Pump Reps

OK, so we are finally in the market for a pump for Jace ! YAY !
But OMG ! These pump reps are worse than used car salesmen !
We are pretty much dead set on the Omni Pod, but some of the reps from the other companies keep saying stuff like" Well, what if he looses the PDM?" Or, "Our reservoir holds more insulin than the Pod" I don't want to say they are changing my mind, but boy are they making it hard for me to feel secure in my decision !
Looking for honest Omni Pod reviews !

 

My 10 yr old has used the pod for 16 months. He loves it and hasn't ever lost/left the PDM. We have had very few problems. For now, the 200 unit limit isn't an issue. If it becomes one in the future, we will look at our options. We had other pump reps tell us the same thing that you are hearing. For us, this was the right choice. Best of luck, whatever you decide

 

Does your son play sports? If so, has the Pod been an issue?

 

Almost 4 years on the pod. My son loves it.

 

He plays soccer and baseball, and it hasn't had any trouble with the pump from sports.

 

Good to hear ! My son plays baseball and one of the other reps actually said " What if a ball hits the Pod?" LOL

 

My daughter has been on the pod for almost 2 years. She did loose/get her PDM stolen once on vacation. They were quick to overnight her a new one (we had to pay of course) and she just did shots till it got there. It wasn't a massive deal.

There have been a few times with illness that we've had to change a pod out due to low insulin before the 3 days. This has been rare though. There are people that change them out every 2 days because of the 200 units.

She has forgotten her kit a few times and I've had to run it to school (she keeps her PDM in it) but I'm guessing if she had a different kind of pump she'd be forgetting something else and I'd have to run that.

We have had a few issues with PDM's and pod failures. They're not often but have happened. We've had nothing but good interactions with customer service and they've always resolved the problems quickly.

 

My son plays soccer and hasn't had a problem at all. The soccer ball did hit a pod once and it failed several hours later but who knows if that was the reason why.

 

Andrew switched from the Ping to the Omnipod about a month ago. I know it sounds strange, but he didn't really want it. He doesn't do well with playing disconnected, so we did the "cut the cord" out-of-pocket program so that he could play connected with football in the Fall. He planned to not use it much until then. We had to do 2 weeks though just to not run out of supplies. Now, I don't care which pump he uses. He usually chooses the Pod! He was surprised how much he likes it! He is playing travel baseball, and it has been fine. Better even. However, the pod failures are annoying. If one fails, he puts the Ping back on. Next site change, he reaches for the pod again.

 

Yeah, EVERY pump has it's issues sometimes ! And I actually heard lots of promblems with tubing malfunctions. I figure with the Pod it's one less thing to go wrong !

 

Back before Omnipod was even an option, one of the reps we met with spent more time running down the other company's pump than selling us on his! Totally turned me off to that company and we went in another direction completely.

My son has been on the pod for a couple years now and we love it! He's never lost or left the PDM...on the other hand, it's such a habit for me to throw it in my purse that I have, on occasion, thrown it in my purse and left the house while he stayed home. Lol.

Having been tubed for several years, tubeless is the way to go for us. Ds used to get his tubing caught often and his pump was forever flying off his waistband, sometimes pulling out the site.

Honestly, we've only had one bad batch of pods and Omnipod replaced the whole batch for us once I realized what the connection was. Yes, we occasionally lose pods, but it's not often enough to be an issue. I can't even remember the last one we lost. Doesn't seem like we lose any more or less than when ds was tubed, but I wasn't really keeping track.

I can say that for us, Omnipod customer service has been phenomenal. I was having a problem with a PDM and they were snowed in. A local rep got me one the next day and then they sent me another one to keep as a back up!

Good luck on your decision!

 

What sort of problem with "tubing malfunctions"? In 4 years, I don't think we've ever had one.

If you want the Pod, get the Pod. Or trial the Pod and a tubed pump and decide then.

 

You don't have to send Ominpod your old pump when you do the "Cut the Cord" program?

 

My son chose the Ping because he takes part in a contact sport (martial arts sparring) where the pod would be a liability, and likely to be torn off.

At first, I didn't think the cartridge size would be an issue, but now that he's a voracious teenage boy, I wish the cartridge was even bigger than it is. I feel like he's changing it all the danged time!

We don't have regular problems with the tubing, though sometimes it does get pulled and that can cause a warning to happen. (It's easily cleared though.)

I think pump choice is very personal. They're all pretty close, and it just comes down to what features are most important to you, what you feel comfortable with, and what "works" for you.

 

We have used both the Ping and the Pod for my 5 year old. I like both!

We did the "Cut the Cord" program, and no, you don't have to give up your Ping. Which to me was a bonus, because I figured if he didn't like the Pod, we could go right back to the Ping....but he hasn't looked back!

Personally, I miss some features on the Ping, but Adam LOVES being tubeless. I know there are a lot of people who have no problems with tubing, but Adam was constantly getting it caught on stuff, had trouble dressing himself (he was only 4 when we started on it) and had quite a few pulled sites. Even when we had a string of Pods that fell off, or had issues, I would ask Adam if he'd like to go back to the old pump and he always says no. I figure it's his body, he can choose what he likes.

We also swim A TON in the summer and we had issues with Adam being disconnected for so long. So, I think the Pod will be fantastic for us because it will stay on, he an still get his basal (at a lower rate) and won't have to worry about disconnecting. He also played flag football and never had an issue with a Pod getting in the way.

 

my daughter has been on the pod for almost 3 years. We love it. I like that I can put the PDM beside her bed so that I can make temp changes throughout the night and any corrections without searching for the pump in her bed. As well, for us, we use to get a lot of air bubbles running through the tube which caused a lot of unexplained high blood sugars. Since being on the Pod we have very few unexplained high's. She has never lost her PDM or forgotten it, she keeps it in a pump pouch that is with her always. We do wish the smaller pods would come out soon, but for now we will never look at a tube pump again.

 

I've never heard of anyone having problems with "tubing malfunctions". People sometimes experience kinked cannulas, but since the OmniPod also has a cannula, this problem is no different for podders. Maybe this is what you are talking about.
I have, however, heard of quite a few people having major issues with faulty batches of Omnipods. This issue has been happening on and off for quite some time, as far as I have read on these forums and has not been resolved by Insulet. Indeed some people have stopped using the OmniPod because of it. I would be quite concerned about this if I were considering the Pod.

 

Yes, we were able to keep the Ping. The ping has almost no site problems for us. We've had 3 failed pods already. I have no idea why. I like that I can change the Ping site when I want. The pod magically expires at 72 hours, even if that is 30 minutes before practice is over. Both have been fine for sports. Both deliver insulin well. Andrew left his tubing hanging out of his pocket except during sports, so I like not seeing the tubing. He likes not holding the pump in the bathroom. The pod seems a little simpler with fewer buttons to push. We like both. I'm sure you will be happy with whichever you choose!

 

The pod alarms at 72 hrs saying the pod has expired, but you actually have an additional 8 hrs before it stops delivering insulin. I hate doing site changes in the morning, so even if his pdm says the pod has expired, I will often wait until after school to change it so long as his numbers are good. He still gets his basal and can still bolus as usual for lunch. No problem at all!

 

My 10 year old has been on the POD for about 17 months. She is responsible for her PDM. She carries it to and from school every day. She has never left it anywhere. Never misplaced it. When we are going out together, I throw it in my purse. It has just become second nature. There are times when we are driving somewhere and I can swear I don't remember putting it in my purse but sure enough, it is in there. It has just become a habit.
We love the POD. It is the only pump we considered. Our CDE at the Endo office tried to talk us out of it - for the same reason. Saying my daughter would lose the PDM. But I didn't let her sway us. And I've been happy with the decision all along. We've had no issues with POD failures or PODs falling off. It has been pretty smooths sailing. Have had a few bent canulas a few times but that can happen with any pump.