Do you guys ever take pump breaks? And if so, why and for how long? I've only been on the Omnipod for 3 months, love it, but am considering taking a break and doing MDI for awhile.
Thanks!
I occasionally take a break, mostly in the summer (because of my vanity!), and it's usually for a short period of time....
Been on for about 2 years and it's never crossed my mind. I don't wear two piece suits and I usually wear it on my stomach or hips so it's never in a position so be seen. Sometimes when it seems to be acting up (blood sugars way high) I'll take a shot instead of bolusing and I always carry a pen with me but I've never considered going off. I can kind of see wanting to take a break when on a tubed pump, though.
I've taken a few breaks since I started pumping (2004). I went on the Omnipod because I was sick of the tubing. It was either that, or back to MDIs. I'm still considering taking a break anyway, because I'm just sick of having something on me, and I bruise easily with the pods. I'm glad I'm not the only one that's considering taking a break. It's just a pain taking a shot every time I want to eat something....
OH< YEAH! At least once a month! Whenever I have a string of bad pods from the same carton...(which Insulet tells me is impossible) or a one time bad pod, I go MDI! ONce I took a break to try onother pump (Ping) but it just didnt work for me (tubing). Good luck and PEACE
How do you figure insulin on board when on MDIs? And what do you use for your basal? Do you just take the same amount of basal that you're taking in your pod? Or do you need more? I seem to need more Lantus than what I use for basal in my pump. Last couple times I went back on MDIs, I just couldn't "get it right". What I need to find is syringes that have half units on them....
Taking a break, starting today.....
looks like I'm taking a break starting tomorrow since my shipment hasn't arrived....bummer.
I’ve been on the pump for 17 months now, ater 25+ years on MDI. I’m not ready for a break just yet, though I don’t rule out the possibility sometime in the future. The couple of times I have had to dose using my pens turned out to be a bit nightmarish so I’m more than a bit put off by the thought of going back to MDI right now.
I never consider taking a break. It's the best tool I've had in 46 years. I've been on the O'pod since 10/08 and just recently figured out that if I used Novolog instead of Apidra that my BGs didn't go out of control for the last 8-12 hours of a 72 hour pod life. Both Humalog & Apidra recommend that you change the insulin in a reservoir every 2 days which doesn't really work well with an O'pod. Novolog lists 6 days in a reservoir as ok. The other thing I do in using the O'pod that I haven't seen mentioned is that I never deactivate a pod in the same room as I store my unused pods and I don't usually have too much trouble with pod failures (although I just had one tonight.)
I've never even thought about it. I would hate to go back to shots -- long-acting, quick-acting, how much basal, sneaking off to restaurant bathrooms before a meal. Not for me.
I have a whole routine I follow when I switch pods. One thing I do, as well, is deactivate, remove, and leave the pod in a seperate room BEFORE I'll even go into the next room where I keep my new pods. I actually feel like that does make a difference.
To take it a bit further, I won't even use my PDM anywhere near my new pods if I can help it.
I also have ironclad proof that if I stand completely still and stare at the new pod as it primes, I'm guaranteed to not have a failure. The two times that I had the audacity to walk away from a priming pod, they failed.
I have other things in my routine, but they are kinda silly compared to these. =P
I've been pumping 15 years, 14 years on MM and 1 year on Omnipod,and have never gone back to MDI. In fact, I've been lucky enough that I've never had to even for pump malfunctions and such. I love the freedom and the tracking/convenience of being able to download all necessary info for my endo. The thought has never even crossed my mind. :)
I have been on both CGM (Dexcom) and pump (Omnipod) for almost 2 years, and as someone who travels internationally as a consultant, they devices have allowed me some freedom sacrificing some aesthetics to your body image.
I often take breaks (perhaps every quarter) for about a week at a time and go back to MDIs, either to coincide with vacation or when I want to feel a little bit more handsome for my wife (tough to feel uninhibited when you have electronic devices hanging from you).
It is a very personal decision, and I suspect that everyone's lifestyle and comfort will dictate how often then go on breaks. If I were to make any recommendation, I would say ask your endo/diabetes care team for an MDI regimen -- you should have it if you every run into an emergency just in case you want to try it out, rather than wait for your next endo appointment to revisit the topic).
The technology gives us a lot of flexibility and management, but there is more than one way to do things, and having choices and knowing the pros/cons of each, can allow you to make some decisions based on your comfort, mood, or plain vanity!