OmniPod® Insulin Management System UST400 | User Review

Please see our comprehensive review of the OmniPod UST200 system which still applies to the UST400 system.

Executive summary of our review of the UST400 system: lighter, more discreet, better performance, improved range, minor annoyances of new ID screen and multiple confirm screens. Negligible failure rate.

Digging Deeper:

The smaller Pod is the most noticeable change for us, as users for over six years. Caleb’s reaction was immediate and dramatic. It is lighter and more comfortable. For days he continued to comment about it – less noticeable under his clothes, could barely feel it, and it’s so light. Caleb never ever complained about the former Pod. He doesn’t complain about much when it comes to diabetes, and he’s also not easily impressed by diabetes developments. So for him to go on and on about how awesome the new Pod is, is noteworthy.

Other improvements I like:

• The range. It is nothing like the increased range that the Dexcom G4 provides, but it is improved. I have found that at times I can be in the hallway while Caleb is in his room sleeping and change a basal rate. In a vehicle, I can deliver a bolus without having to reach back or pass the PDM. Little things like that are a nice plus. It’s not completely reliable though. Particularly if the Pod is on Caleb’s back and he’s facing me thereby creating a barrier between Pod and PDM, connection can be difficult.

• IOB on the home screen. Easy peasy, always at the ready. I no longer need to continuously do math to figure out what’s left of delivered bolus’. Caleb is also much more aware of IOB since it’s in his face all the time.

That’s pretty much it. Other than that it’s business as usual for us.

Other Observations:

• I was really looking forward to the new IOB calculation. I thought this would be a significant improvement for us. It’s not. After so many years of dealing with IOB, we’re so aware of it, that the calculation is nothing more than a verification for us.

• Although the improvements from our perspective are few, the smaller Pod size is a substantial enhancement – much more than I expected. Not only does Caleb find it more comfortable, but we’re getting improved insulin delivery. Caleb is back to changing his Pods every three days rather than every other day. His blood sugars have also been much more consistent – this may or may not be to the new Pod. He’s on a new schedule at school which may have something to do with it, but I think the Pod is a contributing factor.

• As far as error rate, for several months this was not an issue for us. Over about five months we maybe had two errors.This has changed since the temperature dropped and coats went back on. We seem to be having a static issue. We had this during the first winter of using Omnipod, but not since. After years of going into school for maybe one Pod error a year, I’ve been into school several times in just the past few weeks to change an errored Pod. It seems to be coincident with putting on or taking off a coat. I hope Insulet will figure this out soon like they did with the older Pods.

• The ID screen is fun – I can change the name to something funny like “Foxy” after Caleb spent a week singing, “What Does The Fox Say”, to give him a chuckle the next time he turns it on. He can do the same – leave me little messages to make me smile. It’s also annoying – especially for night checks. I suppose the increased range increases the risk that the wrong person can get bolused when there are multiple Podders is the room. Since there are none in our proximity, it would be nice to turn it off.
• The extra confirm screens are also a minor nuisance and even less so than the ID screen, so it’s really not even worth mentioning.

We are very happy with the system. We’ve spoken to Caleb about trying out other pumps. He is not interested. He values the tubelessness of OmniPod over anything else that is available for insulin pumpers today.