Sunday, April 28, 2013

New Omnipod: 1 Month Later

I've often said of Omnipod users that you hear from us only when there is a problem.

This is why you haven't heard from me about the new system in the last month.

It's awesome.

The pods are so lightweight and unobtrusive that, twice, I've put a new pod on and accidentally worn the old pod on my arm an additional three days without noticing. I've had to run diagnostic checks just to see which pod is active because the adhesive holds so well that I can't remember which one is where.

I haven't had an error, a kink, a misfire, an unexplained high...or anything.

My numbers are excellent. My 7-day, 14-day, and 30-day BGs according to my Dexcom graphs are 123, 128, and 130, respectively. My standard deviation is in the mid-50s.
Check out that week of near no-hitters!
Even when the t:slim was working for me, my average BG was 150+ and my standard deviation was in the 80s. I'm increasingly convinced that I wasn't getting consistent basal delivery on that pump.
A couple weeks back in January on my t:slim
vs a whole month on the new Omnipod.
This probably means nothing to most of you,
but I like to see only a few stray mountains
along a thick, twisty braided rope.
So Insulet's new little roadster is zooming along just fine. I don't want to jinx it, but I have found myself hugely relieved that this pump has been a sound choice. It's the break from crazy that I sorely needed.

The most problematic thing I've run into thus far was yesterday morning when I could NOT get the PDM to communicate with a new pod and then I realized I hadn't put any insulin in it yet to initialize the pod and turn it on. Haha. User error. I filled the pod and proceeded without another hiccup.

I'm getting a full 80 hours of Apidra action with no funny business. 80. Not 30. Not 48. 80!

I know that current users are frustrated at Insulet's poorly communicated, overpromised rollout. To you, my dear, frustrated friends, I want to say that I believe it will be worth the wait. It's coming to you, if slowly. I stand by my assertion that it speaks a great volume about Insulet that the company would labor to produce a new system and then literally give away components of it to 45,000 existing customers. Their competitors would not make that offer.

I hope that by the end of the summer, you'll all enjoy starting four more years of quality service with reduced errors, reduced occlusions, etc, compared to the old system.

And then we may all just be a silent, happy bunch.

27 comments:

  1. Thanks for all of your reviews on this, we are looking into the pod for our sweet 4 year old!

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  2. One question... Did you ever have post-change highs on the old pod, and if so, have you seen them on the new one?

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  3. Whew! My omnipod system came today just as I happened on several negative reviews. Needless to say, I was beginning to wonder what I got myself into. Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

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  4. "accidentally worn the old pod on my arm an additional three days without noticing" <---whoa.

    happy for you!

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  5. I received the new omnipod system 2 weeks ago and had 3 out of 4 pods with occlusion errors occuring 1 hour ~ 1 day of wear time. Very frustrated I just initiated a return. I definitely think omnipod will be a ymmv kind of thing.

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  6. Howe does the Omnipod PDM BG compare with your dexicom readings?

    John

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    1. I calibrate my Dexcom with my Omnipod, so yes, it matches very well. I do use a different code than the strip manufacturer recommends though. I find Code 18 to be closer to the other meters I use (One Touch VerioIQ) than the manufacturer's Code 16.

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  7. I'm 22 and currently use a Medtronic Paradigm Revel pump, and it's frustrating. I get really tired of changing the infusion sets (I have to do manually).

    The OmniPod system appeals to me for its auto-insert feature. Have you ever worn a pod on your thigh and have you ever been a bad insert? Thanks

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    1. I have worn them on the inner, outer, and top of my thigh, yes. I also use lovehandles, upper butt, small of my back (with the cannula facing away from spine so it hits more fat subcutaneous tissue), back of my arms, stomach, etc. The only bad location for me in four years to have it has been the calf (tried that one time and it was awful though I know someone who wears it there). I am more prone to knock it off of my thigh or arm than I am my core, but it takes a bit of force to do it.

      As for a bad insertion, I don't know that I can remember a single bad insertion. Kinked cannulas I've had a lot of (on their original system) and occlusions seemed more frequent on their old system than on my Medtronic pump, but bad insertion, no. I was actually surprised that Insulet added the little pink horseshoe deployment marker to their new pod because I've never had a cannula not deploy.

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    2. Have you noticed any insulin leaking from the pod around the insertion site? I'm using the older Omnipod system still, and the one issue I have with it is that on occasion I'll notice that insulin leaks out and makes the tape around the catheter wet. Ever had that problem? I'm not sure if its the pods or because its an angled insertion. I've never had much success with any angled catheters, regardless of brand.

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    3. Anon - The thing that made me leave Insulet with the old system was that I once filled up the reservoir with 150 Units and about 15 minutes later my PDM alarm went off; it displayed I only had 35 units left! Obviously, I freaked out (if the PDM was correct that would have meant that 115 units of novolog had just seeped into my body in 15 minutes...death for sure).

      Luckily, the PDM was wrong but the experience freaked me out so much that I went back to Flexpens and have been using them ever since.

      Now with the new PDM and Pods out I'm going to give it another go and I'm hoping for the best.

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  8. we've been calling customer service at omnipod for 2 weeks!!! never get a person, No return calls as promised in message, even though we've left tons of frantic voice mail messages. I have not been able to order new pods (I am down to 5 !) are they going out of business? I'm getting worried. I guess it's back to my pens

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    1. I have had the same problem as well. We have been waiting since June 2013!! We have left voice mails, called the billing department and the customer support line as well. I called the billing department again today to find out if I could have just the old pods sent so I would not run out. The person I spoke with stated that they no longer have old pods and my best bet is to just wait on the hold line until someone answers. Very frustrating. Too bad another company does not make this product because I would definitely switch.

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  9. I just received my new OmniPod PDM today and just placed my first new pod. I have to get my pods through a third-party vendor and the coordination between the two was not exactly as I had hoped, however, I called OmniPod and put my phone on speaker while I was doing other things. After 50 mins on hold a person quickly took care of my needs. I was frustrated that I had to wait that long to speak to someone, but so glad to have it taken care of. My advice is to find a time that you can do the same - I know it's a pain but it was worth it. I can't imagine having to go back to pens or switch to tubing!

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  10. I have been on the new pods for about 5 days now, and I have had 5 out of 6 pods malfunction while delivering insulin. Has anybody else had this much of a problem?

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    1. I have been using the new UST400 pods for a month or so. I have had about an 80% failure rate - 2/3 of them during bolus. I am getting NO CONCRETE INFO from Insulet Corp - acknowledging problem, what to do, when they will fix. I love the product, hate the problem we currently face.

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    2. I'm sad (and a bit relieved) to read these reviews. I have been diagnosed for 18 years, but just moved from shots to the pump two weeks ago. I have had 3 out of 5 malfunction on me, and of course at the most inopportune times. I also had one that wouldn't stop beeping and finally got ahold of customer service to learn how to manually "kill" it (after 7 hours of it beeping, I told the CSR I was going to take a hammer to it if he couldn't help). Do you know if there is a way to quiet or kill the alarm that happens when the pods do go bad? I just can't see how this very audible public notification is a better process than taking shots. It was embarrassing to admit the shrill beep was "me" when someone asked what it was, and the replacement process takes 10 minutes, time I didn't have when the pod went bad. So I went for about 2 hours with no insulin. However, when it is working, I do have to admit my sugars are more stable and I physically feel better - a fact I hate to admit. Any advice is appreciated

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    3. Put the pod in the freezer and the alarm will stop - eventually -

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  11. I'm on my fourth new pod - the first 3 failed after 25-30 hours and I'm waiting for this one to do the same. Very frustrating, and on top of that, it's impossible to get a live person on the phone at Insulet. This new system is definitely making diabetes a much larger part of my life!!

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  12. My glucose levels have been out of control since the new system. Very frustrating. I know they changed the insertion angle from 45 degrees to 60 degrees. Maybe this is the reason, I am not sure.

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  13. I think we should post LOT numbers to see if any of us have the same LOT numbers going bad.

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  14. Melissa

    Thanks for the right up. I am having all of the problems you experienced with the original Omnipod with the new one. It is my first pump. I am considering going back to pens. Would welcome your thoughts.

    Thanks, Mark

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  15. For me, it's hell.
    I have the new pod since 2 weeks and I've already userd 20 of them. Only 1 pod did the 3-days. All the others had pod-errors or occlusions. I find their is often a kind of crystallised inslunin blocking the canula or a bit of chair...
    With the old pods, I had the occasionnal occlusions (once per week), but it was worth it.
    Now, I'v talked with the rep and they will send me two boxes for free. But it was such a pain to tell them everything (code, serial numbers, etc.) and my contral is completely out of control (between. 2.0 mmol/l and 20.0 EVERYDAY!

    I will add that I am a Gong Fu trainer and I had to cancel 3 trainings this week because I was feeling too bad...

    I'm thinking of going back to injections after 5 years of podding... I'm sop discouraged!

    I'm from quebec, in Canada.

    Sorry for my ppoor english.

    Merci!

    Erik

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  16. For me, it's hell.
    I have the new pod since 2 weeks and I've already userd 20 of them. Only 1 pod did the 3-days. All the others had pod-errors or occlusions. I find their is often a kind of crystallised inslunin blocking the canula or a bit of chair...
    With the old pods, I had the occasionnal occlusions (once per week), but it was worth it.
    Now, I'v talked with the rep and they will send me two boxes for free. But it was such a pain to tell them everything (code, serial numbers, etc.) and my contral is completely out of control (between. 2.0 mmol/l and 20.0 EVERYDAY!

    I will add that I am a Gong Fu trainer and I had to cancel 3 trainings this week because I was feeling too bad...

    I'm thinking of going back to injections after 5 years of podding... I'm sop discouraged!

    I'm from quebec, in Canada.

    Sorry for my ppoor english.

    Merci!

    Erik

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  17. I've been with Minimed for nearly 12 years now. I've been on Dexcom for just over a year and love that I'm not physically connected. I'm considering the Omnipod for the tubeless feature... After reading allllll the comments and most of them being negative, I'm not so sure. I'm wondering, do those who have more squishyness on their body have better luck with the pods? . . . What are your thoughts?

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  18. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last August (2014). She is 21 and started using the Dexcom a month ago and the Omnipod a couple of weeks ago. So far she is loving both of them-- no problems at all! She almost didn't go with the Omnipod because of all the negative reviews, but on the other hand she also saw a lot of very positive reviews. She thought that the Omnipod would suit her lifestyle better than the others, so she decided to try it for herself. The 2 times she has had questions (while learning how to use it) and called Omnipod, they answered and helped her immediately. I'm hoping that all of the complaints and problems that people have encountered have caused Omnipod to take care of their 'issues' and maybe (hopefully) things are getting better now. I guess you never know until you try it for yourself. And btw, she is very small and petite, Amber, no 'squishyness' at all. :)

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    1. I'm new to this entire pump arena, and I'm considering the Omnipod + Dexcom 5 combo. How's your daughter doing since this post? I ask because I, too, am concerned about the ~30% pod failure rate from the 2013 post(s). Thank you much in advance for any feedback.

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