Omnipod

[Zhnyaka]

I have some "extra" money and I would like to try omnipod. My question is, what do I need besides the pod itself? How is insulin poured into it? is it possible to control an omnipod from a phone?

 

[In Response]

There are plenty of YouTube videos which show how to fill an Omni Pod pod.
Bear in mind each pod lasts 3 days and then is thrown away so you need to fund OmniPod ongoing. Each pod comes with a syringe for filling.
There is no phone app for it yet but the PDM (remote control) is the bit that is reused for each pod.

 

[Zhnyaka]

another question is, do I understand correctly that I need both cgm and pod? will any cgm be suitable? I've seen people on YouTube controlling this with an apple watch, but it's not clear what connects them. I googled the difference between omnipod dash and omnipod 5, and it was written that dash is incompatible with cgm. But am I injecting insulin myself anyway, or what? why do I need synchronization at all if insulin is not supplied automatically depending on bg? And if insulin is not supplied automatically after a set time, why is a pump better than injections? What should I do with the remaining insulin? I don't really need much for 3 days, but it's a pity to throw away something so expensive. In general, I would not like to throw away a lot of money in vain, but I would like to buy something better

 

[In Response]

another question is, do I understand correctly that I need both cgm and pod? will any cgm be suitable? I've seen people on YouTube controlling this with an apple watch, but it's not clear what connects them. I googled the difference between omnipod dash and omnipod 5, and it was written that dash is incompatible with cgm.

To use as a pump, you do not need a CGM.
To use as Hybrid Closed Loop, you need a Dexcom CGM that can talk to the OMniPod

But am I injecting insulin myself anyway, or what? why do I need synchronization at all if insulin is not supplied automatically depending on bg? And if insulin is not supplied automatically after a set time, why is a pump better than injections?

The questions you are asking about the advantages of pumping over pumps, is basic pumping information and not specific to OmniPod.
If you want to get the most out of your funds, I recommend research into pumping and hybrid Closed loop. There is training available from Diabetes UK and NHS such as this https://elearning.mytype1diabetes.nhs.uk/courses/my-insulin-pump-the-online-education-course/

What should I do with the remaining insulin? I don't really need much for 3 days, but it's a pity to throw away something so expensive. In general, I would not like to throw away a lot of money in vain, but I would like to buy something better

You do not need to fill the pump completely although you need to have some overhead in case you are unwell or eat a more carby meal in the three days.
Some pumps allow you to extract the insulin from the pump but you may need to be careful with reusing this in your next pod (assuming it is possible with OmniPod) as you will be mixing older insulin. I prefer to partially fill the pump, especially as pumping uses less insulin.

If you go ahead with self-funding pumping, I highly recommend factoring in the cost of a private endo to help you set up a pump as there are many things that you can tweak to get the biggest benefit.
I also recommend working out what you want to get from a pump to make sure it will give you the biggest value - for example, if your problem is a challenge with carb counting (I am not saying this is the case for you, it is just an example), you still need to carb count with a pump, it will not solve the problem.

 

[Zhnyaka]

To use as a pump, you do not need a CGM.
To use as Hybrid Closed Loop, you need a Dexcom CGM that can talk to the OMniPod



The questions you are asking about the advantages of pumping over pumps, is basic pumping information and not specific to OmniPod.
If you want to get the most out of your funds, I recommend research into pumping and hybrid Closed loop. There is training available from Diabetes UK and NHS such as this https://elearning.mytype1diabetes.nhs.uk/courses/my-insulin-pump-the-online-education-course/


You do not need to fill the pump completely although you need to have some overhead in case you are unwell or eat a more carby meal in the three days.
Some pumps allow you to extract the insulin from the pump but you may need to be careful with reusing this in your next pod (assuming it is possible with OmniPod) as you will be mixing older insulin. I prefer to partially fill the pump, especially as pumping uses less insulin.

If you go ahead with self-funding pumping, I highly recommend factoring in the cost of a private endo to help you set up a pump as there are many things that you can tweak to get the biggest benefit.
I also recommend working out what you want to get from a pump to make sure it will give you the biggest value - for example, if your problem is a challenge with carb counting (I am not saying this is the case for you, it is just an example), you still need to carb count with a pump, it will not solve the problem.

So if I have no problems controlling diabetes with injections, will I just waste my money? Actually, I'm fine with injections, but the pump seems cool because one puncture in 3 days is more pleasant than 4-7 per day. In addition, the ability to stop basal seems cooler than the need to eat sugar during exercise. But it's still expensive. It seems that it would be better to buy a computer for this money

 

[In Response]

So if I have no problems controlling diabetes with injections, will I just waste my money? Actually, I'm fine with injections, but the pump seems cool because one puncture in 3 days is more pleasant than 4-7 per day. In addition, the ability to stop basal seems cooler than the need to eat sugar during exercise. But it's still expensive. It seems that it would be better to buy a computer for this money

It depends what you mean by "controlling diabetes".
The benefits of a pump are not less injections, I think of it as
- ability to vary basal so if you have times of day that you need more or less the pump can make this easier. I am able to program the amount of basal for every 30 minutes of the day and then temporarily change it if I am about to do something that will make me more or less insulin resistant. But I have to plan ahead to make the changes. Getting your basal pattern right is the basis of insulin pumping and, if you basal pattern is wrong your diabetes management will be difficult - you will be building it on a dodgy foundation.
- ability to dose very small amounts of insulin. I can bolus 0.05 units and every multiplication of this. As I am quite sensitive to insulin, this really helpful. I sometimes need 0.3 units for a biscuit for example.
- ability to spread a bolus over a longer period. This is useful when you eat high carb/high fat meals such as pizza which are digested over a number of hours. You shouldn't need the double bolus but this takes a lot of trial and error to work out what is the best duration and split for each type of food.

I do not have HCL which makes the basal a little easier but it depends upon the approach take, For example, some pumps use AI to learn what your body needs at different times of the day whereas others need you to define the pattern and then will suspend or increase depending upon your CGM results.
But both need you to carb count and need you to do "something" when you exercise. I understand there is an "exercise mode" but a single mode for all exercise seems limiting when I need to reduce my basal when cycling but increase it when climbing.

Sure, you only have one "puncture" every 3 days but you still need to bolus and that 3 day puncture takes longer than your jabs.

I am lucky to be able to pump and when it failed, it felt like I was managing my diabetes with a hammer for a couple of days but it has never been easy for me and I am constantly tweaking my basal patterns. After 8 years, I am confident to do this alone but in the early days, I was greatly to have a DSN to set up my initial basal pattern and talk through adjustments. I wouldn't want to start pumping alone just with a user manual.

 

[Zhnyaka]

It depends what you mean by "controlling diabetes".
The benefits of a pump are not less injections, I think of it as
- ability to vary basal so if you have times of day that you need more or less the pump can make this easier. I am able to program the amount of basal for every 30 minutes of the day and then temporarily change it if I am about to do something that will make me more or less insulin resistant. But I have to plan ahead to make the changes. Getting your basal pattern right is the basis of insulin pumping and, if you basal pattern is wrong your diabetes management will be difficult - you will be building it on a dodgy foundation.
- ability to dose very small amounts of insulin. I can bolus 0.05 units and every multiplication of this. As I am quite sensitive to insulin, this really helpful. I sometimes need 0.3 units for a biscuit for example.
- ability to spread a bolus over a longer period. This is useful when you eat high carb/high fat meals such as pizza which are digested over a number of hours. You shouldn't need the double bolus but this takes a lot of trial and error to work out what is the best duration and split for each type of food.

I do not have HCL which makes the basal a little easier but it depends upon the approach take, For example, some pumps use AI to learn what your body needs at different times of the day whereas others need you to define the pattern and then will suspend or increase depending upon your CGM results.
But both need you to carb count and need you to do "something" when you exercise. I understand there is an "exercise mode" but a single mode for all exercise seems limiting when I need to reduce my basal when cycling but increase it when climbing.

Sure, you only have one "puncture" every 3 days but you still need to bolus and that 3 day puncture takes longer than your jabs.

I am lucky to be able to pump and when it failed, it felt like I was managing my diabetes with a hammer for a couple of days but it has never been easy for me and I am constantly tweaking my basal patterns. After 8 years, I am confident to do this alone but in the early days, I was greatly to have a DSN to set up my initial basal pattern and talk through adjustments. I wouldn't want to start pumping alone just with a user manual.

Hm... I'm probably lucky because I've never had any particular problems with diabetes. After the actrapid+protophane system and strips that are very far from even a glucose meter, not like cgm, modern insulins seem great, but I didn't have any special problems with the primitive system either. Fortunately, absolutely all insulins are suitable for me and basically, I can handle both the gym and a drunken party with a couple of sugar cubes and a couple of injections. I probably would like to inject 0.3 bolus in the morning so that there is no phenomenon of dawn, but in principle it is not very pronounced and does not particularly interfere. It seems that a computer really would be a better investment than a pump.

 

[oldgreymare]

I have to agree that if you already manage well on MDI, then a computer may be overall better value than privately funding a pump. Do you already use a CGM?

I still self fund a Dexcom G7, but this has been massively helpful improving my control.

 

[Zhnyaka]

I have to agree that if you already manage well on MDI, then a computer may be overall better value than privately funding a pump. Do you already use a CGM?

I still self fund a Dexcom G7, but this has been massively helpful improving my control.

yes, I use cgm, although sometimes I think that this is also a waste of a lot of money, because I can determine my bg with quite high accuracy by how I feel, and cgm signals often annoy me. but with cgm, my fingers don't look like a sieve and I like it. I would also like my body not to turn into a pincushion at every party with alcoholic cocktails, pizza and chips