the g6 has 2 slots, one for the g6 receiver, and one for the phone…john58 is having a rare issue because the omnipod 5 takes up the receiver slot, meaning he has to use his phone or his pdm to see his readings while playing ice hockey, and he’d rather use his g6 receiver…
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I think the issue will be solved when my Bluejay GTS watch arrives…because it will use the iPhone app slot. All I have to do is remember to power off my phone early enough to let the watch connect with G6.
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i agree, the bluejay gts watch should work nicely, and is a great solution for omnipod5 users. ive heard they are still working on the omnipod 5 phone apps, however, the omnipod5 watch app seems even further away…so far the aaps wear app and not having to carry and charge an extra pdm seems like the major benefits to aaps(or the apple loop) over the omnipod5…it is nice to enter carbs and bolus on my watch
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Overall as time goes on I am more satisfied with the Omnipod 5. Their literature makes a big deal about the AI learning of the algorithm but I think it is more a matter of me learning how and when to use auto mode and making some tweaks that improved the aggressiveness in manual mode (I bumped my basal up by 20%). Over the past 7 days I have been in Auto mode 80% of the time and manual 20%.
Here are my last 7 days…much better BG results than I’ve had for a very long time.
Of course the improved BG could also be attributed to restarting my 6 hours of ice hockey per week. I broke a rib in May and gained 7 lbs. while I was taking it easy/healing for a month. That month corresponded with starting the Om5. Voila, once I got back on the ice I restored some insulin sensitivity pretty quickly and BG management magically went smoother.
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Be aware, it takes the watch a little longer to connect than your phone or receiver. For your phone, all you have to do is close the Dexcom app, not completely shut it down.
And the watch is not as strong picking up the signal, so try to put the watch and sensor in places where they will be close during games.
If you wear the watch on your belt, you can wear it right side/left side to match where your sensor is place.
The watch is touch screen. That might be difficult while wearing gloves, but you can set it to wake when it’s moved. So you can have it to where just lifting it up while wearing your gloves will give you the display.
I hope it works out for you. I think the main concern is just picking up the signal through all the hockey pads.
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I will be fiddling to make it work. I’ve never had a problem with G6 receiver getting a signal from transmitter, so pretty comfortable I can make the Bluejay watch do its job. I only check a few times, maybe every 20-30 minutes depending on how things start out.
When Libre was new I tried the Libre and the receiver would not pick up a signal when scanning through the pads. Eversense worked the best but that is a story for another day.
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I finally found a combination of pod site and G6 sensor site that does not provide decent Bluetooth signal between devices. Pod is on right inner thigh about 11:00 position and G6 is on right upper bicep outside back about 5:00 position. I am getting occasional readings of CGM but only about 4-5 per hour.
Here is a the plot of CGM data available on the PDM. The gray shading on the lower plot indicates it went into “Limited” mode, going to have to study up on that one.
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If the machine says 110 it shall be 110…
I am liking the Om5 more each day as I get into a groove.
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I really like it as well!
I’m on my second pod now and just love it. My nighttime and early morning basal is not the same day by day. The 5 solved it on night 1!
Ive had to increase meal bolus by 30 to 40 percent. The awesome thing is that when I used my regular carb ratio on the new 5 and it was clearly not enough the algorithm brought me down by the 4 to 5 hour mark without going low. I went up to about 215 the first couple of meals.
Im sleeping higher than normal (110 to 120) but i think its worth it to not have to micromanage nights and mornings like ive been doing for the last year. Plus my average glucose has been around 115-120 for the second pod so my A1C should be pretty good.
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So in essence, this makes the Dexcom receiver an unnecessary device? I have a teen with an Omnipod 5 (but no smartphone yet) so I want to make sure it’s OK for me to send him off to camp, school, etc. with just the Omnipod 5 PDM.
yep, I just replied on your other post about this.
Hi Tim.
Actually for an even more specific clarification, on the OmniPod 5 system, you can say that the Dexcom receiver can’t be used.
The O5 communicates with the Dexcom sensor using the same communications slot that the receiver normally uses.
So they cannot both be used at the same time.
More like superfluous - it simply can’t be used as the same time as the O5 pod because the pod takes over the receiver slot. So the receiver is useless while using an O5 pod, regardless of how the pod itself is controlled (phone or O5 receiver or, I guess, both). However:
Well… if the O5 receiver (the PDM) gets damaged then he loses control of the pod and the G6; they keep working but no boluses, no swapping into and out of auto mode etc, no CGM readings.
If he loses the pod (quite likely after all) then the G6 readings are gone until he gets a new pod in and syncs it to the G6 transmitter.
All the normal safety stuff is necessary; carry test strips, carry an insulin pen with a long acting capability, be prepared to swap back to MDI or SDI. He could carry the G6 receiver as an extra, intermediate, safety precaution allowing use of the CGM without the O5, but I don’t know that extra is worth it; bottom line is always test strips and injection.
This is very much a personal decision for your son; how much does he want to carry to feel safe?
Yes, well we’ve gotten used to making sure he has what he needs in case the technology goes haywire, gets sat on, or gets dumped into a river. The good news is that usually when these things break, he’s more at risk of running high than low, which is less of an emergency situation.
But it will be nice to only have to worry about one device, not two.
There are no alarms for urgent low blood sugar on the Omnipod 5 pdm. Just alarms for a few instances. If you have your manual its on page 306.
So yes you can see your dexcom numbers change every 5 minutes but you would have to be opening and looking at it every five minutes to catch a down arrow.
If your son is with you then your phone would work as a alarm but if you were not with him he NEEDS a phone with him. You can buy a cheap used phone with no service that works with the dexcom app and download it over wifi. He would only need to carry it when your not with him.- school,camp, etc.
This system can’t catch and stop every single low that we have. Especially for a active teenager. It sure helps but its not perfect.
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That’s good advice. We are very close to getting him a phone. Fortunately from our experience he feels his lows and alarms have only come into play at nighttime. We are trying to figure out which phone works best with the Omnipod 5 and Dexcom apps…I have seen some folks complain about a dearth of compatible options so far.
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I’m holding out on buying a new phone as well. Ive got my eye on a iphone 12 mini and will purchase it as soon as omnipod 5 app comes out for apple.
Good luck to you! Please post and let us know how your son does with the new system! I’m very curious about others experience with this new algorithm.
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Thanks for the information @John58 And others. This has been very helpful. I’m considering the omnipod after 5 years of MDI. Waiting to talk to the reps about cost etc, but it looks like my first choice instead of Tslim x2, due to simplicity and up front cost…
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Welcome @GY_t1 and good luck with the new pods. Insulet reps on the phone seem pretty good at sorting out insurance coverage and costs but it might take them a little time to get the answers. I’ve never had a tubed pump so I have no basis to compare with Tslim. I think you hit the nail on the head that trying the Omnipod 5 is very simple money wise. Anyway good luck with it and be patient…remember it is you learning the how to work the pods not the other way around.
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@GY_t1 Best wishes for a smooth transition and good result whichever you select! Don’t hesitate to ask any questions, I think there are plenty of folks here with both Tslim and Pod experience, thought O5’s are new and a bit different.
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John58- I just joined the forum after reading your post. I finally felt like I wasn’t crazy! My son (12yrs old and diagnosed Type1 in January) just switched from injections to the Omnipod 5 two weeks ago. It has been incredibly difficult keeping him in range and I feel as if we have gone backwards in the control department. One thing I noticed in your photo is that your range is set to 70 to 150. I was told that we couldn’t adjust his range to be tighter than 180. How were you able to set your to 150?!! Any info, insight, or advice would be much appreciated…we are just about ready to call it quits with the pod.
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