Omnipod leaking/tunnelling cannula

[felts77]

I'm quite stuck with troubleshooting this issue with my Omnipod 5. On occasion I have noticed my sugars going high fast, checked my pod and seen a little bit of dampness on the adhesive near the cannula which, when I touch it and smell my finger, smells of insulin. The cannula itself is still inserted.

From some searching online I am guessing that I have been experiencing "tunnelling" which I understand to mean that I am not absorbing doses fast enough and some insulin travels back up and out of the hole the cannula is in.

I'm not sure why this is happening or what to do. It's happening a lot lately and I'm concerned and really want to avoid it. I've not really noticed it happening in any particular places more than others and I always use extra adhesive patches on the pod.

I'm following all the official advice I can find from Omnipod, applying it to the right areas, cleaning sites, rotating sites etc. When I've asked the Omnipod company the response I received was to do things which I'm already doing.

I've seen some people on reddit saying about not doing big doses in one go (using extended mode) which makes sense. However I've seen people say they avoid giving more than 5 or 6 units at once... I don't know if it's just me and the ratios I'm on but I almost never have a meal dose that low. I'm not sure how convenient it would be to have to use extended mode for every meal but if it works I suppose it's better than the insulin not going in and having to change the pod.

Any advice from people who have experienced this would be much appreciated.

 

[h884]

I'm quite stuck with troubleshooting this issue with my Omnipod 5. On occasion I have noticed my sugars going high fast, checked my pod and seen a little bit of dampness on the adhesive near the cannula which, when I touch it and smell my finger, smells of insulin. The cannula itself is still inserted.

From some searching online I am guessing that I have been experiencing "tunnelling" which I understand to mean that I am not absorbing doses fast enough and some insulin travels back up and out of the hole the cannula is in.

I'm not sure why this is happening or what to do. It's happening a lot lately and I'm concerned and really want to avoid it. I've not really noticed it happening in any particular places more than others and I always use extra adhesive patches on the pod.

I'm following all the official advice I can find from Omnipod, applying it to the right areas, cleaning sites, rotating sites etc. When I've asked the Omnipod company the response I received was to do things which I'm already doing.

I've seen some people on reddit saying about not doing big doses in one go (using extended mode) which makes sense. However I've seen people say they avoid giving more than 5 or 6 units at once... I don't know if it's just me and the ratios I'm on but I almost never have a meal dose that low. I'm not sure how convenient it would be to have to use extended mode for every meal but if it works I suppose it's better than the insulin not going in and having to change the pod.

Any advice from people who have experienced this would be much appreciated.

Hi felts77

I am an omnipod dash user. I have not experienced the issues you describe so not sure I can be of much help. Sometimes when I change my pod there is some dampness. No issues with my levels going high.
Hope you get some answers and things improve

 

[richyb]

I'm quite stuck with troubleshooting this issue with my Omnipod 5. On occasion I have noticed my sugars going high fast, checked my pod and seen a little bit of dampness on the adhesive near the cannula which, when I touch it and smell my finger, smells of insulin. The cannula itself is still inserted.

From some searching online I am guessing that I have been experiencing "tunnelling" which I understand to mean that I am not absorbing doses fast enough and some insulin travels back up and out of the hole the cannula is in.

I'm not sure why this is happening or what to do. It's happening a lot lately and I'm concerned and really want to avoid it. I've not really noticed it happening in any particular places more than others and I always use extra adhesive patches on the pod.

I'm following all the official advice I can find from Omnipod, applying it to the right areas, cleaning sites, rotating sites etc. When I've asked the Omnipod company the response I received was to do things which I'm already doing.

I've seen some people on reddit saying about not doing big doses in one go (using extended mode) which makes sense. However I've seen people say they avoid giving more than 5 or 6 units at once... I don't know if it's just me and the ratios I'm on but I almost never have a meal dose that low. I'm not sure how convenient it would be to have to use extended mode for every meal but if it works I suppose it's better than the insulin not going in and having to change the pod.

Any advice from people who have experienced this would be much appreciated.

I also had this a lot but not now. I had a simple fix. When I press button to insert cannular. I push down slightly and forward slightly as if I was pushing the pod cannular in. Until it is inserted. It totally cured mine. They come off clean and dry.
This is what I do.

 

[richyb]

I know your frustration. I was on the verge of giving up, when I read a post on Facebook, of a man who said he fixed his this way. I guess it could be proved by videoing me put one on, then also removing it. But I am old and not very photogenic. So best not to

 

[Soplewis12]

I also had this a lot but not now. I had a simple fix. When I press button to insert cannular. I push down slightly and forward slightly as if I was pushing the pod cannular in. Until it is inserted. It totally cured mine. They come off clean and dry.
This is what I do.

This works for me to. I just apply light pressure to the pod before clicking the button

 

[richyb]

This works for me to. I just apply light pressure to the pod before clicking the button

Glad to hear, I used to push down slightly, but now I push gently in the direction the cannula is going. I learnt this from another user. I reckon it is because no matter how sharp the inserter the skin will push away slightly before insertion. This might change the angle once it is in. But pressure means it is pre-loaded. To make it more naturally in line.