I just started Omnnipod today and at my pump start the CDE mentioned that you should not wear the pod when going on a rollercoaster. She said that the G-forces can make the pod release all of the insulin into your body…something that I definately don’t want to happen! I did a quick internet search and what I found was people saying that they have worn their pumps on rollercoasters with no problems. But the majority of the people who were talking about this had other pumps, not the Omnipod. I don’t live very far from Kings Island and love to ride rollercoasters.
I’ve had my Omnipod for about 2 years and have worn on several roller coasters with no incidents. Had never heard been told not to, and I am certain that would have been notable when reading the manual, as I like roller coasters. I would direct you to the manual first, and the clin/tech line for Insulet second. Don’t let anything keep you from The Beast (grew up in the Dayton area and loved Kings Island, although I suspect that by now, The Beast is no longer the biggest, baddest, longest, faster coaster out there)
Thanks for the response. I could not find anything in the manual about not riding roller coasters. I actually work on a pediatric endocrinology unit and talked with one of the educators and she said that she had never heard that before. The daughter of one of the nurses that I work with has an Omnipod and she has ridden the roller coasters at Kings Island a lot without any trouble. I also like the Beast, nothing beats a good wooden roller coaster. But, the newest one from last year, The Banshee, and Diamondback are a couple of other great coasters at KI.
Hello @dolphinn33 and @MaryLeonhardt, the “never wear a pump on a roller coaster” issue is not specific to Omnipod. The first I heard of it was 6 years ago.
The issue is that if your pump has a reservoir and if you hold the pump at a specific angle when you are subject to very intense acceleration, then you could induce a bolus (accidentally receive insulin and not by the pump mechanism).
I have always thought the risk is tiny, made even more tiny by the fact that you’d have to be experiencing forces above 2g (2x gravity) and the reservoir would have to be positioned so that the force on the stored insulin would cause it to flow through the infusion system. The risk is not just roller coasters, in fact you’d be hard pressed to find a 2g roller coaster, but circular rides like “round up” and the older one where you are in a room that spins and you are sucked up against the wall, would be 2 other relevant examples. Maybe you work in a physics lab, or NASA, maybe you see 2g+ all the time, well then this might be of more concern. anyway though I’d throw my 2 cents in because I love rides.
Thanks for the response Joe! I’ve been really busy and haven’t had a chance to respond. I followed up with my CDE and they had talked to the Omnipod rep who explained that the Omnipod has some kind of technology in it that acts as a safety device so that insulin will not be released when riding a roller coaster (she didn’t remember the exact name). According to what she said, Omnipod is the only pump that is completely safe to wear on a roller coaster because of this safety mechanism. But, I have talked to many other people who wear pumps and they have all said that they wear them on roller coasters with no problems. And the CDE’s that I work with said that they have never told a patient when they are getting a pump to not wear it on a roller coaster.