I have noticed that I had a leaky or tunneling site on my omnipod. What are you tips and trick to prevent this from happening.
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Inconsistent site absorption was the reason I stopped using Omnipod 10 years ago. When I started using the Omnipod, I had already been pumping for 25 years, primarily using my abdomen.
With a tubed pump, you can change cannula styles to adapt to reluctant sites. With the Omnipod, you are stuck with the designed-in angle and depth of the cannula.
I believe the primary cause of tunneling, leaking, and otherwise poor absorption is trying to use pump sites that are scarred. My suggestion to you is try to find some never used sites and give your usual spots at least a 6-12 month break.
I don’t use pods, but I know about overusing areas. I over used my abdomen. I wore compression tee shirts for 3 months and rested the areas for almost a year. Finally the puffy ness and the hard spots went away. I aim mostly for my hips and buttocks now.
When the new Tandem mobi patch pump comes out it will have options to use any of the sets, but still work like a pod does.
This will give me more places to put it. I wish it would get here already
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A few things to consider:
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The site you are using - try different places to see which spots work best. I think it works best on firmer areas, where the adhesive can get a good grip on your skin.
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When inserting it, pinch the site and press the pod (cannula side) down into your skin. After it inserts, release it. Then rub the adhesive a little bit to make sure it has a good grip.
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For very large boluses, consider using a syringe or pen. Use the pod for basal and smaller doses, like for corrections or snacks. And for big meals (when it is convenient, like you are at home) see if using a pen or syringe helps reduce the site leakage. Some people have reported sites becoming flooded from dosing a lot of insulin with them, so they have had success using other means for the larger boluses.
Certain sites that work really well for a while, stop pretty quickly. Even though the odds of you hitting the exact same spot are small, scar tissue builds up in the area and it isn’t always noticeable. So I like to rotate the actual areas.
I never like to give more than 3 units at a time, although sometimes I push that to 5 units. Usually if I am, I extend part of it or wait to give more. That seems to work. A separate shot or Afrezza as part of the dose also works well.
I use double strength in mine so 3 units is really 6 units of insulin. 5 units is 10 units so I am rarely going over that without wanting to split the dose or extend it anyways.
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I used Omnipod for a couple of months in order to Loop. I had some good days with it and many more bad days. Pain, bruising, insulin leakage, adhesive problems. I am a senior so my skin and tissue aren’t as durable as younger folks. But my experience was that I couldn’t understand how other people succeed with pods. At the same time I loved being tubeless.
I was so grateful to return to my tubed pump and the more gentle infusion sets and the more reliable insulin delivery.
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I had tunneling as soon as I started using pods about four years ago. I couldn’t find any information about it and assumed the pods were defective. Since then there is lots more info on sites like this one. It happened wherever I put pods, so it had something to do with my tissue in general and nothing to do with using scarred sites.
I have two solutions. I use the pod for basal and for boluses or corrections of no more than 2 or 3 units (play around to see what upper limit works for you), and inject the rest with a pen. Alternatively, I extend a larger bolus over half an hour. I have never had leaking/tunneling since with either method.
Personally I love pods and would not switch just to have more cannula options.
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@beacher – Your two tactics that address leaking/tunneling make me wonder if I might have benefitted from them when I failed at adopting the Omnipod ten years ago. Maybe my erratic and sometimes poor insulin absorption was not related to scarring but to the condition that you report.
Do you ever experience “third-day fade,” the otherwise unexplained rise in BGs on the 3rd day of a pod? Do you ever see a gap in control when switching from one pod session to the next? These are two other circumstances that caused me to abandon the Omnipod.
I’m glad you have found effective workarounds. Thanks for sharing them.
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@Terry4, I rarely have the third-day problem, though I did in the beginning, and I wonder if it’s because I no longer overload my sites with insulin. Someone once had the analogy of leaving a lawn sprinkler on too long, and after a while the soil just can’t absorb any more water. Same thing with some people’s tissue and insulin, maybe.
I also bolus 0.25 units when starting a new pod, and that seems to prep the tissue to absorb, so no, I don’t get any disruption in absorption at the start of a new session.
The one problem I do have from time to time is that some sites just do not absorb well. They may be really close to perfect-absorption sites I’ve used before, so it’s not like I can say “I can’t use my arms,” for instance. The arms are great for nine pods, and then once they’re not, and it’s a mystery to me. Insulet replaces any pods I remove early because of poor absorption.
Early pods had a number of problems – there were lots of complaints in this forum – but later ones appear to work much better. I wonder if you tried podding with the earlier pods?
Back in 2012, I determinedly tried to make the pods of that time work for me. I persisted for five months before I gave up. Perhaps my trial was based on poor quality pods, yet many concurrent pod users experienced none of the complaints I made at the time.
I’m happy that pods perform so well for so many people. I accept that my experience is one that few people share. Yet I remember that there were others who ran into the same difficulties as me.
I went on to discover highly effective systems to manage my blood glucose levels and have since been able to produce healthy non-diabetic glycemia. It’s wonderful that we live at a time that offers people with diabetes many technical options to live their best life possible.
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Absolutely! I hope you didn’t read my reply as trying to push you back to pods. Whatever works best for you, works – even non-technical options like good ol’ syringes.
No, I didn’t interpret your comment that way. I think we all suffer a certain level of blindness when we experience a method or protocol that works so well for us. It can be hard to accept that for some people, it is less effective or doesn’t even work at all.
When I posted a diary about my misadventure with Omnipod back in 2012, it did create a fair amount of friction with the successful podders on the forum. I tried to be diplomatic but it was written in the wake of a miserable pod failure. I woke up on a Thanksgiving morning to the screech of an occluded pod and blood sugar in the high 200s. That was the last pod I’ve ever worn.
I’ve since learned that there are many people who get dependable service from their pods. They enjoy a lot time in range and just love their system since it works so well for them. I do get that. I feel the same way about my DIY Loop, Dexcom CGM, a low carb way of eating, and Afrezza.
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As others have mentioned, large boluses tend to cause leakage with the Omnipod site. But something I also learned is that the more secure the pod is on my skin, the better. I often stretch 2 strips of IV3000 over the top and bottom edges of the pod and across the pod tape to make it more secure.
One too many times of accidently banging a pod worn on my arm against a door frame while I passed through it, and then seeing my blood sugars creep up an hour or two after, clued me in. Once I removed the pod, I’d see the leak.
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