The Pump
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Canderson58054
Posts: 132 Member
So the last couple months, I've been trying to get approved for an insulin pump. I finally got the call the other week and it arrived today! I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time lol. The pump I got was the Omni pod (a tubeless one) So tomorrow I will be calling my Diabetic Educator to set up the Learning session for it. Any advice or tips for me from someone already on a pump? 
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Replies
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I'd love to hear if it makes a difference for you and how everyone finds their pumps. I've been taking shots ever since I was diagnosed. I was never really confident enough to feel I could explain what it was and share my diabetes with people, so now that I'm "growing up" a bit I've been considering it. I'm super active though, I play sports, ride horses, hike, do yoga and run, so I worry it would become caught or just in my way, even though I know many active diabetics use them. I'd love to hear some feedback. I've never met anyone with diabetes lets alone seen anyone with a pump I could ask these things to!0
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I've been pumping for 16 years. I've only used MiniMed and Animas. I don't know too much about the Pod but I do know I LOVE my pump and would never go back to injections. You can PM me if you have questions. I'd love to help.0
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I've been T1 since 1990 and pumping since 1996. I would never go back. The first few days (or weeks, I can't really remember) that I had my pump I thought about switching back. The insertion of the device is harder than sticking in a needle. Sometimes it goes in wrong and hurts, sometimes the pump is in the way. HOWEVER, I don't have to take 5-6 daily injections, instead I switch my insertion site every 3 days. Also, I have so much more flexibility. I can wake up late, eat lunch late, whatever. I love to hike and it's so nice to be able to turn down the basal rate, instead of deciding in the morning how much insulin to take. A high blood sugar requires a simple adjustment, instead of another injection. My blood sugars are much more controlled with the pump than they were with injections. It really changed my life.0
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About ten years ago my doctor asked me about a pump, but I am scared to try it....
I worry mostly about it getting in the way and getting pulled out, like at work and stuff.....
Does that ever happen to anyone??
I take 7 shots a day minimum......0 -
It is VERY rare that mine pulls out. It's just the site that comes out. It can be replaced. You should always have a set of supplies in case this happens. I just use some stuff to clean the site with that also helps the dressing to adhere. It's never really been an issue for me and I've been pumping for about 8 years. Before that I injected for 31 years. I would never do MDI's again.0
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Thank you everyone for responding I will have a very busy week next week. Monday I see my endocrinologist, Tuesday I meet with a representative and my CDE for training , and Thursday I have another dr appointment. Still nervous...lol. I guess I'm always nervous about the unknown....haha. Did anyone have wacky Blood sugars when they first started pumping? Mine have excellent since starting MFP.... I think I've been over 100 once, and that's including fasting and after meal checks. 0
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@Canderson5805 There's definitely going to be a bit of an adjustment period. I didn’t have too many wacky blood sugars because of switching to the pump. You’ll learn to adjust your basal rates as you start going higher or lower at certain times of the day.
@unknown_siste Make sure you tuck the tubing in. Sometimes it seems like the tiniest amount of exposed tubing has a way of finding every door knob in a 5 miles radius. Most of the time it doesn’t pull out the site though, it just throws off your stride and stops you in your tracks. One time a friend tried helping me out by yanking on the “loose thread” hanging off my shirt. I had to replace the site after that bit of help.0 -
Do the injection sites leave anyone with strange marks or sore spots? Just trying to figure out all of the positives and negatives before I think about switching. My blood sugars are really quite good and I don't take a very large amount of insulin, so I'm really on the fence about making the change!0
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My 12yo daughter was diagnosed with Type-1 four years ago the day after her 8th birthday- we started using the Omnipod in July of 2009 and it has been a huge improvement in her life. A few random thoughts on using them:
- I have read a lot of complaints about the pods not sticking properly. From our experience the better you clean / prep the area the better it sticks. We go over it good with alcohol wipes let it dry then repeat. We also watch what kind of soap lotion bubble bath she uses because things like that can keep it from sticking right.
- Adhesive remover is your friend! Our trainer told us to use nail polish remover which was a joke. For the first few months getting the old pods off was the worst part of it until we discovered Uni-Solve Adhesive Remover. For like $7 per box of 50 wipes it is amazing- just wipe around the cloth part of the pod and give it a few minutes and they pull right off. http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/smith-nephew-uni-solve-adhesive-remover_1176.htm?source=SiteSearch
- If you like to swim or especially go to water parks Vet Wrap is a must. We put the pod on the back of her arm and run around it a few times with vet wrap and she can swim at a water park for the entire day. Without it the chlorine eventually gets to the adhesive and the pods come loose.
- Since my daughter gets 2.5 - 3 days out of a pod (200 units) and our prescription is for one every 2 days we get more than we typically need. When we get a shipment of pods we write the date on the boxes so we can use them in the right order. I don't think there is an expatriation date on them but we have noticed they become less and less reliable after 6-8 months on the shelf so I only keep them for so long.
- For the most part they are fairly reliable however they can just go bad without warning or explanation. We always carry several extra pods and supplies with us just in case.
- Occasionally a pod can go bad immediately after you fill it with insulin- they say you can't but yes you can pull the insulin back out of it with the syringe. Over the years maybe 8-10 times we have had a pod just be DOA and didn't want to waste 200 units of insulin and you can get most of it right back out in a pinch.
- We only use Duracell batteries in the CPM. We had a CM go bad on us and they shipped us a free replacement but told us Energizer batteries are a tiny bit bigger than Duracell and will eventually stretch out the electrical contacts. They also told us to 'wake up' the CMP by pressing the button before putting in a test strip. Not sure how valid those two items are but we have done that and had no further issues with the CPM.
Good luck with your insulin pump! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.0 -
My 12yo daughter was diagnosed with Type-1 four years ago the day after her 8th birthday- we started using the Omnipod in July of 2009 and it has been a huge improvement in her life. A few random thoughts on using them:
- I have read a lot of complaints about the pods not sticking properly. From our experience the better you clean / prep the area the better it sticks. We go over it good with alcohol wipes let it dry then repeat. We also watch what kind of soap lotion bubble bath she uses because things like that can keep it from sticking right.
- Adhesive remover is your friend! Our trainer told us to use nail polish remover which was a joke. For the first few months getting the old pods off was the worst part of it until we discovered Uni-Solve Adhesive Remover. For like $7 per box of 50 wipes it is amazing- just wipe around the cloth part of the pod and give it a few minutes and they pull right off. http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/smith-nephew-uni-solve-adhesive-remover_1176.htm?source=SiteSearch
- If you like to swim or especially go to water parks Vet Wrap is a must. We put the pod on the back of her arm and run around it a few times with vet wrap and she can swim at a water park for the entire day. Without it the chlorine eventually gets to the adhesive and the pods come loose.
- Since my daughter gets 2.5 - 3 days out of a pod (200 units) and our prescription is for one every 2 days we get more than we typically need. When we get a shipment of pods we write the date on the boxes so we can use them in the right order. I don't think there is an expatriation date on them but we have noticed they become less and less reliable after 6-8 months on the shelf so I only keep them for so long.
- For the most part they are fairly reliable however they can just go bad without warning or explanation. We always carry several extra pods and supplies with us just in case.
- Occasionally a pod can go bad immediately after you fill it with insulin- they say you can't but yes you can pull the insulin back out of it with the syringe. Over the years maybe 8-10 times we have had a pod just be DOA and didn't want to waste 200 units of insulin and you can get most of it right back out in a pinch.
- We only use Duracell batteries in the CPM. We had a CM go bad on us and they shipped us a free replacement but told us Energizer batteries are a tiny bit bigger than Duracell and will eventually stretch out the electrical contacts. They also told us to 'wake up' the CMP by pressing the button before putting in a test strip. Not sure how valid those two items are but we have done that and had no further issues with the CPM.
Good luck with your insulin pump! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Thanks for your post & tips! Strangely, the person I met with to set up my pump was a clinical service manager from Omni pod who uses the pump herself, and she didnt even say anything about using something to help take it off....lol I was just under the impression by the third day it peeled off easier, so I will probably be ordering those. I'm going to check with my pharmacy to see if they have anything like that or can get anything like that in overnight for the meantime tho. I don't really swim, I don't know how and I have a prosthetic so im not too worried about that, but i do like hot tubs ! Where do you find the vet wrap stuff? That is crazy about the batteries tho- I was told by her to use energizer max batteries.... that they had been found to have the longest battery life. Makes someone wonder why they would tell you to use energizer if they can stretch it out... 0 -
Thanks for your post & tips! Strangely, the person I met with to set up my pump was a clinical service manager from Omni pod who uses the pump herself, and she didnt even say anything about using something to help take it off....lol I was just under the impression by the third day it peeled off easier, so I will probably be ordering those. I'm going to check with my pharmacy to see if they have anything like that or can get anything like that in overnight for the meantime tho. I don't really swim, I don't know how and I have a prosthetic so im not too worried about that, but i do like hot tubs ! Where do you find the vet wrap stuff? That is crazy about the batteries tho- I was told by her to use energizer max batteries.... that they had been found to have the longest battery life. Makes someone wonder why they would tell you to use energizer if they can stretch it out...
You can get Vet Wrap at any type of pet store I'm pretty sure. I would be careful though about submerging the pod in a hot tub because I'm not sure what kind of heat the insulin in the reservoir could take before it's cooked/ruined.
As for the batteries I would imagine as long as you are consistent it shouldnt be a problem. Going from the larger batt to slightly smaller batt could be where the issue lies.0 -
Hi there - I've used the Omni Pod for about 18 months now. One nice person here said that nail polish remover was a joke, but it works GREAT for me in removing the pods. Just make sure you get ACETONE nail polish remover. The non-acetone stuff will not work.
Hope you're enjoying your new pump!0 -
What about things like swimming, showering and sex? What do you do with the pump then?0
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What about things like swimming, showering and sex? What do you do with the pump then?
The Omni Pod has no tubes or wires. you can check out what it looks like @ http://www.myomnipod.com/about-omnipod/
But essentially you wear a egg shaped deal that you change every three days and you get a "remote" like thing that looks similar to a cell phone or ipod to control it. They communicate similar like a computer and wireless printer. Before you put a pod on you activate it, and you deactivate it before you take it off to change it.
Anyway to your original question. The part you wear is waterproof up to an hour in 25 feet of water. I've showered with it with no problems, and I don't swim or even try to now that I have a prosthetic leg. So I cannot specify on that experience but someone said earlier that they wrap thier daughters pod in vet wrap when they go swimming or to a water park. Since its wireless, I don't think people would have issues during sex either. It has to be near you when you bolus at meal times but for your basal every hour it doesn't.0 -
Hi there - I've used the Omni Pod for about 18 months now. One nice person here said that nail polish remover was a joke, but it works GREAT for me in removing the pods. Just make sure you get ACETONE nail polish remover. The non-acetone stuff will not work.
Hope you're enjoying your new pump!
So far I'm loving it~! I can't get over much nicer it is then giving myself 5 shots a day! I'll take what feels like a small rubber snap against my skin every 3 days to 5 sharp sticks a day :laugh: I was very surprised how close my doctor was to the right carb ratio the first time. I went back today, as it had been a week since starting it and we made a small tweak to the bolus calc. My after meal checks were on the higher end of my goals, with a few that were higher then goal. But overall so far, I am sooo glad I made the switch! 0 -
I love my omnipod. I had quite a few problems with it at first but two years later it's great. When it comes to jewlery I always needed hypoallergenic. So the adhesive on the pumps also bothers my skin. I use a skin barrier and works pretty well; you might need that or medical tape. I do knock mine off occasionally but it doesn't hurt.. the medical tape should fix that. Always carry extra batteries with you. Although I've noticed that with mine I have to plug it into the computer to change the batteries or lose all my testing data.0
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My soon to be 7 yr old son wears the omnipod along with a dexcom sensor and we love it. Poor kid use to get 6-10 injections a day and never complain! Here are a few of the positives and negatives I've noticed with the omnipod ( and by the way I'm a nurse too). F
Positive-
-You can stick it anywhere and it very seldomly comes off and this is with a active kid wearing it!
-His hgb A1c has been in the normal range since he has been wearing for over a yr now.
- I can't imagine having tubes. He'd be tangled up and dropping the pump all the time. Also can wear with any clothing.
-up front cost is much cheaper than other pumps and I have never had any problems with ordering supplies or having the company replace defective pods.
-self insertion is a breeze to do and everything is contained inside the pod itself, creating a barrier over the catheter and the site.
-waterproof
Negative-
-He runs high almost with every new insertion. From what I've heard and in his case it actually take awhile for the catheter to acclomate in the tissue. We keep his old one on for awhile even after inserting a new one and give him a small bolus prior to changing it.
-The old site is quite tacky and sticky but a product called Detachol removes all of the excess with ease but can be hard on sensitive skin.
-This pump only offers basal rates to be set in 0.05 increments so if you need smaller than that you might have trouble
-if you need more than 60 units a day you will need to change the pod more often.
I tried to make this more relative to adult wearers but did not a specific details that are more kid related. 0 -
I LOVE MY PUMP! With my pump, I've been able to achieve a 6.3 A1c. My sugars are good, I feel better and weigh less. I have only pulled my site out once in the 10 years that I've been pumping. The first month was lousy, trying to adjust my insulin and getting comfortable with putting in the site, but after that I never looked back! The control is amazing. The needles for insertion are small and they have a device that pops it in for you (I use Minimed). Best thing I've ever done for myself (well, that and getting my continuous glucose monitor). I'm happy to answer questions or just be supportive, if you send me a friend request!0
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My soon to be 7 yr old son wears the omnipod along with a dexcom sensor and we love it. Poor kid use to get 6-10 injections a day and never complain! Here are a few of the positives and negatives I've noticed with the omnipod ( and by the way I'm a nurse too). F
Positive-
-You can stick it anywhere and it very seldomly comes off and this is with a active kid wearing it!
-His hgb A1c has been in the normal range since he has been wearing for over a yr now.
- I can't imagine having tubes. He'd be tangled up and dropping the pump all the time. Also can wear with any clothing.
-up front cost is much cheaper than other pumps and I have never had any problems with ordering supplies or having the company replace defective pods.
-self insertion is a breeze to do and everything is contained inside the pod itself, creating a barrier over the catheter and the site.
-waterproof
Negative-
-He runs high almost with every new insertion. From what I've heard and in his case it actually take awhile for the catheter to acclomate in the tissue. We keep his old one on for awhile even after inserting a new one and give him a small bolus prior to changing it.
-The old site is quite tacky and sticky but a product called Detachol removes all of the excess with ease but can be hard on sensitive skin.
-This pump only offers basal rates to be set in 0.05 increments so if you need smaller than that you might have trouble
-if you need more than 60 units a day you will need to change the pod more often.
I tried to make this more relative to adult wearers but did not a specific details that are more kid related.
With regard to the highs after the site change: With minimed pumps, you "prime" the infusion set after the change. Depending on the length of the catheter, the prime amount is generally .5 to 1.0. I've never had any issues with highs after a site change, but if Omnipod doesn't have that priming function, that could be the issue.0 -
My soon to be 7 yr old son wears the omnipod along with a dexcom sensor and we love it. Poor kid use to get 6-10 injections a day and never complain! Here are a few of the positives and negatives I've noticed with the omnipod ( and by the way I'm a nurse too). F
Positive-
-You can stick it anywhere and it very seldomly comes off and this is with a active kid wearing it!
-His hgb A1c has been in the normal range since he has been wearing for over a yr now.
- I can't imagine having tubes. He'd be tangled up and dropping the pump all the time. Also can wear with any clothing.
-up front cost is much cheaper than other pumps and I have never had any problems with ordering supplies or having the company replace defective pods.
-self insertion is a breeze to do and everything is contained inside the pod itself, creating a barrier over the catheter and the site.
-waterproof
Negative-
-He runs high almost with every new insertion. From what I've heard and in his case it actually take awhile for the catheter to acclomate in the tissue. We keep his old one on for awhile even after inserting a new one and give him a small bolus prior to changing it.
-The old site is quite tacky and sticky but a product called Detachol removes all of the excess with ease but can be hard on sensitive skin.
-This pump only offers basal rates to be set in 0.05 increments so if you need smaller than that you might have trouble
-if you need more than 60 units a day you will need to change the pod more often.
I tried to make this more relative to adult wearers but did not a specific details that are more kid related.
With regard to the highs after the site change: With minimed pumps, you "prime" the infusion set after the change. Depending on the length of the catheter, the prime amount is generally .5 to 1.0. I've never had any issues with highs after a site change, but if Omnipod doesn't have that priming function, that could be the issue.
The Omnipod does prime each pod before it prompts you to stick it to your skin and set the cannula. We have never had a pattern of highs after a pod change either but I'm sure everyone is different- maybe something to do with a younger person has a lower basal rate and therefor less insulin pumping?0
