Hello,
My daughter currently has a medtronic minimed pump, which has been great over the last 4 years! She is due to get a new pump and I’ve been looking up non stop info…she has her heart set on the Omnipod…she loves the tubeless feature. I did call them and they are going to send out the sample for us soon. I am just wondering how we should have it all set up at her school? Right now she puts her lunch in the office then goes in there before she has lunch to test. If she gets the omni then I’m aware that she’ll have to have the PDM close to her when she bolus’s. I’m just wondering how other people have their set up at school for the child. She is a very responsible child, just be so new makes me a little nervous that she will have to remember to have that when she leaves the school. Was thinking she could keep the PDM in her locker then grab it before lunch and just go out there to put in her carbs when she has her snacks! Any tips and info are much appreciated!! We have considered the tslim or new medtronic pump also she wants nothing to do with the CGM we had the G5 dexcom and she hated it…every time we changed she would cry we had it about a year.
Hi @margford6! Welcome!
I’m not sure, but I think the PDM also needs to be close to the pod for the correct execution of basal profiles. Otherwise it will keep on pumping the same basal rate from the time you put in the locker till you come close enough again. Maybe someone who has experience with the Omnipod can confirm this? OK, apparently I’m wrong, I read some messages over TuD and other websites that basal profiles are downloaded to the pod.
Can’t your daughter put the PDM in her pocket or wherever she keeps her current Medtronic pump? Or in a bag or somewhere else in the classroom?
Oh yeah I’m not sure about that but I wasn’t aware of it! So confusing looking over all the information. I’m supposed to have a rep call me this week so I’ll write that on my list of questions! Yeah I was thinking of even clipping the PDM in a pouch to her lunch bag…they switch classes in her school so unfortunately she’s not in the same classroom all day. She has her pump now in a belt on her waist and she is getting to the point now where she is sick of the “bulge” of it. That and the PDM is quite a bit bigger than her pump. Appreciate the feedback 
Ok that’s def good news then!! That would make it even harder 
The Dexcom has a new inserter with the G6.
Have you considered giving the G6 a try and see if you and your child find it enough of a difference to use it?
I would suggest to consider that cgm question first before a pump. Should you change your mind on the cgm then that would be a factor to add into the mix of which pump and it could sway you in a different pump direction.
The next-gen Omnipod Dash has been released in the States, and it replaces the old-style PDM with a locked-down phone. Maybe your daughter would find that less bulky. It doesn’t, unfortunately, pair with any CGMs or the Libre, but does pair with the Contour Next One meter. @ClaudnDaye here has a son who’s a podder and just started school. He may have some tips for you.
Word is the Libre sensor is a lot less hassle to insert, with less discomfort. May be worth investigating. It doesn’t yet have low/high alarms, but an alarmed version is coming soon(ish).
Yes, just to clarify, basal rates are on the pod.
You do not need the PDM for the pre-programmed basal rates to change. You only need the PDM for bolusing and to make changes to your existing basal rates or to set a temp basal.
If you were to activate a pod and throw out your PDM, whatever rates you had set as the active basal on the pod would keep going for 3 days, no matter where the PDM was.
All of that aside, having the PDM in her backpack or lunch box - something she will not forget to take home - would probably be the way to do it. She does NOT need to carry it around with her all the time. Only if she needs to bolus.
@margford6,
Welcome to FUD!
Please feel free to ask anything you want about the omnipod.
Yes I have looked at the G6 is the actual thin metal part different (the part that stays in the skin)…she claimed the G5 hurt, I know the G6 is different as in the sensor is smaller and more flat and inserting it seems easier for sure!
Yes I did ask about the Dash, my insurance is covering that yet, but the rep did say as soon as it does they’ll upgrade her for free! So that is really nice…thanks so much appreciate any info possible!
Ok that info all makes sense! She gets so excited thinking about not having a pump attached all the time…she said she’ll be more like a normal kid I know she’s only 9 but I feel like she should be able to have a say in what she wants being she is the one who has to wear it 24/7. I know they did say too if she decides she doesn’t like it I have 45 day to return it.
It’s good to try it out. I think that’s really the only way to know.
The pod activation is not bad. She might feel a small pinch and then it’s over. If you pick a good place to put the pod, it is not too noticeable.
Tubeless is great. Being able to change clothes or take a shower without worrying about what to do with the pump is nice.
And yes, she really should be able to choose. It has to be hers. At some point all of the management will be hers, so it’s good for her to start doing that early.
Was she 5 when she was diagnosed?
You could go loop and lose the PDM so that she can do all the bolusing on her Apple Watch or her iPhone. More info about this can be found here:
We have Liam on the loop now and although it’s not an easy button, to be sure, it does make things a bit easier to manage. Someone your child’s age should be able to self-manage easily on the loop. No, the Omniloop is NOT FDA approved, but that didn’t stop me from doing it for our son and shouldn’t stop anyone else.
UPDATE: Not sure where or how I thought your child was older, but I’m just now re-reading the TITLE and I see that your child is 9. Yeah, that’s too early (for us, at least) to self-manage, but still the watch is nice for Liam to use to see his sugars and the phone is easy for the Nurse to use to bolus).
The costs are the RileyLink for $150, the phone/watch if you don’t already have one (don’t need a watch, but it’s nice to have and convenient), Apple Dev annual subscription cost of $99, and access to an Apple computer / Macbook 2012 or older (I bought my used Macbook air on eBay for around $250.)
You should check out the looped group.
I feel like a “more normal” adult using the Pod myself (was diagnosed about 5 years ago). Plus I can swim and run through the sprinkler with my grandkids easily!
FYI OmniPod has terrific customer service and replaces Pods as needed, such as when a site stops absorbing before a change-out is due or it gets knocked out of place during regular activities. 
You really should at least give the G6 a try. My reasoning is this. Once you have a pump, you will have site failures and other issues (just the nature of the tech) and a CGM makes picking these things up much easier. I am not sure that the sensor is any smaller, but the inserter is a breeze. It would not be out of the question to assume that the pain your daughter was experiencing wasn’t really from the sensor, but actually from the wound channel the G5 inserter created. All of this is gone in the G6. Finally, you aren’t quite there yet, but my son adjusts his dosing 6-10 times per day by looking at his pump or apple watch for the CGM info and finds that to be very helpful. Your daughter will definitely get there in the next couple of years (my guess).
Ok yes…like you stated I’m not ready just yet with her age to let her bolus completely on her own, but I’m sure by middle school she’ll be fine with it! I have never head of the loop system? Is that is the U.S.? Sounds interesting!
Ok yeah I’m not too worried about the insertion part of it only bc she is already used to having a pump change and I’m assuming it will be similar! Sounds like they are an awesome company!
Yes just not worrying about taking it off at times will be so nice…especially in the summer months! Yes she was 3 months away from turning 5 when she was diagnosed!
Ok well that is good to know, I mean I really like the CGM only bc I could check and see her sugar at all times of the day so that was such a relief to me! Another thing was that her dr would not let us go off of the CGM # at that time…we still had to test her every meal and also if she felt low, or the CGM beeped for any reason, which it did often. So she was till getting multiple pokes so I think that reasoning alone kinda ruined it for her. The dr did say last visit ( a different one) that she wouldn’t have to calibrate as often. I think she said 2 times a day but that was with the guardian CGM maybe?
I have been looking up stuff about the freestyle libre…does anyone have any insight?
Yes, it’s fairly new but people from all around the world are looping with the omnipod. Check it out and see if it’s something for you or not!
I had just turned 5 when I was diagnosed. That was only a few years ago. 
This is a long thread, but it might be of interest to you. I did this for the parents of the little ones. The thread is entitled “For-the-parents”…