The joys of a new pump...

[Dragonflye]

LOL did so well the first 24 hours!!! last night (or this morning 4am) i was 2.8 (lucky though it wasnt 1 of my "bad" night hypos) later in the morning i started feeling sick so did my bm and had gone up to 10.1 (never felt sick this early before but heyho) so corrected... my sugars went back to normal for a while then gues what... :lol: they dropped again!!!

I used to test on average 6-8 times a day on MDI but for the last 24 hours it must have been ever 2 hours... my poor poor fingers :lol:

Only having 1 issue with wearing my pump so far and thats my 7month old baby boy who thinks the tubing is a wonderful toy!!! :roll: :lol:

I do have a question... when im having my bolus amount from eating... should it be uncomfortable whilst its going in?

 

[ebony321]

LOL did so well the first 24 hours!!! last night (or this morning 4am) i was 2.8 (lucky though it wasnt 1 of my "bad" night hypos) later in the morning i started feeling sick so did my bm and had gone up to 10.1 (never felt sick this early before but heyho) so corrected... my sugars went back to normal for a while then gues what... :lol: they dropped again!!!

I used to test on average 6-8 times a day on MDI but for the last 24 hours it must have been ever 2 hours... my poor poor fingers :lol:

Only having 1 issue with wearing my pump so far and thats my 7month old baby boy who thinks the tubing is a wonderful toy!!! :roll: :lol:

I do have a question... when im having my bolus amount from eating... should it be uncomfortable whilst its going in?

Takes a while to get into the swing of it, i applaude you for taking on the pump with a baby boy!

Hopefully the pump in time will stop those horrid night time hypos for good!

Does your pump have different bolus settings? I find when i find started when i was just using a standard bolus it could feel quite uncomfortable especially with the higher doses.

My pump has the option to use 2 other boluses, one is extended which give the dose over an extended period of time, from 15 mins to hours! so it's gently giving me the insulin which is much more comfortable.

The other is the multiwave bolus which is a combination of the other two, an initial immediate does then the remainder over a certain period of time.

I usually never standard bolus a bolus that is over 5 units.

Also make sure your cannula is in properly too as sometimes if you hit a 'bad site' any bolus can be uncomfortable or sometimes painful.

all the wonderful toys you can get now and he likes your tubing :lol: mind you my mum once told me she bought me a lovely bike when i was younger, and i sat all day playing in the box it came in :lol: :lol:

 

[sugar2]

Quick question...did they start you on the pump, while you still had back ground insulin inyour system? thsi may cause a few wobbles.

take a while, but overthe next few weeks you will start to get intoteh swing of things...and my little boy is also fascinated by the pump..and BG meter.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I think that some pumps deliver at a faster rate than others, I have combo, and for mine, I know if I have a bolus that is painful something is wrong with the set or placement of the set.....I think other folk using different pumps have a speed control (??) for delivery of insulin for bolusing...but not 100% sure.

You will do a lot more testing initially. The sides of my fingers are pretty hardened off through all the stabs...but no more so than when I used to play the guitar.

I need far less glucose now to get out of a hypo, than when on MDI...I guess it may because we haven't got too much of a storage of insulin in our body...I know 3 or 4 jelly babies can send me OTT in to hyper very quickly and easily....

Your old insulin should almost be out of your body..so tomorrow will be the true test of how your levels are and how you will need to be set up and making adjustments. Don't forget that with pump's that any alterations you do will be effective immediately you hit that time slot...you don't need to wait a couple days as I used to be told before adjusting lantus etc...If you adjust your levels for 10am..the next time you hit 10am your body will react immediately to the change without having to clear any old lantus, levimir etc out of our bodies...it's good.....

 

[jopar]

As said your background insulin will still be having some effect it does take a couple of days to burn right out of the system, then you be able to start the delightful (not) basal testing to get your basal rates sorted..

A complete utter pain in the butt, but is worth all the effort in the end, as if your basal isn't correct then nothing else will be..

Be prepared though as you may need to alter some of your carb/insulin ratio's, unlike MDI where some of your carb/insulin ratio's will takle discrepancies within the basal profile, pumps don't do this carb/insulin ratio's are purely based on insulin resistence, not to tackle discrepancies in basal..

As to being uncomfortable, sometimes it's the dose size and speed of delivery, check your manual as some pumps (I can't remember which) have the facility to slow the deliver speed down. If you can't then if a large bolus you may need to use one of the other bolus' but saying that once you'll up and running with it all, you may be like me and the standard bolus is used very little..

You get their, and when you do your first set and/or cartridge change you will get a lot quicker at it all :roll: my first one took about an hour, now I do the whole lot in a couple of minutes, only held up by the pistion repositioning!

 

[Dragonflye]

hmmmmm that's odd... i replied but cant see my earlier comment!!!

Yes my pump has differnet settings, something called dual wave and square wave... square being that it delivers bolus over a period of 30mins to 8 hours and the dual which delivers an immediate normal and then square... from what ive read not sure how either would help in my current circumstances however im hoping my DSN will go through that with me tomorrow

As i said i do a lot of testing anyways so im used to my fingers looking like pin cussions!!!

when i went onto the pump on monday my dsn did tell me about the hypos, and so far from the few hypo's ive managed easily with just dextrose tabs... it has been sooooooo good not to have to eat something on top

i've not been given any details about how ill go about getting my carb ratios set up... i think i read somewhere for at least a 2 week period i will need to eat about same times every day and similar kinda foods, but not too sure about that though - if that is the case then its easily manageablee at the mo brekky at about 8 (i either have cereal or toast - very boring ), lunch between 12-1, evening meal about 6 (once ella gets home from nursery) and supper, well i rarely eat it but im sure id be able to manage if required to get things set up

All the setting up and what have you is why ive gone on now, they didnt want to leave it any later as I could be having 2+ appts at the hospital a week for the next couple of weeks and I dont think my work would be too impressed with all the time id need - have a new team leader and not sure what he's going to be like however i've already got a list of complaints to bring up with him by the time i go back :?

 

[Dragonflye]

went to the hospital this morning and we changed the resevoir and infusion set... a few blips and dropped items however managed it or so i thought...

just sorting my lunch and got a no delivery warning checked for kinks etc but could not find any reason why it wouldnt deliver I have changed everything again now, resevoir and infusion set but im worried now if it was me who did something wrong the last time, and if it was if i have done it again this time im having a right panic that it's not delivered anything for my lunch

 

[jopar]

Don't Panic is the first thing..

You've done the right sort of thing..

A good thing to remember with a non-delivery, is first disconnect your pump from the infusion and see if you can deliver a bolus throught the tubing, if it will deliver when not conecting means, that the cartridge and tubing is fine not the problem..

Check your infusion set, see if there's any redness etc,

The next part is dependant whether the delivery alarm trip when you were bolusing for food, if you were you could reconnect and try a gain, if another failed bolus then the suspect problem is likely to be the infusion set, change this and problems should be resolved...

Another thing to consider as you not long changed your infusion set, was anything pressing against it? It could be your waistband pushing against it when you sat down, or the tubing being pulled at an more tighter angle (this one is very rare for onclusions)..

If you change your infusion set always check the cannular, to rule out kinking..

One thing

Are you self inserting or using a gizmo and/or using an angled or straight cannular?

 

[Dragonflye]

Thank you jopar in answer to your question im using as you put it a "gizmo" and a straight cannular...

as i say i changed the infusion site and didnt get any issues with delivering my bolus, however now a couple of hours later my sugars are rising again and ive now got a nother no delivery warning i ckecked the tubing and it came out of that fine so it looks like im going wrong somewhere with inserting the cannular

 

[Dragonflye]

ok i know what caused problem 2nd time... just took the whole thing out and the canular was some how bent at a right angle, still not sure about the 1st problem i had though... is there anything i should be doing/avoiding to make sure it goes in ok? i know im being silly but im now scared to move too much just incase it messes it up again

 

[jopar]

You're fine and yes first time hitch's do cause us concern..

How much pressure on you putting onto the gizmo when you hold it against the Skin? The presure should be light but firm so it sits on the skin but doesn't push into it...

Also (sorry about being a personal here) how much fat layer are you putting it into, as if you have got much the you could be hitting the underlaying muscle inserting it..

For now I'm assuming that you are inserting it into your stomach, if so try to use an area which when you been doesn't end up getting squashed into the muscle or squashed against other skin area's..

It might be that you may need a different type or length of cannular, next time you at the hospital if it's in the next day or so, as your nurse for a selection of cannulars to try or even give the company a phone see if they will send you a sample back, Then you can try several different types..

I use an angle teflon, due to I'm so skinny fat is hard to find on me, I also self insert, (the gimzo for my sets scared the heebee geebee's out of me it went of with such a twange) I find the angled teflon to be much better,,

 

[Dragonflye]

LOL about the fat layer... unfortunately i have a little bit more fat than id like after having my son, however i am trying to loose it now

I feel silly for asking this however once it's in can moving (such as bending) kink it? im petrified of bending over to pick up my son just in case i mess it up again

I not back to the hospital now until next thursday!!! I only have 8 infusion sets left so now having a panic that ill run out!!! can't order any more yet because apparently my "account" is not yet set up to do so

I admit the gizmo was daunting when i first saw it lol however I have my head around that now although i think the visable HUGE spring is what makes it looks worse on mine!!! :lol:

thank you so much for your responses jopar, id call my nurse however shes busy this afternoon doing something with television crews :?:

 

[jopar]

It it hits muscle yes it can kink, this is probably why the teflon are better as they are more malable so less likely to kink, same with self insertion with the angle sets, I can put the cannular in at an angle that sits in the fat layer but along the muscle, movement bends but doesn't kink it...

You could if you can reach, is insert towards your back, so that you not bending into it if that makes you secure, you can put the cannualar in all the same positions that you can inject into with a pen.. So around the love handle, top of the bum (this is where a lot of parents use with kids) out and inner upper arms, thigh's etc...

Try not to worry about bending with them, just get on and do it, and keep checking BG's to you warned of any probs, if you do get probs then you know where to avoid.. I would give you nurse a phone in the morning, 8 should be enough to get you to next week, but see if she can get you some quicker as it will be a worry of your shoulders..

When you using the gizmo when you hold it against the skin, ensure that it's held at a 90 degree angle to the skin, and you aren't pulling it slightly in any direction off centre, hopefully this will help, as if it's firing in at a slight angle the might be causing it to bend/kink slightly..

 

[iHs]

Hi

If you are using either Quicksets or Mios put them in the fridge for 24hrs as this will make the cannula stiffer before you insert it with the 'gizmo' :wink: Also, stand up or lay down before you insert as this helps to ensure that the set goes in at the 90 degree angle.

Also, having had a go with the Quickset myself, clean the inserter with a alcohol wipe as what sometimes happens is that the circular adhesive of the set sticks to the inside edges of the inserter and leaves a residue. This can make inserting a bit of a problem. Another tip is to make sure that the tube is firmly connected to the set as the set has a gate like mechanism to it, meaning that if the tube is not firmly connected, the gate will not open, so no insulin will get through.

 

[Dragonflye]

quickset now in the fridge!!! I asked about the sitting/standing and was told it didnt matter, however after a little research im going to try standing... Next time im also going to try further around to where i used to do my normal injections...

well since last time my blood sugars got to 14, took a correction with no "no delivery" warning, it went to 12.3 so looked like it may be working, however it seems to be sticking and slightly going up again :/ going to wait to see what happens with my delivery when i eat in approx 10mins...

 

[Dragonflye]

Just wanted to thank you jopar and iHs finally got my sugars down to almost normal readings so I at least know im getting insulin through the pump again!!! I am giong to see if i can try some of the different cannulars.

Still a bit wary but stopped the downright panicing now

Sorry for bombarding this bit of the forum with my posts on the pump (i've had a fair few) - im hoping i may be able to contribute to help others rather than ranting and panicing

 

[LittleSue]

Dragonflye

I'm rather glad you've posted so much - I'm waiting for my new purple Veo and Quicksets to arrive, so I'm hopefully just a week or two behind you. While I'm getting impatient, I'm learning from your questions and the replies :!:

Can I just ask, what was included with your Veo - were the remote, holster, activity clip etc, CareLink cable and Contour Link meter included? I had the impression you only got the pump and belt clip and anything else had to be ordered and paid for yourself, but I've seen some videos on Utube of people unpacking their new Veos which suggest it's all included (some weren't in England though). Maybe it depends on your PCT?

I know, I know, I'll find out when it arrives....

 

[Dragonflye]

hi littlesue i pretty much just got the pink version of the pump, a pink case that goes through a belt and belt clip

i was however given a carelink usb thingy which is awesome from my dsn without paying so it may be worth while asking about that... the contour link machine, if your hospital/dsn doesnt give you 1 then on bayers website it says if you give em a call they will send you 1 for free (however you do need your pump because they asked me for serial numbers etc)...

not sure if im allowed to put link in or there number (apologies but im sure the mods can edit it if ive done something im not allowed to ) however there number they say to call is 0845 600 6030

remote i havent yet looked into but i somehow have the feeling id need to pay for it

 

[iHs]

Hi

If you go to skinit.com and click on devices, then medical devices, you can get a skin made of yr choice for Medtronic pumps. You can even upload a photo to be made into a skin. )

 

[LittleSue]

OK, thanks. My first impression seems right then. No problem, I just thought it probably won't be worth me buying a remote, but if it was included I might wear dresses more often!

I actually feel a strange urge to wear dresses, and any other outfit I can dream up that makes pump access tricky, just so I can find a way to make it work! Does that sound weird? Maybe they've kept me waiting too long...