So my 7 year old son has had diabetes for 5 years now. We have been pumping for 2 1/2 years and have been using the minimes paradigm pump since we started. However recently he has become more active and we are having issues with air bubbles and problems with the wire tangling up.
So we thought that since our insurance was going to pay for another pump we would try something new.
I have ordered the trial for the omnipod and he really liked it. However I wanted to ask you guys that have it and has switched, do you like it better. Have you had any problems with it?
Any recommentions to other pumps would be greatly appreciated also.
Hi Brandi, I just started using the omni-pod a few months ago and it is FANTASTIC!Not tubing, just the little pod that adheres to the skin.Be aware that sometimes a pod can fail but the PDM alerts you that it has failed and instructs you to change to a new pod immediately.I absolutely love it! If I could start all over and choose again, I would still choose this pump. It is amazing!
I was diagnosed in 1990, and I had been on a Medtronic / MiniMed pump up until last month. Since my insurance was willing to pay for a new pump, I spent some serious time looking at all available pumps.
I chose the OmniPod because I loved the tubeless design, the waterproof functionality that still allowed me to receive my basal rate since I spend a lot of time in the pool, very user friendly interface, integrated Abbott freestyle meter, and automated cannula insertion. These were all tremendous and meaningful improvements over Medtronic's current pump offering.
All of that being said, Medtronic offered me a very reliable product for 20 years, and I do think that the integrated CGM option is very cool (even though there are a lot of people who have had bad luck with Medtronic's CGM -- 3-day lifespan vs. 7-day lifespan with the Dexcom, longer calibration time, larger-sized sensor than Dexcom, etc.) However, OmniPod integration with Dexcom CGM is supposedly just around the corner. My other real gripe with the current Medtronic pump is that its user interface is an absolute dinosaur when compared to the OmniPod's PDM and the Animas / OneTouch Ping. Play around with the interfaces on the Ping and the OmniPod, and you will very quickly see what I mean.
My second-place finisher was the Animas / OneTouch Ping. I liked the user-friendly menu options and glucose monitor integration that allows bolusing right from the glucometer. I also thought some of the infusion set options were very cool.
My personal opinion is that the OmniPod would be the best offering with an active 7 year old boy. The only caveat I have is that the pods could be designed to stick a bit better, but Skin Tac or other medical adhesive preparations seem to do the trick. I think with the smaller and lighter pods that are also supposedly on the near horizon, this will become less of an issue.
Good luck. You deserve a round of applause for being so concerned and involved with your son's diabetes care. Frankly, all parents and spouses of us T1's deserve a round of applause from time to time.
I think now that the omni pod will be a great fit for my son. I cant wait to get my dr to approve it and start the process
Jaybear.
Thank you for the applause. Its nice to know that you can understand how difficult having a T1 is. I just want the best for Kullin no matter what that takes
I have been on the pods for a little over a year and a half.I have had some problems with pods failing and bad sites… The thing to keep in mind as you are evaluating is that every site change means you lose the insulin in the pod.Insulet is good about replacing bad pods but you will still be on the hook for the insulin.
I am also on the Navigator CGMS and this combination affords me the following benefits:
1.Omnipod PDM and Navigator download data to the same software
2.The batteries in the pod are still good when the pods expire and they are the same batteries used by my Navigator transmitter – open and reuse :)
If it wasn’t for the Navigator, I think I would probably have gone with the Ping.From everything I have read and seen, there isn’t a perfect option and with any of the options on the market today the benefits will out-weigh the detractors.Good luck and definitely keep us posted as you go!!!