Omnipod Day 2

Second day on the Omnipod after 8 years on the Medtronic. Less observations, but a few:

1. Did a 6 mile run over lunch with the Omnipod on my arm. Felt a little jiggle and was preoccupied for about 30 yards. That was it.

2. I wish the Omnipod had an easy bolus button like the Medtronic pump. To get to bolus you need to first go past a status screen. It's a small thing, but when you've had this disease a long time, you usually know your status (BG, last bolus) and don't need to be reminded of it.

3. I'm a little worried about how loud the alarm will be when it's time to change the Pod. There is an 8 hour window to change it, but there is an hourly alarm during that window. That strikes me as being a bit naggy.

4. I love wearing this thing on my arm. Though I still have the Dex on my belly, it's really nice not to have the pump there. Very cool.

5. I've gotten a few comments from parents with kids on the Omnipod and I appreciate them a lot. As a parent with kids who don't have diabetes, my wife and I often discuss if or how we'd treat them differently than I. In fact, it was a huge reason I went on the Dex. We both agreed that if our kids had diabetes, we wouldn't think twice about putting them on the Dex, so why debate it for me?

As far as the pump goes, I think the Omnipod is probably a superior choice for kids for two reasons: the lack of cord and the smaller cannula. While Pod people rip off pods, pump people get cords caught from time to time, too. I'm not certain either is clearly superior, but the feeling of not having a corded device on you is definitely better in my opinion. In addition, the needle/cannula on the Omnipod is definitely less painful. As an adult, I don't really care -- my lancets are usually months old. But I could see it making a big difference with kids. The idea that you affix the Pod BEFORE you insert the needle would mean less squirming, in my opinion.

So that's that. After two days, I'm getting used to the Omnipod and would say I like it a little better than a corded pump. It's not overwhelmingly superior and IF Animas brings out Dex integration before Omnipod, I'll be tempted to go to them, but secretly I'm hoping Insulet wins the race. And I have zero regrets about not going on Medtronic's REVEL system. It's just time Medtronic and I saw other people.

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