Sunday, January 15, 2012

OmniPod Update!

You know how it's been a long time since you've blogged...and you keep meaning to do it, but then you can't think of anything to say...even though you have a lot to say?

I guess that's what they call "writer's block," eh?

Anyway, I was reminded that "I really need to blog about OmniPod" after reading Kristen's post today about their switch from Ping to Pod.

So, it has been exactly 1 month since we started podding. Dang, it seems like it's been A LOT longer than that! Because I think I totally grew some grey hairs during this past month. The good news is that podding is finally going really well. Really well. Aside from those pesky post-pod-change highs (I'm still too squeamish to go full blast on the temp basal, but it bites me in the ass every time) things are evening out.

We had quite a few pods rip off for various reasons - I swear, my kid just has a knack for pulling out insulin pump sites. But, now we've realized that tape is a must (Hypafix seems to be working well for now) and if we do that - we're golden for the full 3 days. I also bought an arm band from Bands 4 Life, but he doesn't love it so much. His favorite site is still his belly. The 2 times we've tried his rear end, we've gotten blood in the cannula, so I think we may have a "clencher" on our hands. :)

There were plenty of times I was ready to drive over the pods with my car, and slap his Ping back on him, but I'm glad we stuck it out, because Adam loves the OmniPod. In fact, he has become so much more involved in his own care than I ever thought he'd be at 5 years old. Last week, I was upstairs and he asked for a snack. I was busy, and I said, "Not now - just wait until I can come down and bolus you." And he says, "No ma....I can do it!" I hesitated for a split second and then I thought, what the heck? So he yelled to me that he was going to have a granola bar and told him to bolus for 17 carbs. And he did it!! Of course, I ran right down to check, and I saw that it was delivering the appropriate amount of insulin. He was so proud of himself! He liked it so much, the nurses at school have had to practically wrestle the PDM away from him so THEY can practice bolusing him! It has given him great independence and a sense of ownership over his diabetes that I think he didn't have before.

I was also able to let him go to a playdate at a friend's house the other day - I know the mom fairly well, but she had never cared for Adam before. She called me when Adam wanted a snack and he tested himself while I was on the phone with him, and then bolused for the snack! I had done the calculation in my head, and double-checked with the mom that it was delivering the right amount. It was another great milestone for us.

So, I have to say that now, I do love OmniPod, mostly because it has given Adam a lot more confidence in handling his diabetes. Now, granted, I do 98% of the finger sticks and bolusing, but it is great that he has an interest and CAN DO IT if he needs/wants to!

In December, we realized our transmitter was NOT working well on the Dexcom. Fortunately insurance paid for a new system, so we are using Dex again. And it has been spot on for the most part, which has been a comfort during this transition period.

Adam sees the endo here in a couple of weeks and I'll be curious to see what his A1C is. If I had to guess, I think it will be up a bit, since we had a rough go the last few months.

So, that is our update. Hopefully it won't be another month before I blog again... :)

20 comments:

  1. Bean has always done her boluses...with me giving the carbon count & her telling me the bulks amount BEFORE she hits confirm! It's a powerful thing for them to do it.
    And I can so relate to the school situation...Bean would fly through the screens, the poor nurse couldn't ever keep up!
    Glad lording is going well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! I hope the lawn turn lush and green now that it's getting plenty of water :)

    The first time my daughter bolused herself, it added a whole new dimension to our life with diabetes. Ah, that independence.

    IOB is still my security blanket though. When she's out of my care and pushing buttons by herself...I need to know that if she decides to randomly test for whatever reason, the pump won't advise insulin she doesn't need. She has a habit of testing A LOT when she's in the care of someone new -- a sub at school or a new teacher at church, even for just an hour. If she's nervous, hungry, or just feeling a "pit in her stomach" for any other reason, she'll test. I'm proud of her for that...but...if a 200 or 300 (or more!) pops up, she'll also want to correct. She doesn't like the feeling of being high, or she'll assume the "pit" is because she's high, or whatever. IOB has saved the day too many times, and we just can't let it go. I know there are ways around it, but the extra steps set her up for more opportunity to make an error when entering the dose.

    The Omnipod isn't an option we'll consider...but I'm glad it's working for you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I wouldn't say the grass is greener...it's about the same...green, with a few brown spots. :)

      We are very careful with the IOB, and I would never let him randomly bolus himself. Luckily, at 5, he doesn't check his BG ever alone. In the situation at a friend's house, I knew he had no IOB, so I was okay with it. Plus, the new pods will be here soon with the new PDM that calculates IOB - someone in Canada has the new PDM with IOB (I guess the Canada FDA wouldn't approve it without IOB) and it looks like it works just like the Ping. So I'm definitely looking forward to having that back in the next few months.

      Delete
    2. PS...this blogger "reply" thing is cool!!

      Delete
    3. Loving the blogger reply! You're my first!!! And you know what they say...you always remember your first :)

      IOB has been my dealbreaker since Day 1.

      That was about 5 years ago....still waiting to see the smaller pods, and IOB upgrade materialize in the U.S. I've been hearing about both for a really long time. Sigh. Hurry up and wait.

      Delete
    4. LOL you two! Well, I'm not the first, but thought I'd still just jump in on this blogger reply thing. Since we aren't pumping yet, what is the Insulin On Board issue I need to be aware of? The pod rep at our walk mentioned the smaller pods that will eventually be coming out. Maybe both options will be out by the time we are ready??

      Delete
    5. A THREESOME!!!! WAHOO!!!!

      Insulin On Board (IOB) also known as "Bolus on Board" (BOB) or "Active Insulin" is the amount of bolus insulin still circulating (basal insulin is not factored into IOB).

      The current U.S. model of Omnipod only keeps track of bolus insulin if it was given for a correction. It does not keep track of bolus insulin when given to cover carbs.

      Here's an example of a time my daughter was not in my care, and IOB prevented her from giving unnecessary insulin:
      http://www.candyheartsblog.com/2010/09/still-littleyet-so-grown.html

      And you can find more links to IOB info in this post:
      http://www.candyheartsblog.com/2010/10/animas-ping-our-pump-choice.html

      Hope that helps :)

      Delete
  3. Isaac started on the pod this past June.. We really love it compared to mdi.. This was his first pump..and he did not want tubing..So it has been wonderful for him :) Glad things are going better for you all and that Adam really loves it :) Thanks for sharing your post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so glad to hear that things are going better with the pod now! I love to hear how much more independent he is becoming with his care as well! That's just awesome...the play date, him checking himself, bolusing himself...all of it! I was wondering when your next endo appoint was....I'm anxious to hear how it goes so I can prepare for what our next A1C will be. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay! Glad to see you blogging again! I'm so happy that things are going better with the pod. And don't worry...you'll get that post pod high fixed. Just take it slow and easy. After a lot of trial and error, what works for us is 1.25 units on old pod and then a temp basal of 60% for 3 hours. Of course, Matthew is 11 now, so that might be much smaller for Adam, but at least you know what works for us.

    Glad he's becoming more independent as well. Makes a momma proud, doesn't it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so glad things are going well with the pod! Yay!! We still have occasional problems with highs after pod changes- but we do a temp basal and it's fine. It's when we don't that it bites us! IOB has never been an issue for us - even coming from the Ping. Her numbers have never been better- endo tomorrow and hoping for our lowest A 1c ever!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. My son just started the Pod last night. We are in Canada and it does have the IOB and I LOVE it already. It is so nice not to have to kneel down every time he eats to give him a shot. He is loving it too, so far. I'm sure it will have it's drawbacks but it is his first pump so we have nothing to compare it to. I'm sure they all have their issues. He had what I suspect was a post-insertion high but we'll see when we change it out. Thank goodness for the DOC!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey! I think I may have just posted to you over on the Parents of Children with Diabetes forum. :) I'm azdrews. Good luck! Despite the few issues we've had, Adam loves it more than his tubed pump, and that's what matters to me! :)

      Delete
  8. By "new" pods, do you mean the much smaller pod they have been promising for years? And finally with I.O.B. Sweet! IOB is so necessary for us; could not function without it. I do have a sheet so I can figure out IOB calculations manually with the help of a calculator. But DD extremely reliant on IOB also. So glad it is coming and you will be able to get it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My daughter went from shots to the pod so I'm not familiar with the other pumps; however, we love her Omnipod. For awhile we had trouble keeping them on our active 4 year old and used Hypafix tape. After a couple of months, the tape started to cause skin irritation, and luckily, we found Skin Tac. Since we started using Skin Tac with each pod change, we have had no skin irritiation and less problems with pods coming off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I keep hearing about Skin Tac, so I think I will order some! :) I feel bad because the tape really does irritate his skin.

      Delete
  10. I really love hearing about people who are currently using the Omnipod with their little ones... it seems so big on Sierra's little body but I feel like it could be such a great adjustment for her. She wanted the demo on her tummy, too, which I find funny since she refuses to take shots there. Go figure. Do you use anything special to remove the pods when it's time to set change? I've heard a lot of people use numbing cream (Emla? ebla? I can't remember!) for new sets too... wondering if we should consider asking for this once we start the process.

    I could ask a million questions right now. We're on the fence about CGMs, my endos at Stanford didn't seem too impressed with them but I can't seem to figure out why based upon the glowing reviews of parents! Could you imagine life without it or could you carry on no problem? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there! I'm so glad you started a blog - I have to say, it is the one thing that has helped me the most through all of this - having other moms in the same boat.

      And feel free to ask away! We use baby oil or a product called Unisolve (an adhesive remover) to remove the pods. And yes, we do use EMLA, the numbing cream. We didn't in the beginning when we started with the Animas Ping, but for some reason he developed a fear of the set changes, so we do use it for inserting the Pod & the Dexcom CGM. It helps a lot, and for a young child, I feel like if there's any way I can help him feel better about it all, I will do it. :)

      If you go back in my blog, you will see that I am one of those that has a love/hate relationship with the CGM. For some people, it works really, really well and they will get wonderful numbers for a week or more. We, unfortunately, do not fall into that category. We will usually have a good 3-4 days with the Dexcom and then for some reason the numbers start to vary widely and can never get back on track. So, for that reason, we do not use it all of the time. But, our insurance pays for it 100%, so I'm glad to have it for those times when I would like to figure out what is going on with his numbers, especially overnight.

      We are really liking the OmniPod. However, I liked the Animas, too! For us, it became an issue where Adam was losing a lot of sites due to being so active at school and the tubing getting caught on things. Many people do not have this problem, but we did! And for the record, we have lost quite a few pods as well - one day he knocked his belly into a desk and it dislodged. So, now I always put tape over it to keep it secure. He really loves not being attached to a tube, so again....if it makes him happy, I'm all for it!

      Welcome again to the community! It stinks that you had to join the "club", but we are all here for you. :)

      Delete
  11. Glad to read about more of your Pod experiences (and thanks for the call-out)! Yep, I've had those moments of almost going back to the Ping (blood in the cannula, etc.), but when I step back, I realize it was similar with the Ping. The one thing Luke's scared of is the speed and noise of the Pod change - says it doesn't hurt any more than the Animus sets, but it's "too fast." Will give Emla a shot. Thanks for posting - looking forward to the next one!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I enjoyed reading your articles. This is truly a great read for me. I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles.
    Produktdatenmarketing

    ReplyDelete