Insulin Pumps and how do you get one?

robinph

Just got a phone call from the hospital and given the dates for starting.

Just 2 weeks to wait now and they will put me on the saline, then on insulin the following Monday.

robinph

Go to get plugged in tomorrow afternoon. :eek:

Only saline to start with, but have not been able to think straight all day. I know there is absolutely no reason to be concerened and it's all good in every possible way...but...my head is still a bit messed up and I just walked out of work early as I was no use being there at all.

Going to kill some aliens on the xbox now to release the pressure and will be fine again after that.

eilo1

robinph wrote: »

Go to get plugged in tomorrow afternoon. :eek:

Only saline to start with, but have not been able to think straight all day. I know there is absolutely no reason to be concerened and it's all good in every possible way...but...my head is still a bit messed up and I just walked out of work early as I was no use being there at all.

Going to kill some aliens on the xbox now to release the pressure and will be fine again after that.

Its a weird situation to be in isnt it? Look honestly its bigger in your head that in reality, you will be absolutely fine, in a few weeks it will be the most normal thing in the world. And dont forget you can take it out any time you want.

I weirdly get nostalgic when I see a good friend of mine injecting now!! But I would never go back!

tbh

robinph wrote: »

Go to get plugged in tomorrow afternoon. :eek:

Only saline to start with, but have not been able to think straight all day. I know there is absolutely no reason to be concerened and it's all good in every possible way...but...my head is still a bit messed up and I just walked out of work early as I was no use being there at all.

Going to kill some aliens on the xbox now to release the pressure and will be fine again after that.

if cartoons have taught me anything, the worst thats likely to happen is that you fall in love with a hoover good luck man - keep us posted!

robinph

eilo1 wrote: »

Its a weird situation to be in isnt it? Look honestly its bigger in your head that in reality, you will be absolutely fine, in a few weeks it will be the most normal thing in the world. And dont forget you can take it out any time you want.

I weirdly get nostalgic when I see a good friend of mine injecting now!! But I would never go back!

Yep, it's weird alright.

I have no doubt at all that it will all be fine or that I will manage perfectly fine with it once I get started. It's almost as if me knowing that and still feeling it's a bit odd is making it worse becuse I know it will be fine and wondering why I feel odd but I know it's all good so why do I feel wierd etc... I'm rambling now... guess I could get the Dyson out and do some cleaning.

eilo1

robinph wrote: »

Yep, it's weird alright.

I have no doubt at all that it will all be fine or that I will manage perfectly fine with it once I get started. It's almost as if me knowing that and still feeling it's a bit odd is making it worse becuse I know it will be fine and wondering why I feel odd but I know it's all good so why do I feel wierd etc... I'm rambling now... guess I could get the Dyson out and do some cleaning.

ha!

Stop worrying!

Go out and get a few drinks to celebrate this is your last as human.

Tomorrow your life as a bionic being begins! :eek::D

Alanstrainor

eilo1 wrote: »

ha!

Stop worrying!

Go out and get a few drinks to celebrate this is your last as human.

Tomorrow your life as a bionic being begins! :eek::D

Hahaha, i just realised i've been a "bionic being" that runs on one aaa battery for years!

robinph

Well that wasn't so bad after all, although the complicated stuff actually doesn't start 'till next week.

Was four of us starting on the pump together, well one woman had already been on a Minimed for 6 years until it broke so was just there for training on the Animas really.

We got show through setting up all the various menus, although there seems to be quite a bit more we didn't delve into just yet. Lots of alarms going off at various points as the new pumps all complained about not quite being setup right yet so learning what all those settings were about. Then we played with a few of the different types of canulas.

None of us seemed particuarly keen on the metal canula option, but we all fitted one of them first. This is the white patch on the bottom right of the picture and that the cableing is actually connected to at the moment. It is just inserted the same as a regular needle, just you then leave it there. It actually connects/ disconnects to the pump at the sticky pad just above it on the top rightof my belly. It wasn't any bother to put it in and I cannot feel it at all now.



The blue thing on the left of the picture is a 90 degree plastic canula. I've just left that in for now to see how it feels as well. It has a fancy package it comes in which fires it into you. It doesn't hurt, but you can notice it for a couple of minutes afterwards, but that is just down to the insertion method as I cannot feel it any more now.

There was also a plastic 30 degree one they gave us as well, but I was then running out of places to stick them so just fired that device into some foam. I'll be trying that one out over the weekend though just to see how it feels for me and then on Monday I go to get setup with insulin and pick which type of canula I want to go with.

I expect I'll go with the plastic 90 degree one, although not in the pink models that he has given me to practice with. Just have to try not to strangle myself in cabling overnight and mess around with the various menus a bit more whilst it's only saline that I'm pumping into myself.

eilo1

jaysus your full of cables!!!!! lol :pac::pac::pac:

I got the mini med and use a plastic canula I never knew you could have a metal one! I dont like the sound of it! metal bad!

A little tip for sleeping is to click it onto the middle of the bottom of your tee shirt so if you sleep in a fetal position it doesnt dig into you. If I leave it on my bottoms it is really annoying when I flex my hip joint. Also its better to have it in the middle so that when you turn over in your sleep it just goes with you rather than you turning onto it.

This is such an exciting time for you, good luck with it!!

robinph

I should have plugged the pink cable back into the other canula for that photo really just to add to the effect.

That sounds like a good tip for sleeping actually. I tend to move about a lot so not sure if leaving it lose is a good idea, but clipped to my front should be less of an issue than on my side. I think it's good they give us this a few days before hand with just the saline so we don't have to figure out things like sleeping and such like at the same time as then figuring out the insulin doses, and get to mess with it properly without doing anything wrong.

eilo1

Yeah you are right it is good to get used to just being connected with out the added stress of working out your bolus and basal!!


Oh the only other thing I had trouble with is that I have some scar tissue on my tummy from over using injecting sights. I didnt know this when I got the pump. So I had trouble with my insertion sights. Make sure you check your sugars a few hours after you insert so to be sure there is no kink under the skin!

robinph

Just removed the unconnected "test" canula this morning to free up a bit of space and it looks like I might be allergic to the glue as I've turned a bit red under where it was stuck on.

Wasn't actually any problem sleeping with it last night. I found a waist pouch thing in the bundle of stuff they gave me so stuck the pump in that, but it was annoying me within minutes so got rid of it and just clipped it to the front of my tshirt in the eilo1 method. Didn't then notice it again really apart from when I rolled back the wrong way so landed on top of it, quick re-arrangement and all was fine again.

robinph

So I've just got back from a training session, running very feat up a steep hill repeatedly tonight. About to disconnect to jump in the shower and I noticed that the first cm of tubing at the cannula has gone red. Pretty sure it wasn't like that before I went running so that is the probable cause. But what is the course of action if that happens once I'm pumping insulin for real?

Just immediately swap to a new cannula and site I guess? But that I assume is then a big issue with if you have to change the set in the evening as I'm sure they said only do them in the am as you need to be awake to check that it has actually taken properly?

Guess I've got some questions for them next week now.

robinph

Got switched onto pumping insulin earlier today so have now done my last* injection.

I did have a time over the weekend where I forgot to use my insulin pen for a bolus as I had been messing about giving myself boluses of saline with the pump. I've a strange urge now to give my self the regular night time basal injection which I've been doing for the last X years, I think I should hide the pens from myself for a while so I don't use them by accident when not paying attention.

Numbers will be a bit odd for the next day as the last of the Lantus finishes it's usefulness, so just have to keep a close eye on things tonight and tomorrow. Then have to see what kind of BG numbers I get from the pump with the various defaults that they set me up with and then begin figuring out the tweaks that need to be made to the basal profile and any other ratios.


* Maybe.

robinph

Three hypos in the last 24 hours with me getting through the Lucozade quicker than usual. Last night wasn't great fun, but on the tests that I took during the night it was right to be setting the alarm to wake me up repeatedly just to be sure.

All of that nasty old tech Lantus should now be out of my system now though so in theory the next 24 hours I should start running a bit higher. Then I should be able to start figuring things out with the programming the pump.

eilo1

Oh how I hate those days!! Poor Robinph!!

Just keep trying you will figure it out its only day 1!:D:D

tbh

must be something in the air, had a massive hypo myself last night. I hate it when you wake up and you know you're low and you're going to have to go downstairs. Ended up rifling through a load of mini dime bars and woke up this morning with bs of 21 :eek:

tbh

Hey guys - I've created a single "chat" thread for all the diabetics for any topics of conversation that don't fit in the existing threads.

Dont feel you *have* to post all diabetic stuff in this thread, but if you're worried about going off topic in one of the other threads, hack away here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70953505

robinph

Was only just thinking I now I've got the pump I should shut up a bit in this thread and start chatting elsewhere.

tbh

robinph wrote: »

Was only just thinking I now I've got the pump I should shut up a bit in this thread and start chatting elsewhere.

wasn't you, it was me going on about my hypo that prompted it I wouldn't want info like this to get lost in a general thread

robinph

Well last night was a bit of a challenge.
18:30 - 9.8 -ate and bolus
21:00 - 9.5
23:00 - 17.9 - WTF, gave bolus but due to not knowing what was going on set an alarm for a couple of hours later
01:00 - 18.2 - WTF x 2, changed set, gave bolus by syringe, set alarm for another 2 hours
03:40 - 4.1 - had some lucozade and went back to bed
08:30 - 6.8 -

I only spotted it after taking the old set out, but it looked like there may have been air bubbles in the tubing which are a bad thing. Is there anything you can do to get rid of air once it appears? Or are you just best to change set/ cartridge?

I was due to change set this morning anyway, I'd just not planned to be doing it quite that early in the morning.

eilo1

The best way to avoid having to change because of bubble's is to hold the pump vertical so the bubble rise to the top and then run the insulin through your tubing until all the bubbles are gone.

However if you if you do have some sneaky bubbles you can just unclick the set as you would if you where going to have a shower and bolus the bubbles out. This just saves you having to start a new set.

Just a warning you may have some scar tissue from the years of injections. The pump wont deliver if there is resistance.
I ended up in DKA last summer this way. Try and use new areas as much as possible if you continue to have trouble getting the insulin in.

robinph

I don't think it was the scar tissue issue as the set had been working fine for the previous couple of days.
Will try bolusing out the air bubbles next time though, if I spot them. You cannot see the cartridge inside the pump with the Animas though, so I didn't notice the loads of bubbles in there until I'd disassembled everything.

graflynn

robinph wrote: »

Well last night was a bit of a challenge.
18:30 - 9.8 -ate and bolus
21:00 - 9.5
23:00 - 17.9 - WTF, gave bolus but due to not knowing what was going on set an alarm for a couple of hours later
01:00 - 18.2 - WTF x 2, changed set, gave bolus by syringe, set alarm for another 2 hours
03:40 - 4.1 - had some lucozade and went back to bed
08:30 - 6.8 -

I only spotted it after taking the old set out, but it looked like there may have been air bubbles in the tubing which are a bad thing. Is there anything you can do to get rid of air once it appears? Or are you just best to change set/ cartridge?

I was due to change set this morning anyway, I'd just not planned to be doing it quite that early in the morning.

Disconnect from the canula and prime the tubing.
If the "bubble" moves down along the tube, keep priming until it's out.
If what you think is a bubble doesn't move then it's not an air bubble. The tubing is a double tube and sometimes it "bruises" but shouldn't effect your insulin delivery.

I think your highs are a signal that the Lantus has left the building and that you have to recalculate all of your ratios - your team will help you do this.

You're doing well for your first week and remember it's going to take a little bit of time and effort to get it right.

robinph

Just got my box of supplies that is meant to last me three months, somehow I was expecting a bigger box. They did give me some more of the extra sticky wipes, not because the canula pads are not sticky enough on their own, but because I think I may be reacting to them slightly. They also gave me some other wipes that claim to make it easier to remove the canulas as well.

I got two large 5 liter sharps bins through the post yesterday as well. Loads of stuff to take up even more space in my flat, but it does feel a bit like a birthday getting all these parcels.

robinph

:eek:
It's a bit of a surprise when the pump falls off your belt and you don't notice when you stand up. Happened three times in the last day and I nearly got myself tangled in the seatbelt getting out of the car yesterday.

robinph

How much do the rest of you pumpers notice when bolusing.

I didn't really feel anything when doing it with saline last week, or for the first couple of days on insulin. But since then I can feel the insulin going in to me as it pushes each unit for a bolus, even since I changed site to a completely new area yesterday. I hesitate to use the word "painful", but it's not nice as it pumps multiple units.
I did turn the speed down from 1 unit per second to now doing 1 unit every 4 seconds but it's not made any difference.

Just a query as to if it's to be expected/ something I'll get used to/ something I should be giving the nurse a call about (I guess there isn't really a whole lot they could do though)?




Thanks for listening.

Alanstrainor

robinph wrote: »

How much do the rest of you pumpers notice when bolusing.

I didn't really feel anything when doing it with saline last week, or for the first couple of days on insulin. But since then I can feel the insulin going in to me as it pushes each unit for a bolus, even since I changed site to a completely new area yesterday. I hesitate to use the word "painful", but it's not nice as it pumps multiple units.
I did turn the speed down from 1 unit per second to now doing 1 unit every 4 seconds but it's not made any difference.

Just a query as to if it's to be expected/ something I'll get used to/ something I should be giving the nurse a call about (I guess there isn't really a whole lot they could do though)?




Thanks for listening.

Hey, this is something that happens from time to time with me. I generally stick it out because i'm too lazy to change my set again!:o! It's definitely not something that happens to me aall the time. I think it's a bit hit and miss really, and it depends on the site.
I've recently started using the top of my thighs as my sites and i'm finding I notice the insulin going in when i bolus a lot more than i would when it's connected to my tummy.

Oh and i absolutely hate the feeling of my pump falling and it pulling on the infusion set when it's connected to my tummy! It's not big deal at all when i have it connected to my leg.

uli84

Hi all,

Thanks for all the stories about your first few days with the pump. Hopefully soon that will be my reality;)

Just a quick question to anyone who got their pump from Mater Clinic - are they givin you any choice when it comes to the pump or you're just gettin whatever they picked for ya?

robinph

Sorry, can't help with the query on what the Mater might offer. How far along the process are you so far?