Why not Omnipod?

Hi everyone! I have been looking through the archives. A lot of member said that they wouldn't want the Omnipod as their primary pump. I was wondering why?

We used the Omnipod ages ago when DS was a toddler, so we are familiar with the older model. We did a pump trial on the Minimed when he was about to start kindergarten but decided to stay MDI because that was what he preferred. He is now open to a pump. :smile: Our Endo recommended the Omnipod. She feels it is the best option for us.

 

Two reasons, I suspect. 1. The relative start-up costs of a tubed pump vs omnipod and 2. some quality control issues with strips and pods.

Given the way most insurance plans cover pumps some people feel that they get better value for their insurance buck by getting a tubed pump with it's possible benefits of reliability and lack of misplaceable PDM and a retail price of $5K covered by insurance, then buying out of pocket a PDM thru the "cut the cord" program for $200.

It's not that people don't like the Pod, it's that getting the pod on it's own through insurance doesn't maximize the benefit for some. Obviously, if a tubed pump is a deal killer for your D kid then it's not really an issue, but I suspect that's one of the main reasons that people tend to lean toward tubed pumps with a pod as a back up.

 

I think any pump is strictly personal preference. I have 2 type ones and both only use omnipod and dexcom! I can not even imagine the life of a tubed pump again.

 

^^This.

I'll admit that I am one of the more vocal proponents of getting a tubed pump and then the omnipod through cut the cord. For me at least, I have not found the reliability of the pods to be something I am willing to tolerate on a constant basis. Also, I just personally prefer having the tiny site on my body and I don't think that the pros of the omnipod outweigh the bulk of the pod for me. I do like the pods for water activities and summer. In terms of finances, my insurance will pay for both pods and tubed pump supplies (insets and cartridges) so I just order as needed to keep both on hand and it is nice that I have the choice.

 

Ds didn't like the idea of the bulkier pod, compared to the size of a site of a tubed pump. Either it would show, or be like a big thing stuck to him. (We haven't actually seen a pod in person yet. ) Maybe now they have smaller pods he would consider it, maybe. Plus when we were choosing pumps people here were talking about a lot of pod failures. Lots of lost insulin...even though they might replace it, it's a hassle that I don't need.

Each pod is more expensive than each site change, so while initial cost was less for pod, ongoing costs seemed like they would be more. Depends on insurance, of course.

 

when we were looking at all the pump options, our son is a teen, but they said that they prefer for younger kids the ping as it has the remote. Just another option if you go with a tube.

 

I'm one who has said that I wouldn't choose the Pod as our main pump, for basically the reasons that Sarah stated in her post. (1) It made no sense for us to have insurance pay for a PDM when we could buy one out of pocket for $199. We have insurance pay for a tubed pump, and then it covers both infusion sets and pods. That way we always have a backup if our pump fails. (2) I have had an unacceptable experience with Pod reliability, both with the new and old pods. I don't want to carry insulin everywhere I go in case the pod decides to deactivate and start screaming for no reason.

That being said, we do use the Pod for "water days", and I'm glad that we had it along on vacation when our t:slim decided to stop accepting new cartridges.

 

This^^. My daughter is gradually switching to wearing the pod more than the Medtronic, but give her too many pod failures close together, and she's done with it for a while. We're part of the group that had virtually every pod fail over a six week period; it definitely affected our feelings about it as a solo pump. We do loving having a back-up pump, as we've had failed pods, failed PDM, and failed Medtronic. My kid is adamant about avoiding MDI for periods other than a couple of hours.

 

We've been among the luckier ones and haven't had many pod failures. My kid loves her pods and wouldn't trade to a tubed pump for anything. That said I do think cut the cord and at least owning a tubed pump is a good idea and gives you the most options. Pods really seem to be a love em or hate em sort of thing.

 

I think there is no reason that the Omnipod can not be a primary pump. Many of us do!

Cut the cord makes a lot sense if you can't decide between two pumps, or if you simply want to have two different pumps. But if your child wants the omnipod, let him have the Omnipod.

My daughter was only open to the Omnipod, because it is tubeless, and it can swim. At the time, I too had a lot of apprehension about the pod based on the inputs on this forum. But my daughter insisted on the Omnipod. Now, we love it.

We are among the lucky pod users too, rarely encountered problems. In over a year, I can only think of 6 pods that were met with premature death. Only two had to be replaced by Omnipod, as they were true pod failures. The rest were due to rough play, the cannulas came out when the pods got bumped hard. It happens.

 

My daughter, now 14, has been on omnipod since 3 months post diagnosis. - 5 years. She says she will never wear a tubed pump. Love the pod. We had some bumps along the way, but all has been smooth for well over a year now. Even when we had some issues, we never thought about switching. Pod and Dexcom. Love them both (well, maybe not love. Hate anything t1 related. But you know what I mean).

 

My daughter has been using OmniPod for about 10 months now (plus Dexcom ). Couldn't be more pleased. Infrequent issues/problems, seems like no more often than others have problems with their tubed pumps. Don't know how my daughter will feel about switching to the Bionic Pancreas once it is FDA approved/released for use by the general population (because of the tubing). But that's probably 8 or more years down the road...

 

My son is 11 and we only use the Omnipod, Cut the Cord is not available in the UK, I may have considered it when first choosing a pump. He has been using the Omnipod for 12 months now. We have only had 3 pods fail in that time. I may be wrong but think the reports on failures you read about here are historic and not a reflection of the last year or so. We have been delighted with it and would choose the Omnipod again next time round.

 

Bumping this thread because summer is here and I am trying to sell my son on at least giving the Omnipod a try. We have the t:slim and are very happy with it generally. But something really overwhelmed me last night: it was hot, he was sleeping in just his tightie whities, and I looked at his skinny little body and realized how much CRAP he has attached to him. A pouch with a belt and the pump, a long tube, a site, the Dex. I feel like having seen the new smaller pods that maybe this might ease the burden for him a bit, especially when it's hot and we're in and out of the water frequently.

I've ordered a demo pod but I understand it's just to try out the size of the unit, and won't give him a sense of what an insertion feels like. We watched the Olivia videos last night on youtube and I thought he was intrigued but then he said a flat NO. Some of this could be normal 7 year old not wanting to try something new now that he's finally gotten used to the inset insertions and tslim interface.

I've got a healthy backstock of one touch strips and tslim supplies. If I try cut the cord (is it still $200? Has anyone done this recently?) and he doesn't like it, it will take me some time to build up a backlog.

Worth it? Thoughts?

 

I don't know what to say. We've been podding since forever. Yes, there were issues. As far as I'm concerned it's the best thing in the world. We do not use the Freestyle meter. We use Verio IQ and love them. Swimming is fine. Tubeless is great. PM me if you need more feedback. We would never change.

 

Even though we had a lot of problems at the end with the OP, my son DID have a good 5 years with very few issues. If cut the cord is still available, it might be worth pursuing. One thing I do miss about the OP is the remote bolus feature. No need to play hide and seek to find the pump in his shorts pockets in the middle of the night. :wink: Considering your son is 7, you might be able to get that flat out "NO" to a "yes" or at least an "I'll give it a try" with a little bribing. Yes, I'm not ashamed to say I've bribed my kid a time or two in the past to get him to try new things.

 

It didn't work out for us to have two kids with pods as their primary pumps, but I do appreciate having one as a backup. DD's pump died last night and it was so easy to stick a pod on her until the replacement arrives tomorrow. I really, really wish my son had another pump available. IN a do-over world, I would have bought a different pump then done cut-the-cord to get the PDM.

And I'm with Caspi - bribing can be an effective tool on scary things.

 

If he's not complaining then I wouldn't push it. Maybe nudge if you spend a lot of time in the water but only if it's compromising his overall bgs. If not I'd leave it be and maybe see if you can't get a shorter tube for his infusion set and ditch the pump pouch for sleeping. We have always just let it "float" at night.

 

I'm with Swellman on this, for us the Omnipod is the best thing in the world and have nothing back to say other than the handset is a bit clunky but every pump has it's quirks. That said with a new PDM coming out in 2016 this may be a thing of the past. As for your child, my son hates change especially to do with Diabetes equipment, won't change lancing device, hated moving onto the libre and it cost us a fortune in bribes but all is good now....bribes, rewards call them what you will, however if it's not bothering your son ....only you can decide.

 

Thank you, everyone.

There is a fine line between bribing and positive reinforcement, and with a young child with D I walk it every day!

He is happy with the t:slim and his A1c is terrific; mostly I want to encourage him to try something new to see if it might make life a smidge easier for him. Or not! I think we're going to give it a shot, if only to have a back-up pump.

I just remembered that a friend's teenage son recently got the Omnipod and also wants to get rid of his Lego collection so I may have a strategy.......