I was using the DEV branch of Loop with DASH, but when OM5 came out for everyone, I jumped at the chance. I had to get a prior authorization for the kit and the pods, but both are completely FREE under my private insurance through my employer as is the insulin and anything else related to diabetes care. My PDM arrived last week and I’m already on my 3rd pod so far. The first major pod order is being released 6/22 because of my latest DASH order of pods was too recent. That’s fine, because the welcome kit comes with one pod plus a two pack of 5 pods. They even give you a case for the PDM, wall wart and a USBC cable. It also comes with its own data plan so you don’t have to use wifi if you don’t want to. I’m still unsure what cloud it uploads to and how often though.
So here, in no particular order, are some observations that will take some getting used to:
If you use Dexcom G6 app on your phone, you have to power down your phone first every time you change a pod, because the new pod has to re-pair to the G6 transmitter, so if you don’t it won’t pick it up.
Once you get it all paired and working, then you can turn your phone back on and it picks up any missing readings and back fills on the G6.
I’m using Sugarmate.io to show my graph in a web browser at work as well as push updates to my watch via a calendar complication. It’s clunky, but works and gives updates every 5 minutes automatically.
I can’t seem to figure out a way to see what it is doing insulin delivery wise. It only shows IOB but not what it is giving you like LOOP did on its graph.
I really love that you don’t need the PDM around hardly at all except for bolusing. Now if you want your dexcom data to update, you do need your phone around, but only if you care about that like I do.
So far, so good. I thought I would fall in love with it and be gushing about it. But there seems to be so much control I’m giving up compared to looping that I"m still torn and having second thoughts. But I haven’t used it long enough yet, so I’ll continue to give it a good, honest try. If it weren’t for the learning aspect and the not needing the PDM around because they talk directly to each other aspect, I’d probably go back to looping.
Anyone else using OM5? Anyone coming from loop, particularly DASH and the DEV branch? What do you think?
The functionality of the Dexcom G6 app and Clarity on iPhone are not changed by the Om5. The pod gets a BG reading directly from the G6 every 5 minutes and that reading shows up on the Om5 PDM and on the iPhone app. Perhaps when Insulet comes out with an iOS app that will change.
@bpollina issue #1 above has not occurred for me. When I change Om5 pod the PDM pairs with G6 automatically and the iPhone remains paired. I did have an issue of being unable to pair the Dex receiver to my sensor/transmitter. Probably because I already had the phone and PDM paired to it.
BG readings every 5 minutes via Bluetooth from G6 transmitter on your arm direct to PDM.,PDM continues to get BG readings if phone is turned off or out of range.
Not being a tech guy I am guessing the slots you are curious about are on the Dex transmitter? If so, my best guess is it uses the receiver slot because Dex receiver refused to pair with my transmitter after I started the Om5, paired easily with PDM and remained paired.
Neat, like the Kindle. The upload with the Dash was to Insulet (the Ominipod Cloud IRC), not some third party (except, of course, that the Cloud is a third party.) The uploads were are frequent, at least every 30 minutes, but the problem with the Dash PDM was that it was also contacting a Cloud operated by its Chinese manufacturer on a regular basis. These contacts (the two) seemed to me to be a significant part of the problem with the Dash PDM battery life.
Amazon seem to be rolling back on the Kindle data plan. I have a Kindle “touch 3G” which I purchased towards the end of 2011:
So far as I know the data plan still works, the battery less so.
So the Omnipod is the G6 receiver and it communicates all the data to either the PDM or the phone app. Neither slot is used; neither the phone app nor the PDM talk to the G6.
@John58 or @bpollina might know more; the Omnipod is using one of the slots. Possibly the instructions say not to connect a G6 receiver; that would be a clue. More likely the two slot thing is just a max; I’ve shifted devices on a transmitter without problems and when I started I was using and shifting with the official G6 receiver.
I’m totally confused and hence why I asked. All I know is that when I change my pods, the pod itself is primed etc. via the locked phone pdm. It then says do you want to turn auto mode back on. When you say yes, it says it has to pair to the G6 and can take up to 20 minutes. I’ve never waited the full 20 minutes but if I either turn my iphone off or in another room, it pairs in 5 min or less and then when I either turn my phone back on or go back to the room it is in, it picks back up. My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that the OM5 PDM takes the PDM slot and the phone the other channel, but somehow they get confused pairing at the same time?
There is just so much we don’t know about the OM5 and I’m starting to not like that aspect. Loop is very open and transparent but doesn’t learn nor have the pod talk direct to the G6 so if you, say, go swimming or forget your phone in loop, it defaults to the pre-programmed basal until back in range. With the OM5 you really don’t need to have the PDM around except to bolus. I’m just torn.
I’m not giving up, but I’m not liking the gotchas.
Not sure I agree. If you look at the history detail of the micro bolusses in auto mode the algorithm seems pretty predictably careful. It never gets very aggressive which as others have said was probably prudent considering the universe of users out there. I think the amount of learning the Om5 does is very limited. It doesn’t seem to do anything surprising in auto mode. Even though the algorithm is hidden it seems like it plods along, which means the algorithm is pretty tame/elementary (not sure about the right word). The only way I’ve learned to make it more aggressive is switch to manual mode.
I’m curious about Loop but pretty ignorant about how it works. Question for Loopers about Loop: What is your best guess of how many times per day you need to manage insulin delivery on Loop? Bolus for meals, correction bolus, temp basals, etc. How many times per day is it “not on autopilot”? For me with Om5 it varies from 7 to 10, my best guess. Twice per meal (switch to/from manual to use extended bolus) and a few correction bolusses if it appears that auto mode will not be able to prevent an impending spike.
Loop doesn’t get aggressive either; the inbuilt limits are explicit with loop and they simply aren’t enough to allow aggression in any meaningful form. No rage boluses. So far for me it works fine if I don’t snack; that means if I don’t eat long acting (protein) carbs and fail to bolus for them. Bolusing for proteins is ok because the algo pretty much turns off the basal immediately then turns it back on as I go high, but the limit is 4xbasal so it can’t deal with massive protein (lots of peanuts for example.)
The Loop algorithm isn’t hidden but it is certainly UTSL; there’s no attempt to do any arithmetic in the documentation (as Insulet has tried, somewhat incredibly, to do.) The Loop docs are pretty much hands-in-the-air.
For Liam, the only time I’m “hands on” is when we enter carbs and bolus. Sometimes we don’t even bolus and let Loop take care of the bolus (if we prefer slow incremental bolus over time.)
Loop for us is pretty much 100% hands off except for bolusing for food. But we use dev branch with the micro boluses. Master branch without using micro boluses, for us, wasn’t enough. Lots of highs as basal “corrections” alone was not sufficient.
@bpollina I understand that Glooko will support visualizing the basal’s/autoboluses (you’re call on which term) the O5 provides. I haven’t experienced this, came from a couple of folks in another group. Something to explore…
@jbowler The Loop docs are in re-write for v3. I just read today where they go into the four (4) different math formulations for (Adult, child, Novolog, and FIASP?).
The email I received from my Insulet rep said that the Dexcom receiver is not compatible with the Omnipod 5 system. I assume it’s because the Dexcom g6 can only connect with 2 devices. The G7 will be able to connect with 3 so hopefully the receiver can be used at that time. I seem to be a outlier and prefer the receiver to my cell.
Im starting the 5 as soon as my dash stash is gone and greatful to hear others experience. Thx!
I use DIY Loop auto bolus mode 100% of the time. I enter carbs and usually accept the calculated carbs. I still make corrections though probably 2 or 3 times post meal. I also adjust basal through overrides for exercise and post exercise give a correction.
So Loop for me is not hands off. It does hwr make it possible for me to stay in range with near normal range, SD, BGs, with much less effort.
Your did reply (it shows up in the top right of your post, and I got a notification; there is some issue with replies to the immediately preceding post, this is apparently a bug in the software.)
What you say suggests, quite strongly, that the Omnipod takes the “receiver” slot, however it might still be the case that it’s just because there are only two slots and there is no distinction between them. I’m not using the O5 either; I’m using AndroidAPS (with the Dash pods). In the case of AndroidAPS it seems to be necessary to have a separate app to start the Dexcom; AndroidAPS can’t do it. I don’t know about the O5; it’s a dropped ball if a second app is needed but not, yet, a competitive disadvantage.