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How to sleep with a pump?

Dontworrybehappy

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hey y’all!
I’m a 15 y/o girl with DT1, who got her first insulin pump that is attached to the body with a slang/hose/tubing (idk what it is in English as it is not my first language) for about a year ago.
When I first got the pump my doctor said that most people have the pump under their pillow when they sleep, but that don’t work for me as the pump doesn’t stay under the pillow. After a while it is under me, and that is very uncomfortable.
Instead of under the pillow I put the pump on my pyjamas trousers which is so much more comfortable. But as I am a deep sleeper, I NEVER wake up from the alarms (even though I always have it on highest volume), so my mum has to go up almost every night and she already works too much. I also want to be able to take care of myself when my parents isn’t around.
How do you sleep with your insulin pump? Any tips? Do you know if it is possible to sleep lighter? How?

Thank you in advance
 
mine is loose and follows me around the bed. You soon get used to grabbing it when you roll over. Never pulled out a set yet.
you can get waist pockets that it slots into if you want to try that. Its a band with a pocket.
 
Heya I wear a lycra pump belt for sleep so it's tucked in there, it's only woken me up if it's fallen out of the belt and i've rolled on it but otherwise I wouldn't know it's there, been 5-6 years using a pump now.

Sleep quality is so important for anyone never mind a t1d so having uninterrupted sleep is vital, am fortunate that my pump works with my G6 sensor to manage my levels during the night but prior to this pump i'd keep my BG testing kit next to my bed along with my glucose stash so all in easy reach, if you're using a CGM then your phone can be set up for extra loud alarms to wake you up ?
 
I hook mine onto the front of my bra and wear it like that all day/overnight. Never fails to wake me up from alarms as it’s essentially just resting on my skin and it doesn’t get in the way when sleeping. Not everyone likes to wear a bra to bed though as it is personal preference but it’s what works for me.
 
I have 110cm tubing for mine which means I have freedom where I put it in my bed, I do have a double bed to myself so mine can stay a bit away from me - I don't put it under the pillow - I'd probably end up strangling myself!
 
I empathise with you @Don'tworrybehappy I found my pump moved and usually ended up under my bony hip which woke me up.
I do not wear nightclothes with pockets or a bra at night and I found a pump belt restrictive around my waist. However, I found a pump belt wrapped twice around my upper thigh kept my pump away from bony bits and not uncomfortable.
 

I do have a CGM that is connected to my phone, but the alarms on my app doesn’t work
 
I use a thigh band, you can find them on amazon, designed to stop chubby thighs rubbing together so usually come as a pair, get a set with a pocket for a phone. I put my pump in there at night and it never moved or bothers me unless it alarms and then the vibrations wake me.

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Diabetes Forum mobile app
 
Don’tworrybehappy said:
I do have a CGM that is connected to my phone, but the alarms on my app doesn’t work
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I think it might just be a case of getting used to sleeping with the pump, I was the same to begin with, I couldn’t get comfortable, but it’s ok now, it’s just loose next to me. Not waking for alarms is a bit tricky, is your bed metal or wood? If the tube is long enough you could try to attach your pump to your bed somehow then if/when your pump vibrates you bed will amplify the alarm??
 
I've been sleeping with my pump for nearly 20 years. Just let it lie next to you. You will soon naturally just grasp it when you want to move. Pump still better than sticking needles in !!! Good Luck.
 
I feel the vibration which wakes me up, rather than hearing it. I wear it clipped to the waist of my pajamas.
 
Hi
When I used a tubing pump I turned my pyjama shorts with pockets inside out and put the device in the pocket. It kept everything out the way. On an omnipod pump now which cuts out all these problems
Hope that’s helpful
All the best
John
 
 
Insulin Pumps with cathater/tubes don’t work for me either….they are not practical for me, wait for or get the Omnipod 5.
 
PcChris said:
Insulin Pumps with cathater/tubes don’t work for me either….they are not practical for me, wait for or get the Omnipod 5.
Click to expand...

Hi!
I had an omnipod before, for almost 4 years, but as I was a kid (I am still tho) my mother took all the alarms and low/high bloodsugars… changed to a pump with tubing from Medtronic due to an allergic reaction.

I also want to say that I sleep very deep, I mean I could probably sleep through the end of the world…
 
frankham said:
I've been sleeping with my pump for nearly 20 years. Just let it lie next to you. You will soon naturally just grasp it when you want to move. Pump still better than sticking needles in !!! Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Glad this works for you but, as someone who moves around a lot in my sleep, it resulted in a bad night’s sleep. Unless it was tethered (usual a pump belt wrapped twice around my upper thigh, my pump never stayed next to me. It always moved to somewhere I would lie as I tossed and turned in my sleep resulting in a very painful hard lump under my bony hip or rib cage.
On the rare occasion I wore clothing with pockets, it would not stay in the pocket. Hey, it wouldn’t stay in my pocket when awake.
As for clipping to trouser waistband, I got bruises from doing that during the day when I carried a shoulder bag and could not watch telly on the sofa with it clipped to me.
Like others, I was incredibly grateful to replace my lump with a tubeless pump. I loved the benefit of a pump (variable basal and small doses … injecting never bothered me) from the start but still had days when I hated the discomfort.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have omnipod system now. But when on the tubing pump I turned pocketed pyjamas or shorts inside out and put it in there - it keeps the tubing out the way too
 
I normally just sleep with my pump clipped to the waistband of my pjs, but I’ve often wondered why some turn their pajama bottoms inside out and wear it there in the pocket. What is the point of turning the pj bottom inside out? How does that help more than leaving them on the outside?
 
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