Hi Kelly,
Katie asked me to weigh in for you some thoughts on the Omnipod. I was using the Animas Ping before I switched to the Omnipod. When I told my doc I wanted to switch to the Omnipod he was more than surprised, he knew I LOVED my Ping. I mean LOVED. Little doubts began creeping up into my mind at that point, but I really really wanted to try the Omnipod. There was an offer to switch to the Omnipod from any tubed pump for $199.95 and then they give you $50 back with your first pod re-order. We decided to NOT run the PDM through insurance and pay the $200 (that way I can still upgrade when a likely more expensive integrated pump is on the market, whether it be Animas or Pod). In the meantime, they don't take your old pump, so if I miss the strings I can just jump back and forth between the two. Yeah, right.
Since being diagnosed with diabetes I always felt bogged down- there is soooo much stuff to remember and this stupid thing hanging on my waist and trying to find a place to hide it if I am wearing a bathing suit. I gave up on the idea of dresses at all because hiding the pump was just too much of a hassle. It was annoying, but I just accepted that was my life.
Not anymore! I am soooo in love with my Omnipod. I have worn it in on my arms, stomach, back, and thighs with no issues whatsoever with sites. Which kinda surprises me because just before I switched I started having issues with my Ping sites getting itchy and yucky after a day or so. I figured a bigger thing would really give me trouble, especially with my sensative skin...but no. This thing is AMAZING! I feel so free- so naked! HA! I love wearing it on my arm.
I am not going to lie, when I first got it and put it on my arm it took me a few hours to adjust. It is obviously heavier than just an inset. However, it is MUCH lighter and low profile than an entire pump. You have to carry your pump somehow.
Let me tell you a little about my lifestyle. I am a mom of a 2 1/2 yr old son whose energy has been noted (by people that are not me) to be equivalent to that of 4 other boys his age. I don't have time for mistakes or room for errors. I am busy and tired. We swim a minimum of once a week where said toddler clings onto me, jumps in, and I swim laps. I run and get MAJOR sweaty at least once a week. I work at a dog grooming salon where I get baths from huge stinky soapy dogs while trying to bathe them. I restrain bucking pets who may or may not be trying to chomp me while cutting their nails. Yes, I am active and spend a lot of time getting wet. My Omnipod must just LOVE me because unless I peeled it off, it is clinging on for dear life. I usually change every 3 days and haven't had any issues with sites or adhesive (I am in the healthy weight category for my height, so average sized). And the insertion is effortless to say the least. I always carry 1 pod and my insulin but that is all you need to change sites. I don't have to remember an IV prep, a needle and resevoir, insulin, and an inset. It's easy.
Wearing it on my arm, I am a klutz, and I regularly run into walls while walking around corners, etc. My poor little pods have taken quite the beating. I had one instance where I knocked it just right and knocked the pod enough that I had to replace it. Once in 2 months. Not so bad for klutzy me. I got tubing caught all the time (even with it tucked into my under-roos). Changing the site is super easy and fast- I am much faster at it then I ever was with the Ping, even after I had 2 yrs practice with it.
I haven't had any occlusion issues, no failed delivery, nothing. The first time I bolused with it I was surprised that it takes up to maybe a minute to deliver the bolus. I think it's the whole wireless thing that slows it down a bit. The toddler doesn't stop, so I plug in my bolus and shove the PDM in my pocket so I can keep running after him. Well worth the tubelss-ness freedom in my mind.
I find that my insulin seems to work better wearing it on my arm. I think absorption must be faster or something. I am spending much more time in my desired range. And that is taking into account that the Ping offers smaller insulin increments (of which I was between increments that the Omnipod offers). I was doing 0.425u basal on the Ping, but Omnipod only does 0.4 or 0.45. With the better 'uptake' I am running the 0.4u just fine. (NOTE: These are my doses and not meant for medical advice or anything like that- no one on the internet see this and try it. My doses are mine and will probably just end you up in the hospital). Did I mention I'm paranoid? ;)
So, I think that's it. Check it out. Call the company and they should do the $200 deal thing for you. The drug rep told me it expired in March but that they would honor it past then. The money they make is in the pods, not the PDM. If your insurance covers the pods you are golden.
Oh, and like Katie said, they've been saying for months now that a smaller pod is on it's way. I have heard that by summer the pods will be 40% smaller. So in diabetes language that means hopefully 2012... ;)
My biggest issue now is that I am mad that I like it so much. I have a feeling Animas will be releasing that integrated system before Omnipod...I really want an integrated system. Really bad. I am so mad because I can't go back to tubing. I just set myself up to have to wait longer for the Omnipod integrated system to come out. BTW, love the Dexcom too. :)
Let me know if I didn't answer something. I have an opinion about everything, so feel free to ask. :)