im interested in it.
There's a rumor that the FDA should have the Afresa inhaled insulin approved on 12/29 of this year, which means it would then be available for drs to prescribe it to patients. However, I was then notified by the company that runs the clinical study I'm on that the study has been extended until October 2011. So I guess we're going to have to wait and see if the FDA really approves it in December or if it will not be available until later.
It's so user-friendly so I hope more people will get to use it soon! I'm hoping the FDA will approve it in December!
This will be such a huge paradigm shift if this really becomes readily available next year. It's like when Humalog came out in '96...we're probably all gonna be confused when we start using it because it starts working so fast. And using an inhaler...are you kidding me?...that's gonna really screw with people heads the first time they give up shots for it.
I can't wait haha.
Haha!! I totally agree! One reason the first inhaled insulin (Exubera) failed is because too many patients were too scared to try it and didn't want to learn how to use it. The company didn't make much money since most patients stayed away from it and they pulled it off the market.
Everything turned out okay though because Afresa is more effective and comes in a much smaller inhaler than Exubera....you would seriously laugh if you saw how big that inhaler was! I NEVER used it in public haha!!
My daughter started the omnipod 2.5 years ago. I can't say we had the same sort of ratio failure as you are describing, but as time went on for us I noticed we were not having many failures, so I chucked it up to inexperience in the beginning. I am not trying to say that you are doing anything incorrectly, but more of as you get used to putting them on, you figure out little nuances that seem to make a difference. I cant pinpoint anything in particular for us, the way I remember it, I haven't changed how we apply the pods in anyway, but we don't have many failures at all. Another thing I noticed in my daughter is she got used to having it on her, so she learned to compensate for it, overtime fewer and fewer were knocked off by mistake (she is only 6, so child's play is unpredictable, hence knocking the pods off).
as far as waiting for replacements, omnipod started sending out replacements with your next shipment about 2 years ago. So just keep watch on your supplies, and if you ever get low before your next shipment is due, give them a call and they will send your replacements immediately. Personally, I wasn't impressed with this change to start, but knowing they are very accommodating at sending them if you need them (we had replacements overnighted in a freak circumstance when an entire box of pods was suspect), I have accepted it and it isn't bothersome anymore.
hopefully your experience will improve with time. I would try to stick with it! good luck
That was one of the factors we considered in the reviews as we were choosing a pump - for a 5 yr old. There seemed to be a lot of failures in reading reviews and blogs. That and the fact that you have to have the meter in order to bolus. We chose the Animas Ping because we knew for our family having to have the meter in order to bolus would not work. We're always hopeful that in the future there will be better options, but until she's a little older and more responsible for her diabetes on her own, we're sticking w/the tube and bolusing with the meter or pump. No matter the pump/sites you use, there is a learning curve and these kids are troopers; I'm sure there's not one of us parents that would rather be T1 than our kids!
That seems like a lot of failures. We have been using the pod for our 8 year old for about 5 months now and we generally LOVE it. There have been a few pod alarms forcing unplanned changes but they are usually if we try to bolus right after she has taken a shower. I think her skin puckers a little where the cannula inserts from the water from the shower and if we bolus before it dries completely we usually get an alarm. I'm working on a waterproof armband to see if that fixes it. Are you using the numbing cream to do pod changes? I know some people say it doesn't hurt but we still always use the cream even if it means waiting 45 minutes because it removes so much of the anxiety for her. The time it takes to do a pod change continues to get smaller and smaller too. Now we can do it in about 3 minutes! It was taking about 15 in the beginning. Hang in there!
You guys are great. Thanks for the advice, suggestions and encouragement!
My daughter has been on the pod 8 months now and all in all we love it. We had a few alarms in the beginning, and still have one occasionally, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason, but she is 5 and very active so my best guess is that she knocks it around and sometimes its just too hard. She has knocked it clear off twice over the summer, but she is becoming more aware and when something happens she'll say "I think we need to change my pod" We do use the "magic cream" still, she's little and it eases her mind.
I hope that time has helped to minimize your error rates. I find the benefits wonderful, she can take a bath/shower without worring about disconnecting. She was able to go in the pool at camp over the summer, I bought wraps from Bands4Life, they helped to keep the pod covered and lessen the water effect. I have also started to use the wrap on gym days under her clothes occasionally, just a little extra protection, and awareness, as she is so active.
Good Luck!