From people who have had both... which one is better? I have the Omnipod now but which is better? OneTouch Ping or the Omnipod? Thanks!
I think it all depends on the features that you are interested in. If you want wireless omnipod is for you, if you want a lot of cool features one touch ping.
The Omnipod is truly an awesome piece of work and I love the concept. The only thing that kept me from it was the lack of a CGMS option.
The Ping makes me jealous when I see my MM 722 pump, but again it just has bells and whistles that make you want it. The colors, the color lcd, the remote, all awesome things. Again for me though the bottom line was the integration with a CGMS and not carrying multiple pieces of electronics with me. If Animas every gets their integration with Dexcom down, I feel medtronic would really start to run screaming.
i'm debating this myself. i was diagnosed only about a month ago and have been using the pen ever since, but i've gotten my average readings down to about 100 mg/dL so my endo is setting me up with a pump at the end of this month. i requested a trial omnipod, wore it for 3 days, and was not entirely thrilled. as adamant as i was against having to deal with tubing, the omnipod is just a little too heavy and a little too large for me to wear comfortably. plus, i figure if i lose the pdm i'm totally s.o.l. i'll be making a 30 mile one-way commute this summer, and there's no way i'll want to drive back if i leave the pdm at home. it just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. so all things considered, i think i'm getting the ping. is there anything in particular you're not liking about the omnipod now?
How many times have you forgotten or lost your cell phone? Your purse/bag? Your car keys?
This all new to you and you will constantly need to remember to do things like test, insulin doses, food intake etc...this will take some time and new habits will need to be formed.
So it may seem like just another devise that you will forget...but you won't ....not when your life relies on it.
All pumps require a learning curve and you will really need to know thae capablities of it. You will need to manually adjust many options and really know your own body and habits to begin with.
This site can be a great resource for you as well as customer service of your pump.
Maureen
My son is 11 and was diagnosed with type 1 in Feb of this year. He wants the Omnipod but our endro. doesnt think this will be the best option for him due to the fact that he doesnt have much body fat on him. I also worry about him forgetting the remote that he will need. Any suggestions?
whether you want to call it my "lifeline" or not, the fact of the matter is that the pdm is just another electronic that's bound to get jumbled up with an iphone, ipod, bluetooth, and whatever else is floating around at the bottom of my purse. it may be tubeless, but as long as i'm going to have to drag the pdm around everywhere, it doesn't seem worth it.
Once you start the pump attached or otherwise it will need to be treated very diffrently then all of your other devices.
This is a very hard adjustment.
What do you do with your testing supplies? Are they not floating around the bottom of your bag as well?
From what I was told ...the omnipod can stay in your car; house etc....you only need it near you when giving a bolus and programing when inserting a new pod. A regular pump needs to be on you all of the time, not even recommended to take off for an hour.
Reaching out to as many people as possible and listening to their experiences and applying what works for you is the very best you can do.
You should call omnipod and ask to use for their 30-45 day trial peroiod.
All pumps allow for a trial.
In the end your doctor is probably right but you should let your 11 yr old find out for himself. Especially with summer upon us. He will be out moving about all of the time. He will find that he is either ready for the responsibility yet. The pod is on your body delivering the needed insulin. Once he eats and needs to bolus is when he needs the devise near him. If he is near home all day it shouldn't matter. He can keep in his room and come to it when he needs to adjust for food and take blood sugar.
Minimed has been promising a wireless for some time so that may help. To start with the minimed and then hopefully when they offer the wireless is it will be prime time for him to use the wireless.
Maureen
How do you like the omnipod?
I think I want to try it out for the trial period....I loved for the 3 days I was able to test the pod on my body. Thought it was going to be far worse!
Maureen
I still love my Omnipod. All the problems so far have been minimal. I don't have much body fat either but haven't had problems with my injection sites. With everything else going on, it's nicer to have my diabetes simplified a little bit. I thought that maybe I would forget about taking my pdm with me sometimes, but that's not an issue. It's just an automatic response to grab it.
The people at Insulet are very easy to speak with and relate to. They've understood all my questions/ concerns up to this point. They're just so easy to deal with. Maureen, you should go for the trial period.
I have the ping! I like it cause it doesnt take up as much space and is smaller. It is also just like the omni pod in the way that you dont have to bolus right on the pump you can do it on the meter!
[quote user="Jared"]
I have the ping! I like it cause it doesnt take up as much space and is smaller. It is also just like the omni pod in the way that you dont have to bolus right on the pump you can do it on the meter!
[/quote]
Thanks allot for all the comments! I really agree with Jared because if the ping had a few more "bells and "whistles", and it is just like the omnipod only different, why not try it. sometimes we get stuck on one pump because it was the first one we tried. maybe we end up liking another one better...
I'm wearing the trial omnipod right now and I love it. No one has noticed it all day on my tummy and it was easy to fit under my jeans. I tried on the other ones at the endocrine office but when I started to run, they bounced, and I want to be able to leave my device on for swimming and running. My friend still wants to talk me into a traditional pump though. I'm really glad their are trial periods, I'll make sure to take full advantage.
Good advise!
It is diffrent when one is so much more active than others.
Hoping to order my trial today!
Maureen
I go to the gym and am always running. The omnipod holds up great. If you are happy with it, use it. I love mine!
Thanks Amy,
I am calling today for my trial!
Maureen
Maureen,
That's great! I hope all goes well for you. I just keep trying to figure out why I didn't start using a pump sooner.
Amy
My son has had the Omnipod since he was 3. he is now 5. He and I love it. I have the remote and that makes me happy knowing he cant bolus himself. When he gets older he can have control of it but now its awesome. Hes skinny and it works fine on his arm and tummy. doesnt come off and is bulky but he doesnt care - hes free.. and loves it.
Alison
I got my first pump, an OmniPod, about six weeks ago. On the whole, having a pod is FAR better than injections, for sure. I'm not convinced that OmniPod's are so great, though.
First of all, I've had seven instances where my PDM begins beeping and I have to put a new pod on. When that happens soon after I've just changed the pod anyway, it can be frustrating (and a waste of insulin/pod). I called OmniPod and they say it's unavoidable and random "static interference".... they concluded that I'm just a naturally static-ky person. I'm not sure if this problem is common or not, but I have used different PDM's, been in different climates, and yet I keep getting the same problem.
My other problem has been that the pod doesn't stick very well sometimes. I have very little body fat; I use the sides of my stomach and the back/outside of my upper arms. I found that it would not stay stuck to my stomach (probably because of so much moving around, leaning forwards/backwards, etc), and that it stuck better to my arm. But now, any time I run into anything or just brush anything with my arm, I'm afraid the pod will rip out. Last time I got in my car, I brushed the side of the door and, sure enough, the pod ripped out... not fun... This has happened a handful of times. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to having something on the outside of your arm.... we'll see.
In terms of blood sugars, though, I love the pump - my numbers have been much better.
Hope this helps!