Who’s tried Abbott’s new FreeStyle test strips with their fancy new “ZipWik” technology? These are the ones with the Butterfly on them, and the new tapered ends that poke out for much-improved blood uptake. I wrote about them when they were first introduced in this Test Strip News post.
Trouble is, now that they’re being shipped out to customers, nobody’s sure whether they’re compatible with the built-in meter on the OmniPod.
A bunch of people pinged me on the issue this week, and there’s a lot of online discussion / confusion at the moment. Many PWDs and parents of T1 kids have been automatically upgraded to the new strips by their mail-order pharmacies. Should they insist on returning these for the old strips?! And suddenly I realized, this happened to me too!
Some people have even tried comparing the older and newer strips in their OmniPod PDM and found “up to 40 points difference in every test.” Yikes! (But there’s an allowable variation of up to 20% in glucose readings anyway, no?)
So I contacted the folks at both Abbott Diabetes and Insulet, makers of the OmniPod, and here’s the pertinent information I found out:
1. Be aware that there are TWO varieties of FreeStyle test strips — the “classic” strips for basic FreeStyle meters and “lite” strips made specifically for the company’s mini-sized FreeStyle Lite meters. There are also two varieties of the new test strips to service these systems. The meter built into the OmniPod is the “classic” variety, not Lite.
2. This is the important bit: at this point, the newer test strips are only FDA approved for Abbott’s two varieties of FreeStyle meters, and have NOT YET BEEN FDA APPROVED FOR OMNIPOD USE. Because of this, the PR folks at both companies were pretty much under a gag order and unable to make much comment other than to say “people are using them.”
3. The new strips require No Coding, so when used with a regular FreeStyle meter, the system apparently doesn’t ask you to input a code number. If used with the OmniPod, however, you would use the coding on the vial, which seems to always be the number 16. (whatever – as good a number as any, right?)
4. It seems pretty obvious that Abbott plans to phase out the older strips eventually, but for now, they’re making a big point of stating that the older strips are still available. Any OmniPod users who’ve been shipped newer strips and would like to replace those (up to 500 at a time) simply need to contact Abbott Customer Service and they will ship out an equivalent quantity of older strips for you right away, according to Abbott’s Director of Public Affairs Greg Miley. He says they’ll take you on the honor system if you state that you need a certain quantity of replacement strips (the older ones) right away; you’ll be expected to ship the newer strips back to the company in exchange.
While they’re waiting on approval from the FDA, the companies have no choice but to state that they “do not recommend” using the newer strips in the OmniPod system. But many of us have tried it and found that they work just fine — myself included. I can certainly understand why people don’t want to go to the trouble of returning the Butterfly strips (what a PITA).
Image: Jeff Fillmore
I’ve been saving my new batch of Butterfly strips for use after I’ve run out of the old ones. I tried them out, however, and was absolutely shocked at how quickly they absorb blood. Almost too quickly. It seems like you could just brush your hand nearby and suddenly — beeeeeepppp! What a departure from aggressively scraping blood onto to the older strips, which I often had to do in order to get a response.
Why would I want to return these new blood-suckers (that’s a good thing here!) for something older and harder to use? Who wants to move backwards?
So in summary, you’ve got two choices: if you’re not willing to take the leap of faith that the new strips will be OK in the OmniPod, then contact Abbott to help you procure older strips asap. Or, like my friend Leighann of D-Mom Blog, you can assume that FDA approval is a formality, and go ahead and start using the new strips right away. As Leighann notes, the FDA is notoriously slow; we might as well enjoy the newest technology, with less blood required, while we wait.
I cannot speak to the new strips’ compatibility with the OmniPod PDM, but as a person who uses her FreeStyle Lite meter (rather than the One Touch Ultra Link that would automatically upload BGs to her MM pump) I must say that the newest FreeStyle Lite test strips are superior to the old ones. They seem to require that same teeny tiny drop of blood as the old ones did, but the new strips grab blood about twice as fast as the old ones did, making the BG test time even shorter. Bravo, Abbott! I hope they’ll follow through soon with OmniPod PDM-compatible new strips. (I like the cute butterfly, too. If you have to look at a BG strip 12 times a day, it might as well be pretty!)
I agree! I don’t use an Omnipod and don’t know anything about compatibility, but the new Freestyle strips are pretty amazing. They pick up the blood fast. Really fast. My husband has commented on what difference it makes for him when he tests his blood sugar while running.
Would you also be able to use the new strips in a Cozmonitor, not the version for the lite meters but the other kind? I know, the Cozmo is an outdated system, but I still love mine and am not changing until it dies!
That’s what I don’t understand…if they work in FreeStyle meters and the OmniPod has a FreeStyle meter built in, then they should work.
But you would have thought that OmniPod and Abbott would have worked together to get FDA approval so that they were FDA approved to be used in the OP at the time that Abbott began shipping them out.
Our pharmacy filled our prescription (NINE boxes!) with the new ones. I always thought “yeah, yeah” the improvements of ZipWik are lip service. But no, I am amazed at how little blood they require.
We’ve been able to back down our lancing device to a setting which my daughter doesn’t feel as much. And they are much easier to use on my six-year-old who doesn’t want to stand still that long…or who is busy being animated singing or talking while I’m trying to test.
I would hate to go back to the old school FreeStyle strips.
Oh, and we get code 13 sometimes in addition to 16
(This doesn’t constitute medical advice, use at your own risk, ask the FDA not me, yada, yada, yada.)
Did Abbott or Insulet indicate a potential date for FDA approval?
I use an OmniPod, and I’ve now used up two vials of the new ‘butterfly’ test strips. They certainly seem to work fine for me. They are fantastic in terms of blood-uptake, and definitely require a less vigorous lancing. And I haven’t noticed anything odd in terms of the BG numbers they produce. When they say I’m low, I feel low. When they say I’m high, there’s a reasonable likelyhood that I really am high (opps, forgot to bolus for that cookie…) I guess the next A1c will tell the tale, huh?
I have used my “lite” strips in my old Flash meter just as a comparison. It worked fine, even though it technically shouldn’t have. i prefer the lite meters, so i don’t do it regularly, but my limited, non-scientific experiment says they work fine in either.
Will post a video shortly on my blog.
Hi there,
There is an allowable variation of up to 20% for higher readings in glucose readings but these new butterfly strips are showing a 40% variation. It appears that they work in some Omnipod PDMs but not other PDMs. I am glad they are working for you but I bet if you call Abbott back you will get a different story depending on who you speak with. I reported this problem to Abbott over a month ago and a senior supervisor told me do NOT use the butterfly strips for the Omnipod and that the retailers should not be selling them for use with the Omnipod. My Omnipod trainer as well as many other found the same inconsistencies!
Patients are calling Abbott to get the old test strips and are told they will receive the old ones but they are sent the new ones. Patients are having a hard time finding the old strips and some have been told they are being phased out. This is not an FDA approval issue and I think your implication that these strips are fine is misinformed. At the very least you should tell your readers to be careful with them and if they suspect any inconsistencies to check the readings with another meter. Just because they are working for you in your meter doesn’t mean there is not a problem. Too many people are reporting inaccuracies, even our local Omnipod trainer! Please don’t put this email on your website. I just want you and your readers to be safe.
I use the butterfly strips in my Omnipod and honestly I didn’t even think about the possible inaccuracy! I used 2 vials already and will have to check with my flash meter about the numbers, but I like the new strips soooo much that I won’t go back to the old ones and use my back up meter if there is a huge difference in numbers. But, I am using Dexcom and the numbers with the new strips are corresponding to what Dexcom says so I think they work fine. But thanks for the warning I will deffinitely check into it!
I just received my freestyle strips yesterday from the mail order pharmacy. I was at first shocked to see that they packed my Novolog insulin in the same bag as the freestyle test strips and put 5 frozen ice bags on top of everything. I was concerned about the cold affecting the strips as I have never seen this done before and was told that this is acceptable. IF there is an issue with the newer freestyle strips and Omnipod which I use then one would think a letter would have been sent out stating that this is something to be aware of or is that considered common sense ? I will continue to use the newer strips in my Omnipod so far I have had no problems but for kicks and giggles I will take my Flash meter that came with the Omnipod to work with me today and see if the results are different.
(This is my understanding and may or not be 100% accurate:)
Just a note about cross checking with another separate meter.
Using two different meters may get entirely different results…a difference of up to 40 or more.
If my blood sugar is 100. Then a meter could read 120 and be considered accurate. It could also read 80 and be considered accurate. And this is with the SAME meter.
So if I check with two different meters and one said 80 and one said 120, they might both still be accurate. Even though (and this is completely logical) they don’t look to be giving similar readings.
It’s my understanding that I should always use the SAME meter because readings will likely be consistent with THAT meter.
So maybe a better way to check if the strips are being accurate with an OmniPod PDM is to use both the old style strips and the new butterfly strips with the PDM (not cross-checking with a separate meter). And if the numbers are within 40 of each other, then it may be reading accurately.
I think until we get more answers each person needs to do what they are comfortable with.
(This doesn’t constitute medical advice, use at your own risk, ask the FDA not me, yada, yada, yada.)
It is acceptable to have up to a 20% difference in BG reading at higher readings but when the numbers are lower( under 100) the 20% difference is not acceptable.This is what I have been told by a freestyle rep. My test over a month ago with the same blood drop found. The Omnipod with the new butterfly strips says 50 the omnipod with the old strips says 91 the accu check meter says 90 and the freestyle meter with the new butterfly strips says 89. Some people are not having problems but many others are. This tells me there is something wrong with the meter or the strips. Patients have gotten calls from their Omnipod reps today telling them NOT to use the new butterfly strips with the Omnipod. I reported this to Abbott over a month ago and yes you would expect a statement from someone! I have lost faith in Abbott. Even if they don’t know what the problem is, there is clearly one and they don’t seem to be too concerned!
I had used the OMNIPOD for almost two years. When the new strips ame out I was getting readings 100 points below what I would have expected. Upon receving and using a test kit, the metter informed me my BG was 35 and I should treat for hypoglycemia.
The issue here is not the change in strips, but that no one from Insulet notified consumers about poential issues. When I called about getting old strips, I ws told to call around to various pharmacies and see what they had. I have filed all sorts of complaints and this is the first discussion on this topic I have seen.
I am running an unscientific test of both kinds of strips in my PDM (not the new color one). On 9 tests over many days, I used both strips:
1. New butterfly strips always tested lower than old strips
2. The higher my blood sugar the greater the difference (OldStrip: 392; NewStrip: 244) (OS: 250; NS: 205) versus low BS (OS:39; NS: 37)
3. In the range of 91-169 (Old Strip), I ran 80-145 (New Strip). This is acceptable difference for me.
4. I actually feel more like the New Strip values than the old ones though this could be psychological.
I am tucking this info in my mind when I bolus and saving my few old strips for those times when I pop really high.
I have a new color PDM but am hesitant to use it until the strip issue is resolved. Are the new butterfly strips working in the new PDMs?
OK, here are my 2 cents worth on this matter. I’m an Omnipod user with a newer PDM model.
1.) The BG values using the “Butterfly” Freestyle strips seem significantly lower than when compared to a value given from a second meter (in my case a Freestyle Lite) ; e.g.1 217 (lite) – 146 (butterfly). Control Solution tests returned BG values of 61 and 63 when they should return somewhere in the 83-125 BG range. This gives serious pause to considering test results in any way accurate and reliable.
2.) Even more disturbing was the realization that my insurance (United Health Care, Rx fulfilled by their mail-order arm, MEDCO) has been fulfilling my Rx with these strips since March of 2010. More disturbing than that however, was MEDCO telling me that the NDC # on the “Butterfly” strips was the same as the “old strips” (Freestyle) in their system. NDC #’s should never be the same for two different versions of the same product. They are assigned per item, and any variance in an item demands a new NDC # for itself alone. That is the very purpose of an NDC #. Also, according to their Pharmacist I spoke with, they just had notification of the apparent difference between these two versions of the strips in the last week.
3.) This follows last weeks email from Omnipod (Insulet) advising the following: ” Abbott Diabetes Care received FDA clearance for its NEW FreeStyle Test Strips. New and improved FreeStyle Blood Glucose Test Strips are intended to be used with FreeStyle (also known as FreeStyle 3 and FreeStyle 5), FreeStyle Freedom® and FreeStyle Flash® blood glucose meters only.
Insulet is awaiting clearance from the FDA for the use of the new FreeStyle® test strips in the OmniPod PDM.
Please continue to use your current FreeStyle® test strips until Insulet obtains FDA clearance. ”
4.) So…the end users are left to assume “Aw, it’s just a formality, it doesn’t really make any difference”. But a phone call to Abbott and demonstration of BG and Control tests has them OVERNIGHTING a full set of replacement strips to me (swapping out new “butterfly” strips for the older version strips.
5.) So…..I guess it DOES matter after all. Not to mention abnormal problems I have had over the last 6 months may well have had to do with operating with inaccurate BG number results.
6.) Personal Conclusions: Abbott’s call center displayed all the concerned attention, expertly informative help, and rapid response (swapping out supplies) to alleviate the problems I was having that we all wish for in our dreams of great customer service.
But realistically, the response seemed a bit more like a company doing it’s very best to correct this error and thereby avoid any greater legal problems from angry customers seeking redress for having been supplied improperly working test supplies for months.
My confidence in the accuracy (for my Omnipod PDM) of the new, “Butterfly”, version of the Freestyle strip is pretty much nil.
It seems Abbott may have erred in replacing old supplies to fulfillment agencies (in my case, MEDCO) without clearly specifying that the “old” version was still the only Freestyle strip good for use in the Omnipod System.
Here’s hoping that Abbott can quickly turn out a “new” version of the “old” Freestyle strips that will test accurately in an Omnipod PDM………because those “old” style strips will probably become harder and harder to obtain for PDM use.
Dexcom = 297
Old strip in Flash meter = 311
Old strip in Omnipod = 313
New strip in Flash meter = 289
New strip in Omnipod = 298 (makes sense since we calibrated the dexcom to this)
It’s the only test I’ve run but after reading all of this it did make me feel better. : )
A Short Update: to my previous post.
1) Received overnight package (empty!) fro Abbott. Upon call to Abbott they informed me that they have no “old” (non-butterfly) strips in stock. They are “backordered” with absolutely NO idea given by Abbott when they expect to have them in stock.
2) The help from Abbott given to me in finding local pharmacies that had supplies of the “old” strips was useless, as all of them (4) only had the “new” (butterfly) strips in stock.
3) To my surprise (though I had explicitly covered this in my previous phone call to Abbott), they were unaware that both products (non-butterfly AND butterfly) had the same NDC # ! Apparently the call rep. made note of this and sent it up the chain-of-command. This does not breed confidence nor augur well for the future.
4) Sad that Insulet has not put more pressure on Abbott (apparently) in their non-maintaining the “non-butterfly” strips as they replaced stock with “butterfly” strips, and leaving their customers with only non-compatible strips for their machines. Sad that Abbott is so large that this was allowed to happen to their captive user-base of Omnipod users.
Once again, the main rule of diabetes holds true: You’re on your own, figure it out!
Personally, I’m now using an Elite meter and hand-entering the BG values into my PDM to manage myself. What fun!
I’ve been using the new Freestyle strips in my daughter’s Cozmo pump for going on two weeks. We too thought they were easy to use and gave great results. Then I noticed someone on the CWD site said these strips tend to run 10% lower. I thought I’d test a few strips on myself. I took two old style Freelance strips from our emergency go bag and got readings of 121 and 125. Then two new Freelance strips (not Freelance Lite) and the readings were 100 and 102. That’s not 10% off, that 20%. That was enough of a variance to get me really worried.
Today I went to the pharmacy and got 100 new strips replaced with 100 of the old style. They had enough of the old ones left to fill my prescription for December as well. The pharmacist called Abbott to find out if they were going to continue production of the classic strips. Their answer, “they aren’t sure.” They had been sending out replacement strips but didn’t have any left.
I checked the Deltek site, the makers of the Cozmo, to see if they had any updated information. The site still says that Abbott will continue to make the test strips. But the site had not been updated since they first announced they were phasing out the Cozmo within the next four years as warranties expired. The Cozmo help desk was unaware that the strips were in in short supply, if not totally out of production. I asked them if they would find out the status and consider notifying the Cozmo users that the new strips were not approved for use in the Cozmo. They are supposed to get back to me.
Tomorrow morning, I intend to do a larger test. Ten strips of new vs ten strips of the classic. My results are going straight to Arlene Pinkos at the FDA. She works with testing devices including glucose monitors and CGMS devices. Maybe she can get some straight answers out of them.
The thing that really ticks me off is that they didn’t even bother to let us know that we could be seriously under dosing our children or ourselves. I understand if some people want to continue using these strips, I really do. But is it too much to ask that we be given a choice? At least we could adjust our target values. Or at least use a different meter and enter the values manually.
I wonder why Omnipod never sent a notice about not using the new strips with the pump as this is the first time I’ve heard anything about this. I have been using the newer freestyle strips in my Omnipod with no problems. I do not have the luxury of buying another meter just for this purpose so for now the Omnipod will just have to do. By the way the newer freestyle strips are absolutely amazing! After having type 1 for 34 years you can only imagine how hard it is to get any blood out of my fingers. I thought that Insulet Corp would be different from there other competitors but it seems like they are not. Why where we not informed by this ? I know when I was with MM they would always send out a notice. What’s up Insulet Corp ?!
Well it is sad to say that yes there is a difference with the two test strips. My 9yr old has the Omnipod and we were using the “new” test strips being new to this hole Diabetes thing and not being informed it very fustrating!!! We were using the butterfly test strips thinking that those were the ones we were suppose to use, and come to find out no were are not.. My daughters readings were way off. The butterfly test strips would say she was at 135 when she was at 35!! The teacher from the school called me everyday and said something was wrong that my daughter was not acting right so I got the old Faithful meter out and sure enough she was 35 not 135… I am very fustrated how Abbott can put the same NDC on this package. I am having a very hard time getting this strips and the Abbott corp told me today to call MAYBE Liberty Mutual and MAYBE they can help me!! WHAT??? I really don’t like mail order and I should be able to go to any local Pharmacy and get these. Well so far I am not having any luck!! SHAME on you ABBOTT!!!!!!
I say, shame on Insulet as well. These two companies partner on the Omnipod and they should have gotten their act together before Omnipod users “stumbled” on this debacle as I just did. I’ve spent the last three hours (most of them on hold) on the phone with Abbott, Insulet, and my diabetes nurse educator asking them all the same question, “why wasn’t the Omnipod user community told about this so that we could make informed decisions about how to manage the situation?” I am appalled. Insulet says that FDA approval is imminent. Abbott is sending me the original version of the strips to replace the 300 of the new version I just bought. We’ll see what I end up with
I used the butterfly test strips with my omni pod for two weeks while pregnant. When I got to my doc office my omni pod specialist said the reason they didn’t want ppl using those test strips what not only the blood sugar could be off. But it didn’t always read above the 220 area. I also had my Dexcom which can be fourty% off. And the two weeks that I was doing both and didn’t know not to use the butterfly test strips that dexcom would NOT stop beeping. It kept saying it was above 140 but when I checked my sugar it would say 126 or 132 I would check again and again it drove me crazy!!! so when I finally got in to see my doc she printed out my omni pod work sheet and my dexcom work sheet and was like HEY!!!! There is a BIG difference here. You need to use the correct strips for that machine. She also exsplained that the dexcom has a 10min lag. Where it say what you sugars are but when you check with your machine you wont get that number or see it go up untill about 10 mins. Which is true untill I used those strips. On a good note im still pregnant and the baby is doing just fine.
Ummmm….still no resolution to this issue and the old strips are almost impossible to find. While I understand it may not be an issue and could be just a formality in terms of approval with the Omnipod via FDA, it sounds like it varies across PDMs so could potentially provide inaccurate bs data. Who wants to take the risk? Spoke with Insulet yesterday and they continue to recommend testing with butterfly strips on a Freestyle meter then program into PDM. Also sounds like Omnipod reps are not informing new patients. I don’t get that- are they encouraging new Omnipod users to use the new strips while Insulet is saying not to? So confused and not willing to risk my daughter’s health.
Everyone is right to be concerned and angry! I too went for months without hearing about this problem–and getting very inaccurate (low) results with the new butterfly strips. I thought my diabetes had cured itself!
Status report (as of June 20, 2011): Nothing has changed at Omnipod nor at Abbott, except that the older test strips are harder and harder to find.
And both types share the same NDC number!
I am very disappointed with both Insulet and Abbott. I am a new Omnipod user as of 7/2011. I did not know this problem was going on prior to switching from minimed! Now, I can’t get the correct strips and this is extremely frustrating. When I called Abbott I was informed that they no longer have any of the old testing strips. The representative offered to send me a new meter for the strips and gave the name and telephone numbers for Minimed and Liberty Medical so I may attempt to try to replace the new strips. What??? I advised him why do I want another meter this defeats the purpose of the Omnipod! This is crazy I am so not happy!
Just started my daughter on the Omnipod this Monday (9\12). Freestyle classic stips not available anywhere locally. My insurance company suggested Liberty Medical. Called Liberty on Wednesday and placed an order for them. I received phone call from Liberty today because they are out of stock (have been for a month) and don’t know when they will get a shipment in. Made a phone call to Omnipod and their suggestion was to call Mimi Pharmacy and Liberty. I informed them the reason I was calling OmniPod in the first place was because Liberty was out of stock. Omnipod service rep told me to call Abbott. Needless to say Abbott’s only comment was “sorry, they were no longer available”. Persoanlly I find it unreasonable that Omnipod is still selling their pumps to new customers without telling them about this test strip issue. I feel like returning the pump. Unfortunally my daughter would be heartbroken because she is really happy with it. It’s a bad experience for a first time pumper! BTW…Mimi Pharmacy said they are expecting a shipment soon. Guess you have all hear that already but maybe its worth a try.
@Sue – did you get your strips from Liberty yet? I just got mine after the same problem you had. What a pain, huh? Hard to decide which number to use in correction & dexcom calibrating though – old meter this morning said 177, omni pod with old strip said 201. I am really sensitive to that correction dose and don’t want to over correct. I calibrated my dexcom somewhere in the middle. I’ve heard that this coming January Omnipod is coming out with a smaller pod (yay!), maybe they’ll have new pdms for us that can use any freestyle strips, or at least the newer ones!!
I just called Omnipod & was told that “yes smaller pods ARE coming out” BUT the CSR could not promise whether or not the new Omnipod PDM will have a meter built into it that uses the test strips with the butterfly on the box(zip wick design). She mentioned a continuous blood glucose monitor being built into the new Omnipod PDM. But she said that the new PDM is still in planning stages & no trials have been performed.So I guess Abbott needs to start manufacturing the “classic” Freestyle test strips again for the Omnipod users. I got 1 shipment from Mini Pharmacy but then they called & told me Abbott no longer makes the classic Freestyle test strips.
This situation with the test strips is entirely unacceptable, and Abbott should be taken to task for not only putting undue work on its customers, but creating a situation where this can impact their lives. My wife is on Omnipod and it’s been great for her. Having to use an external meter and then transferring the results into the PDM creates an intolerable risk. The whole point of having a meter built into the PDM was to take the human out of the equation. I speak from experience when I tell you that it’s very easy to miskey the data into the PDM, and wind up taking a larger bolus than what was needed. Now let’s add the stress from being hypoglycemic into the mix and now we have a recipe for a quick trip to the emergency room.
Abbott has no excuse for taking this route without having an obvious, well-tested and established upgrade path. My wife refuses to use the “Butterfly of Death” strips as she calls them, afraid that not only she may take a larger bolus due to human error, but she’s convinced that these strips are not as accurate as the older ones. Why would anyone sane even consider using non-FDA approved test strips, especially if there is question about the accuracy of these strips? Abbot certainly hasn’t been communicating with customers until AFTER the fact, and only releasing enough information to placate anyone who calls.
To me, at least, Abbott doesn’t have its customer’s best intentions at heart. OnmiPod users should be making the phones ring off the hook, inboxes filled with disgust at what is going on here. Realistically, the only way Abbott will pay attention is if it starts to hurt them financially, and what other choice do Omnipod users have? None.
this is still happening, october 2011, we get the wrong strips even afte multiple calls to the pharm, abbott and omni pod, each gives us the brush off, my wife uses the stips in a different meter than the onmi pod device, ready to switch to mini med. or sue blue cross.
you should confirm this yourselves but I just got off the phone and the official word from Abbott and Insulet is use the Freedom meter with the new strips and input the number manually into the omnipod PDM until further notice. That was after explaining to me that there was no reason they shouldn’t work… just that silly old FDA approval thing was taking a long time.
After I explained that we had our first quarterly A1C with the new strips come out 30 points higher than the average of 706 readings… indicating that they’re reading on average 30 points low, he went back to the official position.
With the old style strips things were back to normal but now they aren’t making any more so we have to carry a meter plus the PDM. There is no guarantee that this will be solved with the new PDM next year but we can hope.
When this controversy came up a year ago, I pestered Abbott and Omnipod until I found “Mini-Pharmacy” in Los Angeles who could provide me with the old strips, which were sent to me in the mail. Recently I noticed I was running low so I called them this morning and learned that their supply had essentially run out and they could no longer supply me.
I called Omnipod. They told me they same thing they said a year ago, i.e., that they were seeking FDA approval and until then, I needed to use a separate meter and enter the blood sugar readings by hand.
They also told me I should call Abbot Labs because 1) they could set me up with another pharmacy that still has strips and 2) they were planning to reissue the old strips and they could tell me when they would be available.
Called Abbott and they told me both of those things were not true. They had discontinued the strips and that was that. Use a separate meter they said.
Called Omnipod back–happened to get the same “Customer Support” person I talked to initially. Told her she was wrong on both counts. She apologized and said, “that’s what we were told.” I said she was misinformed and I would like to speak to a supervisor. After a long hold the same person came back to me and apologized but assured me she THOUGHT she was telling me the right thing. I said I still wanted the supervisor. Eventually got one who also apologized but did NOT say that the first person had been told to tell me the wrong infornation. She was sympathetic but had no solution.
So this is where we are–one of the major benefits of the pump is denied to us. There is no support from Omnipod and if you call “Customer Support” they will essentially lie to you to get you off the phone. This does not inspire confidence.
Am I the only one that is still having this issue?
j/aime bien le code frestyle
They work in my daughters Omni pod meter infact we could use some!