Tag Archives: Insulin Pumps

Switching Back to the Tslim From the OmniPod and Back Again

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After my daughter’s OmniPod insulin pump pod emitted a high pitched continuous alarm during a midterm, she decided to switch back to the Tslim insulin pump. The alarm interrupted everyone taking the exam, and she had to get up and leave the room while the pod still alarmed. She went to the nurse’s office and changed her pod (all by herself!) and had to make up the rest of her midterm exam on another day after school.

Having no tubing was a real perk to the Omnipod, but it is a relief to not have to carry the PDM device everywhere to administer the insulin (or to have to find it when you need to give insulin). It is also a relief to not have to worry about what you will be doing in three days’ time when it’s time to change the infusion set. (Will the time-to-change-the-pod reminder alarm go off during class? During band practice? During the night while sleeping?) Recently we went away for three days and she had to change the pod while traveling on day 2. It would have been nice to have had the option to wait until we got home. We definitely won’t miss the forced pod changes exactly every three days.

The other irksome thing about the OmniPod is that after you change the pod, two hours later the pod alarms to tell you to check your blood sugar. This alarm is incredible patronizing and can occur during the night or at any other inconvenient time. Since my daughter is using the Dexcom G5 CGMS, the alarm seems obsolete as well, since she can just look at the Dexcom anytime, and it will alarm for highs and lows. Of course, it’s just another way diabetes disrupts your life, and in this case it’s a manmade interference. Even with her pump settings on vibrate, the alarm is still disruptive. It makes you think there’s a problem, such as a low insulin cartridge or a low battery, filling you with dread for no good reason. Also the PDM as a glucometer worked more slowly than her previous meter (which was the Verio), so it was another way diabetes steals moments of your life.

The Tslim pump has simplified her day at school as well. On the OmniPod, she would have to remember to take her PDM device out of her book bag and put it in her lunch bag. And if she forgot it, she would have to go back to her locker to get it. Then she would have to take it out of her lunch bag to bolus the insulin to cover for her lunch. Now with the Tslim, she can use the quick bolus without taking the insulin pump out of her belt.

On the other hand, when I check her blood sugar during the night, now I need to find the pump under the covers to correct her blood sugar if it’s high, since the Tslim doesn’t have a remote device. I also risk waking her up while I do this which wasn’t an issue with the OmniPod. And if she needs a small correction bolus, I have to decide whether it’s worth the risk of waking her up during the night.

Now that it is summertime, my daughter has switched back to the OmniPod! Now she doesn’t have to be disconnected from her insulin pump for long periods of time during swim team practices and swim meets, since the Tslim is not waterproof. It is now nice to be able to adjust basal rates from the remote device and to do temp basal rates from the PDM which is also useful for swim practices and meets. At least during the summer, she doesn’t have to worry about the alarms going off during class or exams, and I anticipate she will switch back to the Tslim before school starts.

It just goes to show you that not only do different insulin pumps meet different people’s needs (my other daughter remains on the Animas pump, for example), but also that different pumps can meet one person’s needs at different times. It also reflects that there still isn’t one pump that addresses all the needs.

And having a backup pump in case of pump failure is also a bonus.

 

Disclosure: I have no financial interest in any diabetes company and have received no money or gifts to write this blog post. Please keep in mind that these are just my juicy experiences and opinions, which will vary from someone else’s.

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The OmniPod Insulin Pump: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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ladybugpodnfriendsA few months ago, my 8-year-old and 11-year-old daughters switched to the OmniPod from the Tslim and the Animas insulin pumps. After a summer of disconnecting from their insulin pumps for swim team, a pump with no tubing was a welcome relief. The major negative aspect of the OmniPod, however, is that it alarms when it’s time to change the pod after 3 days.

The Good: The good, of course, is that there is no tubing. No more priming the tubing, no more air bubbles in the tubing, and no more getting your tubing stuck on kitchen cabinet knobs. Of course, the great thing is that there is now no disconnecting for the shower or for swimming or for gymnastics, so the basal insulin is always being delivered. And with no disconnecting, there is no forgetting to re-connect after those activities. I know I’m not the only one who has bolused into a bookbag.

In addition to the major perk of not having tubing, the OmniPod also gives more choices as to where you can place the pod since you don’t have to worry about how you will feed the tubing through your clothing. This can give the areas most commonly used a much needed break. However, my daughters have mostly used the same areas for the pods, although even an occasional use of a new location is a plus.

Another nice thing about the OmniPod is that the process to change the infusion set is simpler. This means that my daughters can do it themselves more easily and at a younger age. It still hurts though.

Another perk to the OmniPod is that all basal rate changes and temporary basal rate changes are made with the PDM remote device, so there is no more fishing for the Tslim or Animas pumps to make those changes. We rarely used a temp basal with the Animas pump because you could not make that change on the remote device. Now it’s a convenient option again.

The Bad: The OmniPod will alarm when it’s time to change it in 3 days’ time. It doesn’t care if you’re in school, in bed, or at a Broadway show, or in the marching band. That alarm is going off and it will keep going off. Another negative aspect of the OmniPod is that you need to use the PDM remote device to bolus insulin. No more reaching down to the insulin pump to cover for food. Now you have to find the PDM and keep it near you in order to eat anything. After years of not having to do this, the PDM always seems to be upstairs when we’re downstairs. Also it doesn’t have the quick bolus feature like the Tslim does.

And The Ugly: Sometimes the pod will emit a high pitched continuous alarm. After ignoring the alarm to change the pod during a Broadway show and going past the set time to change the pod, the pod itself began a non-stop, ear-piercing alarm. Another time the pod spontaneously began the continuous alarm, so we changed the pod but forgot to realize that we were now off the evening schedule of pod changes. Three days later the pod alarmed in school, and I had to travel to the school with pods for the set change (we didn’t have enough pods to store extra ones at school). Another time a new pod alarmed continuously during the pod changing process (prior to application on the body). Apparently the old pod was too close to the new pod and the new pod alarmed. That meant the new pod could not be used and the insulin in it was wasted. Now we make sure to have 2 pods on hand during a set change in case one alarms and becomes unusable.

Also, many people don’t seem to know that you can send the used pods back to the company for recycling. OmniPod will mail you prepaid packaging to do this if you request it.

My younger daughter has since returned to the Animas, but it’s nice to know that we have a backup pump if needed. We participated in the OmniPod No Tubes Attached program, a program we learned about at the Children With Diabetes Friends For Life Conference in Orlando this past summer.

One more amazing thing about the OmniPod is that you can decorate the pods with colored markers before you use them. My daughters delight in turning their pods into ladybugs, sneakers, and bumblebees, which adds a little joy to an unpleasant process.

Please keep in mind that these opinions are my own.

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