Omnipod Dash PDM Constant Beeping

Technology & Management
1

I’ve been using the Omnipod Dash system for almost 3 months now and have to say I am a little disappointed since I am experiencing some of the same issues I had with the old system.

Fist the positive. The PDM is much sleeker than the old one which I appreciate. Being a young professional I appreciate having a PDM that looks like a phone so I don’t attract so many questions from colleagues. “Josh, do you have 2 phones?” is a much better question than “Josh, is that a beeper or what the heck is that thing!?”.

However, when the PDM starts beeping in the middle of a meeting I want to throw it out the window. I feel like Elaine in Seinfeld when her organizer keeps beeping.

I get it PDM, my pod is going to expire in 4 hours, in 1 hour, it just expired but I really have 8 hours to change it, or you need me to test my BS. I’ll get to it when I get to it. Now SHUT UP!!

I get this thing needs to have notifications & alarms but here are my suggested improvements for Insulet:

  • Can we please silence the alarms without unlocking the PDM!? I can do it on my Android phone, why not my Android PDM!? Most often after I unlock the PDM the alarm continues and the notification doesn’t come up to silence it. This is very frustrating.
  • Can we actually have control over the volume settings!? The volume setting always defaults back to max a few hours after I turn it down. What is even the point of turning it down?
  • Can we adjust settings on the notifications? I would like it if the pod would just vibrate a couple times letting me know it is going to expire and then not require me to acknowledge the alarm on my PDM. Maybe I’m asking too much, but I didn’t get any alarms when my long acting insulin was going to expire and I did just fine.

Finally, I have not seen much improvement with the connectivity between the PDM and the pod now that it connects using Bluetooth. The old PDM was awful and Dash is better but it still has trouble even though I have it right by the pod.

OK there’s my rant, thanks for reading. I hope you found it helpful if you are considering Omnipod or if you are using Omnipod Dash and have the same frustrations.

2

@jhofstra, I hear and understand your “rant”.

I don;'t use the Omnipod so I can’t offer you a work-around but I hope someone here will be able to offer a solution. Keep in mind that these devices, in order to get FDA approval must be geared to an “all inclusive” audience.
Dexcom receivers must now be programmed with an annoying feature that occurs whenever recharged because some user complained years ago that it never heard a warning alarm.

3

@jhofstra I have no solutions for you, but I can sympathize. I switched to the Dash but am not sure it is any better. Although I like the new PDM, I don’t like that I potentially have to carry 3 items instead of 2. I used to have my cgm and the pdm, but now that it doesn’t have the blood sugar monitor, am I supposed ot carry that too? The communication between the pod and the pdm have not changed, it still can’t find it sometimes when they are directly next to each other. THE ALARMS ARE SO ANNOYING. I want to shut them all off! I know I should check my sugar after starting a new pod. Even when I do, the alarm still goes off. I don’t understand how it goes from vibrating to making sounds, after I turned it down. And sometimes it vibrates continuously instead of a few times.

4

I’m definitely with you on the #$@@#@# alarms! Especially since I change my pod at bedtime, only to have it wake me up with a check your BG reminder. I’ve been a T1 for more than 40 years, and I don’t need a reminder. Is there anyone out there who can figure out a hack to turn the damn thing off!!?? Yes, I’m sure it’s a liability issue, but I would gladly sign any waiver granting Omnipod immunity from any law suits. Please. Omnipod. ARE YOU OUT THERE LISTENING to comments from people who have to live with your products?

5

Hi @wings88 and hi again @jhofstra it is very unlikely that customer complaints made here will make it to the Insulet corp. board meetings. It may influence actual Type 1’s if they haven’t made up their minds, but that’s about where it ends.

The Insulet (Omnipod) customer support web page is here https://na.myomnipod.com/contact

and adverse events and complaints such as Bluetooth comm failures pod malfunctions, etc. should go to the FDA Medwatch site which is here https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm?action=consumer.reporting1

otherwise, you are just yelling at us… and we already agree with you!

1 Like
6

Thanks so much, Joe. I’ve tried to post comments on the Omnipod site before, but couldn’t find a spot to do it. Seems like all they have posted are stories about people who love their pods. Will try again with your suggested URL.

8

Dennis, you are technically right about the complaints re: alarms, but it’s very much out of context.

What happened is that a large number of G4 receivers were produced with faulty speakers that crackled out over a period of days, weeks or months and would eventually fail completely, leaving the receiver with no ability to give audible alerts for high and low blood sugars (though it would still vibrate).

I know this, because I went through three or four of these malfunctioning units before the recall finally caught up to the problem.

I’d call Dexcom tech support every 4-6 months to tell them yet another speaker had failed. Frustratingly, at that time (before the recall) the Dexcom tech support reps I spoke with didn’t have any info on this malfunctioning speaker; it was as if I were the only one having this problem.

I’d have to re-explain the speaker crackling out and dying every time I called, and they would run me through the same tedious troubleshooting every time (having me do a speaker test even though the reason I’m calling is because the speaker doesn’t work…)

Eventually there was an FDA recall and Dexcom finally acknowledged the manufacturing problem publicly. But man, it was frustrating especially since none of the tech support reps I spoke with would admit knowing anything about the problem despite my having had to deal with it for over a year.

By the way, the final unit I had lasted over a year before failing, and at that point was out of warranty. However, the recall had already been implemented at that point. I called tech support and asked for a replacement, and the rep told me she couldn’t do anything because it was out of warranty. A few hours later, she actually called me back to apologize-- recalled units cannot be limited by a warranty… it’s too great a liability. It’s serious business, if the core functionality of these receivers is inoperable-- namely, the ability to alert the patient of critically low or high blood sugars.

Anyway, that’s the reason why the G6 prompts you to test every time-- it’s a bit more serious than “some user complained that it never heard a warning alarm”

9

Adam @schleima, I believe that what I posted IS IN CONTEXT for this post.

If you read the original entry in this Topic, you will see that the poster stats “been using … for almost three months”. Your posting is completely “off Topic” in at least two significant areas:

  • The Topic is about an Insulet OmniPod PDM; not a Dexcom device;
  • The defective devices in your attachment were removed from use April 2016 - not within the recent three [currently 24] months.

Adam, please be careful with your posts, try to avoid “hijacking” Topics, follow rules of this site. Go back, complete your Profile, read and understand site-rules.

10

I am confused-- it was you that brought up the Dexcom alarm issue in an Omnipod thread. I’m clarifying a point you made.

11

I have been on the Dash 5 system for one year. The old omni pod system for 6 years. My Doctor and I are working with my insurance company to switch back to the old system. Have been on a pump for 7 years. The alarms and notifications on the Dash 5 are very frustrating and if not acknowledged will run the battery down. Which is also a hugh problem for me, seem every time I need the PDM it needs charging. Communication with the pod has also been an issue and I have lost several pods while trying to activate a new one. Yes it will upload to your physician if wifi is on, but it will also drain the battery if the cell tower is weak. When traveling you have to carry a BG meter and charger and cord. I love the omni pod wireless system but, new is not better for me. Not to mention the Dash 5 Pods are almost twice the cost of the old ones.

12

Good morning everyone. I am a 20 year Type 1. I am EXTREMELY glad I found this thread. I was on the “old” system for 8 years and thought I was the only one in the world that literally wanted to rip off my pump and smash it to pieces (which I sid with a sledgehammer on 1 or 2 occasions). The alarms were SO frustrating while sleeping with random pump failures or as the OP mentions going off at work in meetings and in general NOT being able to override or quiet these damn settings. I went back to needles for the last 2 years because I was OVER IT. I don’t need the damn headache of something apparently designed for a complete idiot. I just started the Dexcom G6 2 months ago and has been MORE of a game changer in keeping my numbers down the the pump ever was simply due to the fact that I look at my phone every 10 min to check emails, text message etc, so I am constantly reminded of how my sugar is running. I appreciate the candidness of the poster as I wanted to start the Omnipod again but am in NO WAY considering it again after hearing the same issues are present… Sad. One question, however. Can one opt to not use their PDM and use a smartphone only? If so can you quirt the alarms any better?

13

hi @TimTheWiner Welcoem to Type One Nation! I don’t have much to add but to make a quick answer: No. the PDM is required.