PSA: Watch out for seat belts!

phdiabetic

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On the weekend I went out of town with some friends, and was a passenger in my friend's car that I haven't been in before. About half an hour into the trip, my pump gave an Occlusion Error (something I've never had before). I panicked a lot, then changed position in the seat and this fixed it. The conclusion was that the seat belt was pressing against the tubing and upset the pump. Unfortunately for me, I panicked so much that I made my blood sugar go up from the stress of it all. To ensure the same thing doesn't happen to you, either tuck away your pump and tubing (eg in your pocket) or else put the tubing between the two parts of the seatbelt (if you are using the pump frequently).
 

Jenny15

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On the weekend I went out of town with some friends, and was a passenger in my friend's car that I haven't been in before. About half an hour into the trip, my pump gave an Occlusion Error (something I've never had before). I panicked a lot, then changed position in the seat and this fixed it. The conclusion was that the seat belt was pressing against the tubing and upset the pump. Unfortunately for me, I panicked so much that I made my blood sugar go up from the stress of it all. To ensure the same thing doesn't happen to you, either tuck away your pump and tubing (eg in your pocket) or else put the tubing between the two parts of the seatbelt (if you are using the pump frequently).
Good advice. I don't have a pump but I have a similar issue with seatbelts. With a chronic pain condition I often have pain in an area where a seatbelt niggles at it. I am going to buy one of those little inflatable travel cushions to place between the seatbelt and me, just at a very thin inflation so as not to affect the working of the seatbelt.

I also have nipple pain at times and I think a lot of women do. In my case there's nothing really they can do to treat it. It's just a hormone imbalance I think. So I am working on protecting them from the seatbelt too.
 

phdiabetic

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Good advice. I don't have a pump but I have a similar issue with seatbelts. With a chronic pain condition I often have pain in an area where a seatbelt niggles at it. I am going to buy one of those little inflatable travel cushions to place between the seatbelt and me, just at a very thin inflation so as not to affect the working of the seatbelt.

I also have nipple pain at times and I think a lot of women do. In my case there's nothing really they can do to treat it. It's just a hormone imbalance I think. So I am working on protecting them from the seatbelt too.

I'm not sure which part of the body you are saying you have trouble with, but have you tried sitting on both sides of the car (when you're a passenger)? I wear a dexcom cgm sensor on my stomach, and if the seatbelt is the wrong "direction" it sometimes crosses over the sensor area. (For example, if the dexcom is on the right side of my stomach and the seatbelt goes left to right, then that's annoying). Maybe that could help your problem? (Obviously not an option if you're the driver though.)
 

Jenny15

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I'm not sure which part of the body you are saying you have trouble with, but have you tried sitting on both sides of the car (when you're a passenger)? I wear a dexcom cgm sensor on my stomach, and if the seatbelt is the wrong "direction" it sometimes crosses over the sensor area. (For example, if the dexcom is on the right side of my stomach and the seatbelt goes left to right, then that's annoying). Maybe that could help your problem? (Obviously not an option if you're the driver though.)
Thanks but I'm always the driver. At the moment it's the boob on the side where the seatbelt crosses over it. At other times it's my hip where the fastener is. I don't use a pump. It's not diabetes related for me. I wish seatbelts weren't so expensive to alter.

It's only a little niggling pain but some days it's the last straw, lol. It's distracting while I'm driving. I thought about buying those nursing pads women use when they're breastfeeding. I will try anything.
 

Juicyj

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Hi @phdiabetic sorry to hear this triggered your pump alarm, I wear jeans and a belt a lot and have to take care with the tubing around my waist so it's doesn't get caught and cause an issue with insulin supply. I am guessing that the occlusion was caught quickly though on your pump so it was purely the stress that caused an issued with your levels becoming raised ?
 

phdiabetic

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Hi @phdiabetic sorry to hear this triggered your pump alarm, I wear jeans and a belt a lot and have to take care with the tubing around my waist so it's doesn't get caught and cause an issue with insulin supply. I am guessing that the occlusion was caught quickly though on your pump so it was purely the stress that caused an issued with your levels becoming raised ?

Yes it only gave the error once and we weren't in the car for very long anyway so I'm sure the high wasn't from missed insulin. Do you find that jeans alone cause problems for you, or is it only an issue in combination with the belt?
 

phdiabetic

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Thanks but I'm always the driver. At the moment it's the boob on the side where the seatbelt crosses over it. At other times it's my hip where the fastener is. I don't use a pump. It's not diabetes related for me. I wish seatbelts weren't so expensive to alter.

It's only a little niggling pain but some days it's the last straw, lol. It's distracting while I'm driving. I thought about buying those nursing pads women use when they're breastfeeding. I will try anything.

That's unfortunate. Have you noticed the problem is any better when wearing more layers of clothing? I don't worry about my sensor as much when I have a couple of jumpers on top of it, but obviously this isn't practical all year round.
 

Juicyj

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Yes it only gave the error once and we weren't in the car for very long anyway so I'm sure the high wasn't from missed insulin. Do you find that jeans alone cause problems for you, or is it only an issue in combination with the belt?

I have managed to get the tubing entangled in the belt before but it hasn’t caused an issue with a blockage yet however it has concerned me how easily it could happen though.
 
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Jenny15

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That's unfortunate. Have you noticed the problem is any better when wearing more layers of clothing? I don't worry about my sensor as much when I have a couple of jumpers on top of it, but obviously this isn't practical all year round.
Thanks, I haven't really tried it with more layers of clothing but I think that would probably help.