The Miraculous Life of an Omnipod 5 User
Once upon a time, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. For many years, my parents were perplexed with sliding-scales, timing of meals, and countless variables that could affect my blood sugar. Years later, I was in my teens and campaigning for independence. This independence included full-control of my diabetes. It only took me a minute to realize full-control of diabetes is a pipe dream. Enter the era of the insulin pump: a step in the right direction.
An insulin pump offered me the convenience of not toting around syringes and a bottle of insulin. However, it also included an a la carte menu of a glucometer, test strips, finger sticker, and gauze squares. For lack of a better phrase, these staples were my diabetes paraphernalia. Albeit a ball-and-chain, it allowed me to live my life with a semblance of freedom. Freedom included a “leash”. The leash became a hassle because I had to accommodate a pager-sized device, with a tube, in every outfit. In 2009, circumstances led me to switch to the Omnipod and cut the cord. Lack of dexterity gifted me the best thing for my diabetes.
January 26, 2022 was the day that my diabetes dream started to become real. I had an appointment with my endocrinologist. He told me that the Omnipod 5 is now FDA-cleared. Words cannot describe the overwhelming sense of rescue I felt knowing an insulin pump that works directly with my Dexcom CGM (continuous glucose monitor) to keep my sugars in range. The features of this new pump exceeded my expectations. Allow me to explain…
As a responsible Type 1, I go to the gym a lot. The benefits are two-fold: minimizes the insulin my body needs to function and optimizes the insulin-sensitivity throughout the day. The Omnipod 5 offers an ingenious feature called “Activity”. This feature evaluates your CGM trend alongside your IOB (insulin on-board) and works to keep you bG from dropping while you engage in activity, You can choose the length of time to keep this feature on.
The Omnipod 5 learns your diabetes management style. The two modes for the pump are “Automatic” and “Manual”. When you first start using the Onipod 5, you need to set your basal rates to run throughout the day. Your bolus calculations are also set into the calculator to know how to “correct” your bG. Over a few days, the pump learns your diabetes behavior by accounting your bolus corrections, daily insulin totals, alongside your CGM values. All of this information is used to help land you within the ranges set by you and your health professional in the setup on the Omnipod 5.
In the last 6-months, I’ve rarely used the Manual mode. When I needed to change my CGM sensor or transmitter, that’s an ideal time to use Manual mode. Over the last few months, the Omnipod 5 has improved my A1c, as well as my insulin sensitivity. That being said, my Manual mode settings are a wee-bit too aggressive for my body nowadays. Overall, that’s good news because it means my body on the Omnipod 5 has become more efficient. Who knew that could happen 37+ years living with Type 1 diabetes?
Hands down. the Omnipod 5 is by-far, the best insulin management system I’ve used. Intuition, innovation, and intelligence are the cornerstones of the Omnipod 5. The future of diabetes management is looking incredibly promising with the Insulet Corporation (PODD) leading the way!
