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Three days, or until the insulin is all used up - that is how long an OmniPod is to be worn for. Before pumping, I was unsure if the scheduled three day replacement interval was going to be a nuisance. I even pondered the idea of trying to sneak in an extra day on the pods- so long as there was enough insulin stowed away in them. Well, that notion, along with a little of my patience, consistently scurries away when I near the end of a pod cycle, and the three day itch sets in.
A submerged piece of tubing, along with semi-sticky adhesive and active flows of insulin is enough to occasionally agitate my pump site. Rest assured though, at the end of three days wearing this tool, I am keen to the idea of ripping it off. I liken it to wearing a cast. Although I have not experienced it first hand from a cast, the unquenchable itch of a paper-mache prison seems to relate at times to that of wearing a pump. Those last few hours before I change my site is when the bulk of the irritation begins. I fidgetingly fantasize of sliding a coat hanger under the adhesive and giving it a once over with some gusto!
The feeling of being able to pull off the pod and free my commandeered skin is like heaven. And that notion of wearing the pod into overtime has flown out the window. At the stroke of 72 hours, and at timed intervals before and after, the pod sends out a reminder set of beeps to replace the pod. (beep, beep, beep), (beep, beep, beep) goes the pod. I turn on the PDM “(beep, beep, beep), (beep, beep, beep)" goes the PDM and Pod Expiration Advisory- "Change Pod Now" pulls up on the screen. If the pod was not changed, it would continue the set of beeps in fifteen minute intervals during the last hour of its life. If it is continually ignored after that, the dreaded hazard alarm starts. This is a solid stream of high pitched wailing that comes from the pod, daring to be ignored by anyone!
In all, the reminders and replacement schedule is designed to keep infusion sites from getting over stressed and to ensure that plenty of insulin is always on hand. In a slightly bustling room, the reminder alerts can hardly be heard and under a stack of bed sheets, the pod's beeping can be completely muted, making the actual annoyance of the reminders very minimal for me. It is more likely that the physiological cues will start to pop up first. The itch sets in, the boluses are a little more noticeable and my desire to find a coat hanger is suddenly a pressing need.
