to all of you out there who are on the POD, i was wondering what it was that made you decide that this type of pump was right for you. What were the key selling points that persuaded you in your choice?
I have been on the MM Paradigm for 17+ years. i have updated the model every 5 or 6 years, but have been thrilled with it. i love the tiny insertion site that i can quickly disconnect from. i like how easy it is to re-set and load up with insulin. i love that it doesnt get in the way of anything. i love that i can be as skinny as i am and have no problem with finding real estate to insert it in. i just love everything about it. but i understand that it is a personal choice. whats your preference kind of thing.
so i have to ask: why did you choose your pump and what features does it offer you that makes you find it so appealing?
(and for those of you who chose NOT to go on the POD, how did you make your decision?)
I did shots for about 30 years before pumping. I never tried a pump before because I did not like the idea of being tied to something all the time. I also worried about the tubing.
Once I got a Dexcom, I realized that I did not mind having something stuck to me and the Omnipod was the natural next step for me because it was just a bigger version of the Dexcom.
I also thought Omnipod offered more sites as you could stick it anywhere on your body (arms, legs, etc.). In my mind the more sites I can use the less worry I have about sites wearing out or getting site problems like lipohypertrophy.
So I am happy with it and the one-size-fits-all cannula works ok for me.
I still do not like the idea of tubing. I have never tried a tubed pump so I do not know if this is just an irrational dislike or a real dislike.
Not going to say anything about choice of pump, but can say that with the right set, tubed pumps can be placed anywhere. You just have to route the tubing. We have used arms, legs, abdomen, back, glutes, etc.
Ditto to all of that; thatās why I went on it when it first came out (after my Cozmo went out of warranty). It did indeed allow some more freedom than the tether.
Howeverā¦ I am lean, and was experiencing horrible site wounds. Thatās the terminology my endo used after seeing healing and in-current-use of pod bruisesā¦ huge, deep, painfulā¦ and I donāt want to talk about the absorption issues. Had some of the worst blood sugars in all of my years of pumping.
For 6 months I tried placing the pods on different areas of my body. After some arduous testing I decided to get an Animas Ping and went back to the tether, with support and documented evidence from my doc. Insurance had no problem covering the new pump; gave all my unused pods to another Omni user.
I badly wanted it to work for me, but it was a no-go. If youāre on the leaner side (and sounds like you are) Iād see if you could take it for a test run. Good luck!
whats the big deal about that, though? youāre the inventive ātechā guy, always coming up with some new gadget. when thereās a clip, thereā a way.
maybe its just me, but i love the clip. yup. big fan of the clip
boxers canāt be tight enough to clip anything to and comfortable at the same time.
Iāve wondered quite a bit about which pump Iād prefer if I ever do go that routeā¦ I like the tubeless nature of the omnipod, and think if I was a normal member of society Iād probably opt for that, but since I live a large portion of my life on ships off the grid Iām more concerned about the disposable/ glitchy nature of the disposable pods as compared to permanent hardware pumps in situations where a couple malfunctions, quantity issues etc could become a real big problem as compared to what theyād be for a 9-5 job worker
Fortunately for now itās not a real pressing decision
So far I have arms and low back working for me. Abdomen is absolute no-go bc of bruising. I havenāt tried thighs yet but Iām trying my Dexcom there for the first time and it gets a lot of abuse on my thigh. Hoping awesome rotation records keep my arms and low back sites healthy and scar free.
I tried it for almost 4 years after using a Medtronic for 7. I was eligible for a new pump from the government and thought I might as well try the latest technology. It wasnāt available in Canada when I first started pumping. I never fell in love with it the way some people do and actually found it required carrying more stuff with me (bulkier PDM than the Paradigm, extra pods and a vial of insulin in case of pod failures, etc.). I love the idea of it but think the execution could be improved in so many ways. If tubing doesnāt bother you Iād say donāt get the OmniPod unless they improve it.
I have printouts of generic androgynous bodies in my blood sugar binder that I mark and number each site placement. I do left side of body one month, right side of body next month. Same thing for Dexcom. My boss walked in my office and was looking over my shoulder when I was marking my last site change. Definitely had to explain the generic naked people in my binder. At least he was cool with it. Apparently his God-son is T1D. Awkward, though.
When I was on MDI and my CGM receiver failed out of warranty (I stupidly let it go through the Xray at an airport, and got an unrecoverable hardware error a few hours later) I was wondering whether to get a pump rather than a new receiver, especially since I was starting to have significant trouble with the dawn phenomenon.
I really didnāt like the idea of a tube hanging out to get hooked on things, but I asked my CDE who is a pumper and she gave me a sample quickset to try. (I used a small cardboard box in place of a pump.) She said I wouldnāt notice the tube so long as I kept it tucked into my pants, and that in bed I could hook the pump to my underpants if I wanted, but that she just let the pump lie loose in the bed: it wouldnāt rip out the site and rolling onto the pump wouldnāt matter either. After 3 days with the tube it was clear that it actually didnāt bother me, even though I was pretty sure beforehand that I would hate it.
And Eric, I just clip the pump holster to the waistband of whatever Iām wearing, and when sitting in the bathroom I clip it to the pocket or collar of my shirt, or if naked I just let the pump sit on the floor. (My tube is long enough for this, by a large margin.) When sleeping I tuck the pump into the waistband of my underpants and after a couple minutes thereās enough adhesion from perspiration to hold it in place (the holster is too big to be comfortable if I roll onto it.)
Tubeless. Simply that. Iāve used three tubed pumps over the decades and there was no way I was going back. More recently I spent about a dozen years on MDI, and struggled with predictable dips and highs that long-acting insulin just couldnāt deal with. One day my CDE mentioned this pump that was tubeless, and that was the magic word. I said, āIām in.ā
In the beginning it was sure frustrating. There was the leaking/tunneling problem, and there were frequent third-day highs, but since I started limiting the size of a bolus, both problems have vanished. I cannot imagine going back to a tubed pump. (Though I can imagine going back to MDI, as long as itās with something other than Lantus.)
I started on pump before omnipod came out. I found ways to make it work, including a great case (not from Medtronic), that clips well on my clothing, usually in pocket. Never did a lot of water activities, and able to disconnect on the few occasions as needed.
When pod first came out, a lot of people reported problems, which I think have been mostly eliminated. But also set my mind towards no interest in trying it, after I got a demo version.
I can fill my MM reservoir once a week, and do 2 set changes each week, so minimal time required. Usually do reservoir change on weekends. The 3 day change cycle of pod would be less convenient for me. I suspect I would also end up having to discard more insulin using pod.
