on school more w/o the stress from her pod experience. Good luck!
Maybe Insulin for Life? I think the URL is insulinforlife.org and they donate D supplies to third world countries. Or, maybe there’s someone on this list without insurance who would welcome the donation?
Wow! Thanks for all the information - I love this idea about third world countries. My daughter has commented in the past that if she lived in a country without good health insurance or services she would be dead by now. She’s lucky that we do have insurance and of course, that I’m not just cutting off her since she turned 18
A while back there was some info somewhere here about an organization getting diabetic supplies to Haiti. You could research Haiti in the forums, if you are interested.
My skin was very sensitive when I was young. I probably wouldn’t have been able to wear the pods back then. There will most likely be many changes in your daughter’s treatment as she ages. Good luck to her.
I’m a podder just finishing my first year of College too! If your daughter wants someone to talk to about the totally crazy balancing act I’m sure we both lead, let me know! I did the first half of my year still on MDI if she wants any pointers on college life WITHOUT OmniPod!
