[shockme]

hi dee!thanks for the vdos!i'm not a pumper,but i've been curious about what the pod was and how it worked.now i know!i was dx'd type 2 in jan and am on lantus,but if i ever feel i need the pump,i thinks i'd go with the pod.trish

[Dee]

Funnygrl, I am pretty sure you could see a pod on if you were to wear a tight knit thin strap top or something, But one pod high around kinda under your arm may not show. I am not having any problems with alternating the site from side to side and so even with a limited site choice you could keep your skin healthy. When you wear course thick fabrics with a fine detailed print they hide a lot. There is limited choice of what hides and looks OK for a fat guy like me. I could wear a long overcoat like silent Bob! If you watch Kevin Smith when he is on Conan or Jay he wears thick fabrics. Yep Wallymart 99cent!

grove.armada, I am sorry to hear of your troubles with the pod. You can see how much I love my pod system and if I had those troubles I would be so devastated. luckily, I have had no problems with my system. I have tried to be gentle with the PDA, I don't leave it in my hot car and I change the batteries when they show half used. Do you live near power lines? Could it be something is interfering with your link, because when you said used pods will beep if you keep them close together that makes me think the pods didn't get properly deactivated.
I wish you had better results,but I am glad you were able to get a pump you could live with and the main thing of all of this is to improve our health.
As far as the battery thing, I have tons of electronic toys and I buy Duracell's by the case, they all end up in the trash eventually, it's modern life.
Is your forum name after the group Groove Armada? I am a big trance fan.
Thanks, as always best wishes!!!

[Funnygrl]

Is there any way you could make a video taking us through the whole programming of the omnipod? Do they have computer software?

[nneighbour]

Great videos. Loved that you taped you nipples :p I'm not even on insulin, but I like to know what others are talking about on here.

[Dee]

Funnygrl, There is not much programming to do on the unit. I will not be making a video on that. I think it is best to work with your doctor on the ratios and base rates and such. There is some computer software in the works for the omnipod. I read an old message in a forum somewhere that insulet told someone that the software would be ready in 4 to 6 weeks that was in feb of this year. I sent an email to customer service at insulet a few weeks ago and their reply to me was the software would be ready in 4 to 6 weeks! HA! The software would be good for reports, however I saw my doctor today and he just took my PDA unit and scrolled around himself. It has all the summarys of averages,highs and lows.

nneighbor, I thought it would be better if you didn't have to look at those things. I didnt want anyone to think I was doing a janet Jackson (lamejoke I know)

[Funnygrl]

I didn't want specifics on how to figure carb ratios and such, just wanted to see how the Omnipod interface handled programming all the stuff. I know it can take a lot of button pushing, and wanted to see how stream lined that process was. However, I understand that this could take some time to make a video of, and I understand that it may be hard to get the PDM's screen on camera.

[Dee]

That might be possible, I could call it a tour of the menus. I just want to be careful not to offer any information that recommends anything. I am not a model diabetic, just an average user of the device and I am still working to get my sugars under control. My doctor was happy with me today, but he wants me to use the carbs before a meal more and he said he wanted to setup a program for exercise.

[JediSkipdogg]

I think mainly what Funnygrl is asking is show us via the menu how a bolus is given. Show some of the following....

~Regular Bolus
~Correction Bolus
~Carb Bolus
~Adding food items to a carb bolus
~Combo bolus

Basically, just some of the common things that pumpers do on a daily basis.

[Funnygrl]

Yes Jedi, all that, but I also want to see like how basal patterns and carb ratios are programmed in. Pumps actually can vary quite a bit in this fashion. The 1250 required them to be put in in set time slots,while the Spirit requires you to program a basal rate for every hour individually. The Cozmo lets you program carb ratios by the half-gram at the lower ratios. Just wanted to see if the Omnipod had any unique features in that sense.

[Dee]

I think I could do it. Has to be under 10 minutes to go on youtube. Showing the menus will also reveal all my levels and how bad I have been This pump has given me a lot of hope that I can bring my A1C's down. I am doing better than injections alone. I will play with the camera tonight after the kids go to bed and see if I can make another video.

[Spbeyond]

Funny! I watched all these BEFORE I found the forum. Good videos thanks. I wish I could go on the Omnipod but I doubt my insurance will cover it.

[Dee]

Here is a link to a new video showing a quick walk through of the various menu items. Hope this helps everyone to see how easy and simple the omnipod is to use.

YouTube - Omnipod Menu Tour

SPbeyond, you may be surprised. The omnipod is very friendly to insurance companys. If you contact the Insulet company let them pitch to your insurance. You will be required to have some tests run to see if you qualify. The startup is lower than most, about twelve hundred dollars but in my case my insurance paid 90 percent of that.

[Funnygrl]

Thank you Dee! This is exactly what I wanted to see!

I just have one question- you kinda gave me the idea that your basal patterns are covering your carbohydrate intake at meals, given the way your basal pattern changes with meals and your disproportionate basal/bolus percentages. Have you tested your basals? What type are you?

Anyways, I had no idea the Omnipod could do so much. That's really cool that it graphs blood sugars and such too. I wish my Cozmo did. I do prefer the way the Cozmo gives you averages and standard deviation for any time frame though. I would really love to see my aforementioned Smiths/Insulet/Abbott merger.

[Dee]

Funny G,
I am a type 2 adult onset diabetic and I am on byetta 20 units a day. I am new to pumps and still learning how to control my levels with the pump. Actually someone else should have made those videos, someone more experienced. I thought those videos would show how the Omnipod works and for that I think they do show the system, but I want to be careful to say that I am not in anyway an expert on the use of any insulin pump.

My doctor told me last week to use the carbs bolus more as you suggest, because he saw that I was using basal levels to predict times of day that I would need more insulin units. When I made the video I had actually flattened the levels a little more. Most likely I am taking a typical beginners approach. I see it very simple at this point. If I can have a basal level that accounts for the fact that at 11 oclock I go to lunch each day at work and I eat the same amount of carbs. (Creature of habit) then why not just plan it that way with basal. If I get busy at work and I cannot go to lunch then I have an atkins low carb breakfast bar instead. So why not increase the basal during this time and then only dial in bolus after I test? One thing I know about myself is my BG never and I mean never goes low unless I make it go low by too much bolus. I just dont have the kind of diabetes that I read about here where BG goes too low or even goes low and not feel it. I can really feel it if I over inject, with the pump I like to test my BG and see the PDA say zero bolus required. What that means to me is my basal drip is on target.
I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor and I hope to learn more about proper use of the system. Thanks for your feedback, I welcome any comments you have to help me see the proper approach to the use of pumps.
Best wishes..

[Funnygrl]

Dee- I wasn't trying to imply in any way that what you are doing is wrong. It's just not typical compared with other pumpers I know. I know nothing about type 2 diabetes and how control works with that. It it works for you, there's no arguing with success. If you haven't read the book Pumping Insulin yet, I highly recommend. Think Like a Pancreas is also very good.

As for the videos- they are excellent and truly show well how the pump works. I appreciate you sharing them, and you did a great job with them.

What type of insulin were you on before your pump?