I just started on omnipod yesterday. Still not quite understanding iob and what it exactly means. I tried to search my question but couldn’t find anything, if there are things I apologise.
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First, welcome to the group and thanks for posting a question many of us have had. Second, love the user name. Third, IOB or Insulin On Board stands for how much insulin you still potentially have in your system that could “kick-in” or have an affect on your blood sugar. The normal time period for Novolog is 3-5 hours and it varies by person, metabolism, etc. For me it seems more to be at the lower end. For Lantus it’s between 20-22 hours. You can use IOB to determine when it’s “safe”to apply a correction factor without additional food intake, or the likelihood of exercise lowering effects. I’m sure others will chime in with additional comments on insulin types, practices, uses and effects.
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ETA: I figured it out 
took me a minute but I played with the pdm and figured it out. Is it a good suggestion to adjust the basal according to the issue probably 1-2 hours before the issue arises? Or closer to the time?
Okay thank you! I’m completely new to pumping, but was on injections for 12.5 years. A little off topic, but only kind of… is there a way to have multiple basal setting for different times of the day? I’m having a dip about 2am then 430am dawn phenomenon kicks me up about a 100 points. But during the day I’m staying fairly stable. I plan on asking my trainer as well, I just like input from multiple people.
Switching to pump has made me feel like I’m starting over pretty much, just with a lot more knowledge this time.
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I have the basal rate change 2 hours before my BG change. That gives the insulin time to get going. Some folks prefer 1 hour or 1.5, but 2 works for me.
Yes, the basal schedule is a key advantage of pumping. It’s good to have your medical staff help with the initial set-up, and then you learn how to make gradual adjustments as your basal needs change. (My basal requirement changes a few times a year.)
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Agree!!
Most pumps calculate this based on user settings, and refers to only the bolus/meal time insulin (or correction bolus).
With the newer, faster insulins like Fiasp, the pump might be set for a shorter duration compared to setting for Humalog/Novolog and reflect that in IOB calculated.
I use Tandem pump, but assume Omnipod has similar settings. I use 3 hours duration for Novolog. So if I bolus 5 units, I would see IOB display to go down from 5 to 0 (units) in 3 hours.
IOB also alerts me whether to take action. So if after meal, I still have 1 unit IOB, and I want to exercise, I might have a small snack, based on activity level and current BG.
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Yes, I try to start a temp basal at 1.5 hours minimum before an activity that needs it. When you see the trainer, be sure to get some temp basals preset so it is easier to start them when needed. They are a great feature of pumping and work as advertised. You’ll have to do some trial and error to figure out the details.
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