Dummy Pod Problem

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Peter on April 23, 2008 at 6:09pm

I'm always adding my two cents in but I have to say something that may offend some of the people on this forum especially some non-OmniPod people but I must say it.

First of all if you really think about it and are open to new ways the OmniPod is the way to go for all pump user especially when they cut the size down. A lot of people will have there opinions here but this is not open to opinions. The OmniPod is creating more pump users from people that would never have consider a pump because of tubing and that is just a fact! Get us to it people, OmniPod or some pump like it will be dominating the market from here and now and into the future, except in certain circumstances pumps with tubing will be phased out as must as continuous monitoring is going to be part of most diabetics lives within 5 years or so.

Now for something even more important for me to say!
Unless there was an exceptional reason I personally could not in all good conscious put my child on any pump but the OmniPod. This is not a personal preference we are talking about here. This is not a "I like this color" or "I like the screen on that one". We are talking about children. Children who we all want to live as normal of a life as they can with this horrible disease. Getting a pump is about giving the child a chance that their health being will be more normal. Getting a child an OmniPod is about giving the child the change to be more of a child, to live life more like a child! A child pretty much having the ability to be a child with the running and moving a child should be doing without having to be attached to a hose, without having to worrying because they got tangled on something. Without having a pump attached to their waste reminding them and everyone around them that they are different, they are sick! I don't mean to sound that I am preaching here but of course I am. And another thing, I just don't understand the negatives that I here from people about the OmniPod. I know for a fact that most of the bad info I read on the various boards about the OmniPod are pure speculation and not from real OmniPod users, these people have never even had an OmniPod in their hands much less actually tried using one. Even problems I have read about from people who tried the POD but had problems were for the most part due to ignorance in the proper use of the POD. Things like, "some many of the pods failed", "the Pod did not activate". If you follow instructions carefully you might not have so many problems. I all about a learning curve on any new system, the OmniPod is no exception. Some things to always make sure of are: -make sure your insulin is at room temperature before filling the pod, -when filling the pod make sure the needle is straight (not at a angle). -make sure you clean the area where the pod will be placed very well. These are just a few of the simple things that if not done right will make the pod not activate, fail or fall off. Using room temperature insulin is very important, if you use cold insulin the pod may not activate but people blame it on the pod. If you fill the pod with the needle at an angle then the pod will not fill correctly, or all the way, or may get air in it, again it may not activate or may fail. People blame it on the pod. You can't be stupid here! The instructions must be followed as simple as they may or as unimportant as they may seem. I have been using the OmniPod system for months now and I have not come upon one single problem with any pod or anything else. Am I just lucky? Doubtful, no one with this disease is all the lucky!

I sincerely hope that I have just provided some insight and information here and not just added to the confusion or just ruffled some feathers here. If I offended anyone in anyway it was not my intent and I sincerely apologize before hand!

Peter

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dee Dee on April 24, 2008 at 1:17am

I'm glad you are sold on it. Thanks for all this info.
Let me ask you some more questions about it:
1. You know some people talk very negatively about having "electrical fields" close to you, like sleeping in a waterbed (as I do) or near a cell phone base. Well, could it be dangerous to have this thing with a battery (batteries?) inside it right on you (maybe closer than another pump's main part would be) ? That's just me wondering.
2. I know people fuss about it being environmentally harmful since there is a lot of waste with the pods tossed..... Can't they be recycled, or will that ever be an option?
3. You mentioned the continuous glucose monitor. Do I need to get that also, going on the pump? The drawback I see there (besides more batteries on you!) is that you end up with twice as many skin sites to worry over and more potential scarring, maybe?
Mind you, I Do still want the Omnipod.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peter on April 24, 2008 at 1:51am

First, No you do not need a continuous glucose monitor to use any pump including the OmniPod. However it would be nice to have one. I am trying to get the Abbott FreeStyle Navigator, it's about a 6 week more wait. The OmniPod does have a build-in FreeStyle glucose monitor the will record the reading and advise a correction bolus or a corrected food bolus based on your glucose reading and any insulin that you have on board. When you get your OmniPod every thing you need, PDA, PODs, Blood Strips, Prep Wipes, Batteries, Instuctions, DVD, etc will come in the box. I would advise that you have your CED, Doctor or an Insulet Rep work with you to actually start pumping.

I guess when you said twice as many skin sites to worry over I think you where talking about using both the pump and the CGM, is that right? Well this might be true but when I was doing 6 injections a day before pumping think about how many skin sites I had. Also you are saving a little wear and tear on your fingers with the CGM :) But you are right, I do not have plans to use the CGM every moment of my life just now and then to make sure everything is as it should be with the reading.

The batteries are the same size as watch batteries. There appears to be 3 or 4 of them in each POD. I can see on this could be anymore harmful to a human then wearing a watch. The POD is made out of very sturdy/heavy material so there would not be any leakage or anything like that. As for disposing the PODS I collect my used PODs and then bring them in bulk to my county battery collection site. They rip out the batteries and recycle them, I guess the rest of the plastic goes with the plastic recyclables.

About the dangers of electrical fields harming the pod user? The only thing that come out of the POD on a normal basis is the wireless communications. No one seems to worry about all the waves going thru our bodies coming from all directions from radio, TV, computers, lights, etc. so I am not going to worry about the pod's waves. The motor for pumping and other electronics are only active when you are doing a bolus, basel, or requesting a status from PDA. I am not going to lose sleep over my POD when I talk on a cell phone several times a day. The OmniPod had to go thru the same rigorous testing and requirements that all the pumps go thru. to get approved. The approval process in the country is not an easy one for such medical devices. When you have concerns you should really speak to an Insulet (OmniPod) rep because they would always have the latest information on questions that you might have. By the way a lot of the Insulet personal that I have spoken to also use the OmniPod themselves so they usually could relate to your concerns and such.

About you water bed, I would think that most of the time you would have the POD on a part of your body that would usually not be against the actual bed (mattress) most of the time. I usually wear my PODs on my stomach area but I tend to roll over during the night on to my stomach so the POD is sometimes against the bed. I find it unusual that during my sleep that I don't even notice that I am laying on my POD, then again I am big guy so maybe on a smaller person they might feel it more if they were lying on their pod :)

▶ Reply to This

• 1
• 2
• 3