#omnipod

[simswithdisability]

OMG! Look at these! Dexcom and Omnipod accessories for TS2 by cfranck8 on MTS.

As a diabetic who is currently wearing a Dexcom G6 (the one in the last two pics) this makes me so happy!

Get them here!

[velvet--haze]

After 25 years I’m finally considering trying the pump. My autistic sensory issues put me off of tubes, but I could tolerate the Omnipod I think. But how is someone who is low income supposed to afford it, even with insurance? I want to take better care of myself, but it’s so expensive. I’m already struggling with so many other health issues that also cost money, I’m at a loss. Are there any financial programs available to lower costs even more?

[itsraining-honey]

hi everyone!!! emily here with some AMAZING NEWS!!!

while scrolling on instagram the other night, i came across an ad from omnipod (a brand of insulin pump for those who don’t know!) it featured a comic-like character in the ad. i assumed it was promo towards diabetics to use omnipod but i watched it in its entirety.

omnipod teamed up with marvel— you heard me right. MARVEL. COMICS.

they created a new superhero in the marvel universe, dyasonic!

as a type 1 diabetic and on again-off again user of the omnipod 5, this blew me away. i was (STILL AM LOL) thrilled to see someone with MY disease, a comic character, a new superhero with diabetes.

omnya, a high school student, struggles with the negativities that come with diabetes. something i’m sure every diabetic has felt with their levels, A1C, even their carb management.

i am so, so happy. again, as a diabetic, i get to see MYSELF in a comic… especially related with the marvel universe.

if you get the chance, please give Dyasonic: Sound of Strength a read!

i barely see anyone talking about her or this comic. i know it just came out but this is HUGE for the diabetic community. i urge anyone who sees this comic to promote it and show support for Dyasonic!!!

if you want to read this comic, click this link!

[chiefdirector]

the NHS has decided to stop funding my insulin pump, meaning if I want to continue with my course of treatment (the only pump which truly worked for me,) I’m having to pay out of pocket for it.

And I don’t think I can afford it. I don’t see why they’re pulling back on diabetes care like this.

Does anyone know what I can do ???

Sorry for the rant

[sunshine-and-sprinkles]

My blood sugar has been consistently spiking around 8:30-9:00pm for the last week (at least??) and I keep thinking my pump would for sure have recognized and adjusted for that by now but it just keeps happening 😫 I’m doing really well mental-health-wise not having to micro-manage my blood sugar but I was doing a lot better numbers-wise when I was!

[quietly-collecting-spoons]

My omnipod stuff got approved!!!

I’m excited to try it out, and with my insurance and the copay card they offer, it’ll be cheaper than my pump supplies monthly AND I won’t have to stock up on AA batteries like my life depends on it (it does)

If anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them! Also I’ve been on the dexcom for like two?? years now if that means anything

[nepja]

my pod really likes to catch on the corners of the wainscoting

had to do an early change because it pulled too hard and started leaking ):

[planstransamanacanalpanema]

In my lifetime, I've been on a decent number of insulin pumps, starting with Animas, the Medtronic, then Tandem before switching to a new insurance company that didn't cover Tandem supplies. I saw the Omnipod offered a 30 day trial and figured, what the heck, and having lived with multiple systems with a lot of unique quirks, I thought I'd share the quirks of this system too.

Having been a tubed pump only person for the first 14 years of my diabetic life, I was a little hesitant with the Ombipod, and initially, I was blown away. The cannula insertion was easy, the cannula was about as comfortable as you'd expect any cannula to be, and despite being a fairly large piece of tech taped directly to your skin, I didn't feel like it got in the way. I did enjoy not having to worry about tubing getting stuck in things, or finding a pocket to shove the pump into or a waistband to clip it to. For anyone who struggles with these aspects of the pump life, this pump may do pretty awesome things for you.

However, these were really the only positive sentiments i had towards the system, probably because I'd lived so long with tubed systems, they never bothered me like they do some people. Those annoying little quirks though really turned me off to it.

For starters, you cannot control the pod without a phone or the Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) they send you. If you forget the pdm, or if you wish to escape from your phone for a bit, you will have no control over your blood sugar. I realized this once after going to work and realizing I'd left the pdm at home. I had my phone though, and hoped I could switch control from the pdm to my phone, in the same way that with the dexcom you can get readings and manage the system, but no such luck. Once you start the pod on one device, you are stuck with that one device for the 2 to 3 days you have the pod inserted.

The pods themselves cause a number of problems as well. There is no way to recycle them, as they are medical waste, meaning every 2 to 3 days, you have to trash a small computer. That might not be a big deal to you, and absolutely no shame if it isn't, but for me it felt incredibly wasteful. The comfort I'd experience in my first days didn't let long either. If you've ever dropped a tubed insulin pump and had your infusion site catch it, you'll know these jarring movements can be pretty painful. The pod isn't quite that bad at first, but after a few days with a wrench directly attached to your site, I did find myself hurting pretty badly. Also, if your pod fails for any reason, it will s c r e a m. It'll produce an extremely loud, high pitched, and continuous beep until you can get onto your phone or pdm and deactivate it, and for the life of me, no matter how quickly you can get that to turn off, it still takes too long. Your results will also vary, particularly if you feel less strongly about the cleanliness of your insulin, but once the pod expires, which is a maximum of 3 days plus 8 hours where it beeps hourly, there is no good way to salvage that insulin. Yes, you can draw the insulin back up from the port you put it in, but once that's in your new pod, if it starts to seem infected, you'll lose that insulin and the pod when you remove it.

Compared to the tandem, I did actually really enjoy the site tracking feature. When you insert a new pod, it gives you the option to track where you've placed it in a limited number of spaces, including the back abdomen (typically known as your back, but ok), and directly on your ass cheek. If you can handle the omnipod, or really any infusion site in your ass cheek, you are far, far braver than me. On the other hand, I desperately missed the calculator feature on the tandem that allowed you to add up the cards you were eating.

As for the app, it does its job, but still has these quirks that drove me a bit nuts. You can't turn off the security feature. Whether you use your phone or the pdm, you'll always have to enter a pin to be able to do anything. This could definitely be a problem if you have neuropathy or other dexterity issues, and even as someone without these issues, I still got pretty annoyed with it. This also presents a problem when you're trying to get the screaming to stop. I didn't love that in my furious effort to get this overwhelming noise to stop, I was impeded by a fucking pin. It also made the lack of calculator kind of annoying, because if you needed to use your calculator to total your carb count, you had to exit out of the app, do your calculations, and then throw in your pin all while not forgetting the number you just came up with.

I also struggled a bit with picking sites with this pump. My abdomen is relatively unusable as a pump site after nearly 2 decades of pump therapy, so I usually use it for a cgm site and then will place my infusion site elsewhere. However, because the omnipod doesn't have an intermediary between it and the cgm, it has to stay "within line of site" of the cgm. So, if the pod is on the back of your arm, your cgm can be on your flank, or on your leg, but not on your abdomen because they're on opposite sides of your body, and even though I got it to work on the opposite arm, even that isn't recommended. So, wherever your cgm is for 10 days, all your sites have to revolve around that one spot through multiple changes. The small upside though is that, even though you can't bolus without a pdm or phone, the pod can still read your cgm and increase or decrease your basal rate based on your blood sugar. However, these treatments for high blood sugar in particular are painfully slow because as compared to other systems, the omnipod can change your basal rates but it can't offer you even small boluses, unlike tandem or medtronic.

That said, everyone with diabetes is different, and I know this system has been a godsend for a lot of people, just not me. While I can't say I'd recommend it broadly, I've definitely met some people who I think would have loved this system. Regardless, I hope this helps, and may the A1C or Time in Range, depending on which one your doctor still uses, smile upon you.

[shxleo97]

Share your experience with your pump (first time getting it) with me.

I’m getting one soon and i’d love to know what to expect 😅

[wolfshystuff]

Stacy from Turning Red is my favorite because she has type 1 diebetic and i have it too so i'm very happy for the representation!

[postbluevoidedbaby]

Having diabetes sucks but omnipod sucks harder

[willifolts]

I’ve got the omnipod on the back of my arm and I’m terrified of falling asleep—it’s so hard to get comfy rn.

[poetheraven99-blog]

What should I draw on my omnipod pump patches they're all just plain and I have the skill just not the brain power. Just little doodly ideas nothin too crazy

[quietly-collecting-spoons]

Do you see the vision

(Here’s the sticker)

[sweetdonutman]

omnipod pro tip: when your stupid old and/or malfunctioned pod starts screaming at you, you can just toss it in the freezer and it'll shut up. also you can't hear it through the freezer door.

[nepja]

oh, fun.

I move my shoulder and my pod popped right off my arm. as if the adhesive just gave up completely, all at once.

I have no pods left and can't pick up more until at least tomorrow afternoon, assuming they can get it in stock as fast as the pharmacy's site promises.

gonna have to go dig out the smaller .5cc syringes I have in my diabetes shelf…