Had to Come Off Pump After 7 Weeks

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with this as I am having terrible problems with my pump infusion set. I went onto an Animas Vibe pump about 7 weeks and ago and was using the Inset II infusion sets. Straight away I could not get any control over my levels which were swinging around between high teens and 20's and then hypos. But there seemed to be no consistency. I was testing basal rates, not eating carbs at certain times etc but nothing was stable.

Then after a chat with the pump rep she suggested trying the Inset 30's as she said that some people found these worked better .So I changed over and almost immediately started getting improved results.

However I have again had problems. Firstly I find that they are causing me discomfort and several have now caused sore lumps and scabbing after only a couple of days which mean I seem to be continually changing them. And I am still seeming to have insulin delivery problems with then. I have had 2 that have totally failed to work and woken me up in the night with blood sugar in the mid twenties resulting in night time change overs and disturbed sleep and I am again now finding I am getting high readings that are failing to come down despite blousing large amounts of insulin.

So basically yesterday I had enough after my 6th BS reading in the high teens and calmly removed he cannula and went to get my pens and have decided to have a break from the pump.

My question is this though, do other people find the amount of difficulty that I seem to be having with the infusion sets and are there other alternatives I can try? I have no choice in the type of pump I have but can I get other infusion sets that may work better. I am really not going to be able to continue with the pump with these continual problems as I have totally lost faith in it being able to deliver insulin for me

Awesome, that inspires me to carry on!

MushyPeaBrain said:

I'm on the vibe and there are some quality issues with the inset IIs. You may have had a bad batch. Did you try any from another box with a different batch number?

Were the insets kinked when removed?

What length cannula are you using and what body shape/build are you?

I tried the Inset 30s but I found they caused lumps where I bolused and this was very painful.

The other one you can try is the steel sets called Contact Detach. Phone Animas to send you some samples. These are very comfy but don't work for everyone. You have to change them every 2 days though.

Have you set your delivery speed to slow? The Animas is a very fast powerful pump and some people have issues with the speed set to normal.

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Thanks for all this. The sore lumps you describe sound like the ones I have been getting, I'm sure they interfere with the delivery of insulin as well.

I am quite small really, 5'9 and 70kg so I'm certainly on the thinner side. I hadn't even thought about checking for kinks when I removed them but if they are what can I do about that as it's too late then? The inset IIS are 3 mm and the Inset 30s are 6 mm so maybe these can be changed.

Again I have only tried one batch so maybe I'll have another go with a different batch. I will check what speed the pump is set to as I wasn't aware of that function. I'm still finding my way around some of it.

Thanks for all the advice.

ealingr said:

If you haven't already, would it be worth trying some alternative locations to see if they work better for you?

http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/customer-support/insertion-site-management/infusion-placement

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Thanks for this but I have tried numerous sites. I am sometimes getting OK readings but they are never consistent.

-Artemis- said:

PS -- I've just looked up what inset 30's are -- they'd be similar to what would be called the comfort sets for you, but I think the difference is you can adjust the angle... I found this really useful to read through whilst I've been learning about how to get the best out of my infusion sets; it might help you...?

http://www.diabeteseducator.org/exp...ch/12-30-11-AADE_Insulin_WhitePaper_Print.pdf

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Thanks for the link Artemis, I appreciate that.

MushyPeaBrain said:

@Auckland Canary the length of cannula is very important especially if you are thin. Your inset IIs should be 6mm not 9mm. If they are kinking when pulled out it could be your insertion technique or that you are hitting muscle. With an Inset II you should just float it on top of the skin as you fire, not push it on as some newbies do. Has anyone watched your technique to check?

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That's interesting as I do push quite hard when inserting but I was told to do this when I went for my first appointment. The rep and the DSN were right with me when I did the first one. Maybe I could try not pushing so hard but to be honest I can't see why this would make a difference? Surely it would go in exactly the same depth etc?

MushyPeaBrain said:

No it increases the chance of kinking the cannula hugely and causing soreness. My friend on the vibe was also given this incorrect technique and she had issues until she stopped pushing on insertion. If you are lean and you push you are much more likely to hit muscle, causing pain. Just float the inset on top and see how you go!

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Wow thanks for this advice I will give it a go. I am thinking about restarting on the pump next week however since going back to pens my readings have been great for the last 2 days!