When I told my partner I’d tried my first IM injection, he said, “Is that from that Jedi guy?”
7 Likes
Every obnoxious thing I’ve ever said to my husband about him being on aviation web forums too much has been thrown back at me w great humor in the last month. He’s very satisfied w himself.
9 Likes
I tried the Mini Med Pump 10 years ago and quit using it because the tubing kept kinking and I felt tied to a medical device. My doctor convinced me to try the Omnipod. I feel a freedom that I never felt with the Mini Med. I love not having the tubes that I felt like I had to hide.
1 Like
I just keep my pump in my pocket when I use the washroom. No need to do anything with it. Or, if I’m nervous it might fall for some reason, I clip it to the neckline of my shirt. Can’t imagine trying to hold it while usign the washroom; no wonder people feel a tubed pump is an annoyance if that’s what they do!!
I clip my pump to my stomach on my PJs. It stays there all night and I never wake up tangled in tubing (and I use the longest tubing, too, and use a CPAP machine so deal with that tubing as well). Bonus, too, if I wake up high I can just do a quick bolus without even having to unclip to pump, reach for anything, try to see any screen…it’s great.
I’ve only ever used tubed pumps and have never found the tubing to be an issue. It seems to me that a lot of people who have only ever used OmniPods had some odd ideas about the annoyances of a tubed pump. Whether it’s having to hold a pump while using the bathroom, getting tangled in tubing while sleeping, having to deal with tubing while getting changed, I’ve never dealt with any of these things. I just clip the pump to a convenient place (whether that’s neckline, stomach, hip) or disconnect for short tasks like changing clothes.
For me, the two biggest drawbacks of the OmniPod are going through hundreds of batteries and circuit boards and non-recyclable plastic (beyond the non-recyclable plastic every pump uses) every year and the fact that you only have one type of cannula and I have had serious issues with cannulas in the past. But I agree with others, it all comes down to personal choice and that you enjoy using whichever device you choose to use.
3 Likes
i agree with EVERYthing you’ve stated. i have been on a tethered pump from the very beginning. i have been on it for over 19 years, and i have NEVER once had an issue with the tubing. i do all the things you do regarding clipping it in diffferent locations, but i almost exclusively clip it to the hip of my jeans (or PJs).
One of the things that i dont believe that you mentioned, is that with the MiniMed pumps, the Resevoir and the Infusion Site Set can be changed without regard to the other. i rotate my site every other day; i fill my resevoir whenever it runs low. the two can be done exclusively of one another. i find this to be a deffinate selling point.
Also, it is easy to disconnect and reconnect at ANY time. ( I do NOT, for example, need to wear it during intimacy if i choose not to; i simply detatch.) I love having this option.
4 Likes
I do not think those are odd ideas at all. I experienced all those annoyances, and more, over twenty or so combined years of using three models of tubed pumps (with long stretches of MDI in between).
You wear PJs, which is an advantage. If a person doesn’t or can’t wear PJs or boxers or whatever, then what to do with a tubed pump when you visit the bathroom in the night is a bother. And if a person doesn’t wear PJs and turns a lot in their sleep, then a person does get tangled and wakes multiple times in the night to unravel oneself.
With the Omnipod, all those annoyances vanished. And I sleep uninterrupted. But yes, it is all a matter of personal preference.
I think given your history with skin and site irritations, the biggest drawback would be the adhesive and, as you suspect, the cannula. If you were ever serious about trying it out, a trial pod would give you a sense of how your skin tolerated the adhesive. I read on some forum where the company arranged to set up an activated but empty pod so the person could see whether they reacted to the cannula. That was in England, though, and I have no idea if the Canadian company would do the same.
I am not sure how much of the pods (which are returnable in Canada) are non-recyclable. I did ask the company once but never got an answer. My local hardware store accepts used batteries. Omnipod is moving away from the battery-powered PDM anyway.
Don’t mean to sound defensive if I do. Just speaking from personal experience, having pumped on both sides of the fence, as it were.
3 Likes
I started with the Minimed pump and I must say that the mechanism for refilling the reservoir was super easy.
But then I found the JuiceBox podcast and after hearing about the Omnipod, I thought I’d give it a try. They had a switch promo going on where I got the PDM and 10 pods to try FREE.
Once I tried it, I must say that I’m hooked! I love that it is all self contained, and really easy to change. I love that the pod self inserts, but most importantly you don’t have to take it off! And no more tubes, so you can sleep nakid if you want to, and not have to worry when you go to the bathroom or disconnecting for showers.
As far as change me alarm goes, it’s really not that bad/loud. It gives you plenty of warning. What I do is when it say x units left is I give it as a bolus, let it alarm, and change it right there and then.
I absolutely LOVE my omnipod!
2 Likes
I’m sorry, “odd” was a poor choice of words on my part. I can see that it would be annoying if you don’t wear pyjamas…but if I had to use the washroom in such a circumstance, I’d just disconnect my pump and leave it on the bed or nightstand while I did my business and reconnect when I got back to my room. I can see how many things would be very annoying before pump disconnecting was an option, but maybe I take advantage of this feature more often than most… I also don’t participate in other areas where it could be annoying, such as contact sports. And, although the odd doorknob can be annoying, I’ve had one infusion set ripped out in more than 12 years of pumping, and I run into far more door frames than most due to my visual impairment. 
So maybe I’m just unique and haven’t experienced these things that others experience much more frequently.
I have tried both a demo pod as well as a live pod running basal only. The tape on the pods didn’t bother me, and I was actually surprised at how much I didn’t notice having a random lump on my body (even when I put it on my back, which I was sure would be the most annoying spot!). But tape bothering me isn’t my main problem, and when it is a problem (because it does seem to be on a random basis), it’s fairly easy to solve with barrier tapes/liquids. My main problem is an allergic reaction to the cannula that sits underneath the skin, which is much harder to deal with as it’s hard to put a barrier around that. When I tried the live pod, it seemed to stop working after 24 hours, and I resumed full basal delivery on my pump (but kept the pod, supposedly delivering 50% of my basal rate, connected for the full 72 hours). What makes it even more tricky as far as the pods are concerned is that this reaction doesn’t always start immediately; I pumped for about three years with no problems before it developed. So even if I was fine with the pods at first, if I developed reactions a year or two or down the road and had to wait another few years to get a new pump, I’d be out of luck.
3 Likes
My son is with you. He used the Omnipod for about 6 pods, and didn’t like it compared to his X2. He disconnects frequently, and contact sports are even easier with no pump attached, which is why we use the untethered approach to allow him to be disconnected for 3 hours a day. Also the fabric pump band under his clothes means he doesn’t ever have clip it anywhere even when using the bathroom. This setup works great for boys, since their shirts tend to left untucked anyway. I am just happy we have choices, and everyone gets the ability to choose what fits them the best.
6 Likes