consumables

[ams162]

ordered some consumables from the medtronic line last wed and im sure she said they would e here mon 14th ut they havent arrived yet so did i miss here the date could it possibly have been that far in advance and she said next mon?? or maybe it could still appear tonight im not sure but hoping they come soon

anna marie

 

[SophiaW]

When I placed my order with for the Animas consumables it was delivered 2 days later. If you haven't received the order by tomorrow morning I'd phone them to check.

 

[ams162]

i know she said the next delivery available is mon and then i assumed it was 14th now im not so sure but over a week later seems a long way from ordering thats all

 

[ams162]

well it finally came today at half 4 after 2 phone calls it was delayed by the courier because of being so busy yesterday with valentines day but at least it came

anna marie

 

[becki]

hi anna marie

Which courier delivers them, mine was due yesterday and no sign,

are medtronic available to speak 2 re deliveries on a sat?

was really hoping they were here as wanting the shorter cannula

x

 

[puppy]

Medtronic are usually quite quick, within 4 days. However the courier can be the problem. My last delivery got caught in the Snow period before xmas and we drove to the warehouse and sat and waited for nearly 3 hours whilst 2 men manually searched a bursting warehouse for my box which was clearly marked URGENT MEDICAL SUPPLIES. If you ring them though they can usually tell you when it was sent.

 

[Levy]

Really sorry for bumping this thread, but could I just ask what consumables are?

 

[becki]

cannula resevours etc

there is a delay to scottish warehouse

 

[LittleSue]

My diabetes care team are putting me forward for a pump, so I'm here mugging up before the official information/Q&A meeting in March.

Interested in this thread, as another thread mentions having to get supplies through your local hospital. Does the supply route depend on which pump you have, or the policy of your local PCT? (Something else to ask at the info session!)

I think I read that when pumping, you must carry around an insulin pen in case the pump malfunctions. Do pumps use the same 3ml insulin cartridges that go into insulin pens, or will I have to maintain a separate emergency stock?

I can foresee possibilities for mayhem if I get pump supplies from the hospital and test strips etc via GP. Such as GP removing things from my prescription which I rarely use but may need in emergency (eg needles), or calling me in to discuss why I'm apparently not picking up supplies! In view of the hassle when I changed meter/strips, I don't relish the thought of getting the right insulin format prescribed. Smiling, though, at the image of my pharmacist trying yet again to give me pre-filled pens and her face when I ask how I'm supposed to fit that into my pump :lol:

Please don't take offence if I don't reply for a few days. Following a neck injury last year, I'm still limiting my non-work computer use to weekends and Wednesdays (my day off).

Thanks
Sue

 

[SophiaW]

I'm not sure if different pump companies work differently but this is how it works with our Animas pump.

The pump supplies (infusion sets, cartridges, adhesive remover, batteries for the pump, battery covers) come directly from the pump company. There is a phone number we call to order these goods.

The insulin, which doesn't come in the 3ml pen cartridge but rather a 10ml glass vial, is ordered through our GP. Also from the GP we get test strips, pen needles, penfill cartridges. You're right that you must have a spare supply of penfill cartridges of insulin and needles incase the pump fails and you need to inject insulin for a period of time whilst the pump is fixed/replaced.

I was also concerned about items being removed from the repeat prescription list if we don't use them too often. I made an appointment with my GP so that I could get the new items put onto the prescription list (10ml insulin vials) and I took that opportunity to explain to her that the penfill cartridges and needles need to stay on the list but they won't be ordered very often. Whether or not those items will eventually be removed from the list I'm yet to find out but our GP is very good and I know a phone call or email to her to explain will have them put back on without any fuss.

 

[LittleSue]

Thanks for that. When the time comes I'll make an appt with my GP and try to get my repeat list sorted in one go. My own GP is OK, the trouble starts when some other jobsworth gets involved. From experience though, when something changes its takes several attempts before its correct.

I also thought spare insulin will go out of date without me noticing til I need it, but I guess if I carry it for a month and then bin it (will probably do this while I get to grips with pumping), I'd be aware of the expiry/stock level like I am now. Though that seems wasteful in the longer term. Maybe I could arrange to keep some in a fridge at work and keep the pen in my (locked) drawer, but that wouldn't help if I was out and about.

 

[SophiaW]

I guess it depends how far you are from home or work at any one time. I don't carry a pen around with us because our life pretty much revolves around a close proximity to home. If we do a longer trip away then I'd take an injection pen with us, but mostly if we ran into problems with the pump we're pretty close to home so we could drive back and get the insulin out the fridge. If you are further from home regularly then I guess you will need to carry that pen with you and discard it each month. I don't expect it would be often that you'd need to use the pen, really only in an emergency if the pump fails.

I do carry a spare infusion set and adhesive removal wipes with us all the time. Incase the infusion set gets ripped out accidentally or needs to be replaced for whatever reason.

 

[LittleSue]

Work is 30 mins from home although if I got someone to drive me its less than 10 mins away. Don't tend to go very far regularly, but at a weekend for example I'd have to make my driver (dad) understand that it's urgent and can't wait while he "pops" into B&Q for 2 hours!

Think I'll carry the pen always at first and see how I go.

I need to learn to drive once established on the pump... meanwhile get a bigger handbag!

 

[iHs]

Hi LittleSue

Good news that you are possibly getting a pump (I bet you are pleased ).

Usually the pump companies are fairly good at shipping the pump stuff out to you. They get delivered either by Royal Mail special delivery or courier so arrive within 2 days of ordering either by online (Medtronic) or by phone (Roche Accu chek). You can the stuff delivered to yr work address or home, it's up to you.

It is best to always carry an insulin pen with you just in case something goes wrong with the way the pump is delivering insulin and you find your bg levels going upwards with the pump making noises :lol: . You will need to keep some spare infusion sets and tubes at work but if you can get home fairly quickly then just carry yr pen and bg meter with you.

What pump do you think you will get or can you choose?

 

[donnellysdogs]

Yes, it is my PCT that does not allow us to order our own consumables-reservoirs, sets, tubing, batteries etc. I have to order through the hospital and then wait whilst they get the order signed off from another department and then for the order to be signed off and come back to the person to order. Accuchek then send the supplies to the hospital, I then have to drive to go and get them.

TBH, it isn't ideal. The orders that I have to store at home are up to 6 months worth of spares....and when I first started on a pump I had problems with 2 types of sets before now settled with the rapid d ones, so twice I had 6 months of stock ordered on 2 different occasions which then had to go back.

I don' think there are too many PCT's that work this way. However, the positive is , that when I have 6 months worth of consumables, I don't have to worry for 6 months!!! Then all I have to worry about is the insulin and test strips from my GP, and that's no problem at all.

Swings and roundabouts really.

Hope you find the pump and sets and everything to suit, and that yo will be so soon settled in to being another 'pumper'!!

 

[LittleSue]

iHs

I've been given a choice of Animas or Medtronic, no model names specified, there's a meeting on 10th March to 'choose my weapon'. Judging by the makers' websites I'll probably go for the Medtronic Paradigm Veo. The Veo's CGMS facility will be more valuable to me than being able to swim with the Animas on, as I have a history of sleeping through hypos and doses may need frequent changes due to hormones (which I expect to get worse in the next few years).

To be honest I can hardly believe the NHS will fund such a brilliant device, there must be a naff model without the latest features, that the manufacturers keep in a cupboard labelled NHS! Of course it depends on the PCT agreeing....

 

[LittleSue]

Certainly doesn't sound ideal, you wouldn't want to run low on anything with all that palava! Their way of keeping an eye on the costs I suppose.

I am quite excited about it. Pumps were first mentioned about 5 yrs ago, as an idea for discussion later. The next time I went they suggested DAFNE instead. On DAFNE HbA1c went down from around 9 to a stable 6.6, for a couple of years things were great... then went really pear-shaped and HbA1c is rising. I suspect I'm nearing 'the change' and will get worse rather than better. I'm fairly insulin sensitive, half unit adjustments of Levemir can be too much, but now need twice as much overnight. Very frustrating, although having done DAFNE first probably counts in my favour - they know I'm motivated, informed and can carb count because DAFNE got results for a while. I don't get the feeling I had before when I was struggling that HCPs thought I was 'non-compliant' or lying to them. The DSN arranging the pumps uses one herself, which has to be an advantage.

 

[becki]

Hi,

my pct lets us order online (medtronic) they unfortunately use tnt and it was a bit of a nightmare but know for next time.

I write the date on my pen so i know when it is time to throw it away a waste but I don't work close to home, when my dsn gave me the slip for the insulin vials etc for the docs she'd wrote a note explaining that i need my usual repeats on the list plus the additional.

the only thing i have ever had a problem getting is a sharps box and i now have one but it is a small rectangle one which is a nightmare to get things in relation to pump in, (many cut fingers from box)

good luck x