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Idea to share

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Kazzabon

Well-Known Member
Messages
46
Hi All

I ordered a pump band from the US to wear at night for sleeping with the pump (don't like wearing PJs). The band was okay but cost a fortune - $39 - so I have since bought a few maternity bump bands from eBay for around £5. I folded them in half, sewed around the edge leaving a gap that I sewed downwards leaving a little pump pocket. I bought a small size for around the waist and extra small to wear under my boobs when wearing a summer top/dress.

I also found soft Velcro straps attached to the front of a bra to secure the pump easier, secure and more comfortable to wear than the expensive 'bra thing'
 
Thats a great idea

any more ideas anyone?

I have a few;

For those who do like Pj's, i hunted high and low for pj bottoms with pockets as i was sick of wearing tracksuit bottoms to bed, I finally found 3 different pairs in primark wahoo!

I also use a baby sock and pin it to the inside of trousers that have no pockets

also when getting changed i tuck my pump into the cup of my bra until i have trousers on. I used to just put it on the side near me, but if i forgot and pulled it off it was soon swinging around :lol:
 
I will have to keep an eye on this posting, incase I ever change wear I wear my pump. Being a combo user, mine goes between 2 pieces of flexitube on my arm, so that it also faces downward to my elbow-even during the night-it doesn't ever lay horizontal. I never have to worry about where to place it at night or day, as it just stays on either my right or left arm all the time. (change it over when I go from one side of my legs, bum and stomach to the other) Just cut up a 1 metre flexitube in to 4 pieces and wash and swop.

However, if I ever go to shorter tubes, then I will have to think about night-time wearing..so am really interested to know how others manage..especially the persons that haven't got the remotes.
 
Me at night my pump is allowed to roam free, only restriction is the 60cm tube

I've always worn my pump clipped to my waistband or stuck in my Jean pocket, occasionally now that I have my combo, I do use the skin cover, using the strap to hang it around my neck under my top, lot easier when you'll doing agility with the dogs...

Perhaps for me it's a case that I've particularly never found the need to hide it, can't say anybody has ever noticed it clipped to my belt if they have nobody has said anything about it..

I've even been on Telly with my pump on my waistband in it's normal position, nobody took any notice etc..
 
I used to let the pump roam free in bed but I pulled out the cannula a couple of times where I twist and turn alot and it seems to snake around me.

I do think that there is a gap in the Market in the uk for pump wear thou - perhaps it's because there are so few pumps 'awarded'?
 
Kassabon..have you thought about setting up an ebay shop?

I am a fan of the bra pouches for my combo, that hangs from your bra strap...but no good in summer, as I just have a strange bulge under my arm. I also wear them on my waist..and also no one cares...except my Mum...who hates to see bits of tubing disappearing up my top!

Another suggestion in case good old pri mark run out of tracksuit bottoms is running shorts. I bought a 2/4 length pairs a few months ago (from De cathlon) and was delighted to find that they had a small, perfectly sized pocket on the inside of the waist..it could have been made for my pump. I guess they are for runners to put their keys in. I have only just started running, and these are my only running trousers, so i don't know if it is common practice, but as they cost less than £10, they might be worth a look?
 
i also ripped out the cannula a few times when sleeping letting it roam free. So i stick to putting it in a pajama pocket now and haven't had any incidents so far

When i think about it nobody that doesnt know i have a pump has ever noticed it or pointed it out, but it's usually well tucked away, as i use the remote i hardly ever have the need to get it out in public really, not that i would mind if anyone did ask about it.

I've thought about wearing it on my arms a few times as i've seen d.dogs post that she wears it there but it would be quite a way from my infusion site so the tube would have to snake quite a way up.

How does everyone wear it in the summer or on holiday if they've taken their pump?

I don't think theres a gap in the market, but rather there's a gap of it all being in one place if that makes sense. There's some great children devoted sites though that i've seen
 
Well in the summer (luckily we have a long one here) I tend to wear a lot of vests in the garden - I bought a job lot in Primark (or Primani as we call it here) that have a built in support, so I put the pump in a babies sock to 1) feel more comfortable next to the skin and 2) keep it cooler - the pump can then be stuffed down the front, back or sides. I think the vests were £2 each. Sometimes I wear them in bed too.

If I'm feeling daring and wearing a bikini, the pump is either in a sock and tucked in the pants if they have wide sides or I use a velcro strap or the clip to secure it to the bikini top.

The only problem for me is that I'm on the Animas 2020 and I have to fish it out when I bolus. I do use the audio button sometimes but my liaison nurse advised me against it as mistakes can be made. But hey, if I've got it stuffed down my Trinny and Susanna hold it in pants, it really does spoil the ladylike effect I'm trying for if I suddenly start pulling up my skirts to hook out my pump!!

I am on the list for an Omnipod but they are still discussing it's merits here in France
 
I've not yet ripped out an cannular in bed I must admit..

Must admit that having the remote is handy, as you just bleep at the table rather than having to faff with the pump :lol: And because I generally do my blood test with hand on lap so you can't see what I'm doing, you get the odd look as people wonder what's the earth bleeping :lol:

Holidays are difficult ones, as I don't really do beach hols as I've got two dogs and will only go on holidays that my dogs can come too (I adopted both from rescue, so won't put them in kennels) and most english resorts have dog banns durning summer months :evil: :evil: :evil:

But the odd occasion I've found myself on a beach I've just worn my pump, but in one of my compact camera cases so that he doesn't get sand in it, and then ensure that the tubing stays out of direct sun as much as possible.. Swimming wise I detach it while swimming..
 
I wear a lot of vest tops (welsh weather permitting) and even though pump is on my arm, I've only had 2 people ask me about it-one of whom ended up proposing!!!!and showing me his liver transplant scar!! and a young 3 year old girl today. Nobody else has ever asked...in just normal tshirts nobody sees pump because the little sleeve bit covers it, and all the tubing is inside and down to my bum- HOWEVER, I haven't yet worn a bikini with it-but like Jopar I have two rescue dogs and never go in kennels-and we moved away from a lovely lady that used to house and dog sit for £20 for 24 hours for the two of them..our house and dogs were so well looked after for just so little money...as dogs are now between 14 and 16 I know that I will get a bikin holiday within 5 years so also found the bikini pump wearer's comments worthy to keep in mind. Do 50+ year old people look daft in bikinis-is there an 'age limit' that women should have to wearing bikinis-like short skirts????? Might be too old by then!!!!
 
My mum used to wear a bikini in her 50's and nobody seemed to bat an eyelid about it

Must admit it would drive me bats having my pump on my arm, did try the bra once but well OH half just burts into fits of laughter :evil: decided you needed a clevage for that which I don't have

Under the arm would just irrated the heck out of me, so would having it on the arm, I would be constantly banging it against door frames and such like.. I did try keeping in my jeans pocket but this irrated me when I got dug in the hips sitting down..
 

That sounds a great option, Kazzabon. I was wondering about the heat issue if you wear a pump in/on your bra. Does the insulin degrade quicker than, for example, when you wear the pump in a pocket or on a waistband?
 

Hi Sue

Using the Combo pump I now put the pump inside a kids towelling baby sock and just shove it inside my bra cup. My bra is padded and has wire cup and no one as yet has even noticed it.

The insulin obviously gets fairly warm so in the summer I tend to just fill the cartridge with 150u and change it every 5-6 days along with a new tube. In the autumn, winter though I can fill the cartridge with about 280u and make it last a bit longer. I'm a seasons person ) - I need less insulin when the weather temperature gets hot and more insulin when the temperatures change and it gets cooler, cold.

Best advice I can give anyone is to wait for pump to arrive and then decide what you need to buy. I think the waistband pump clips are ideal for most needs. For a few years now I've been converted to wearing lycra type knickers so when I go to bed I just put the pump in the top of my knickers and there it stays. If I get up in the night to use the loo, the pump is with me. All I do is take the pump out and leave it on top of bathroom radiator. I've had no problems at all really.
 
That sounds a great option, Kazzabon. I was wondering about the heat issue if you wear a pump in/on your bra. Does the insulin degrade quicker than, for example, when you wear the pump in a pocket or on a waistband?
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Hi Sue
Here in France we're advised to change our set every 3 days so it doesn't get a chance to degrade. As a newbie I was concerned with the insulin getting too hot (I come from the generation who injected straight from the fridge) but it seems to be okay.

I realised that there isn't a right or wrong way to wear the pump and it's to fit into your life as you see fit - because I had a good HBA result and I had a mare when I had to return briefly to MDIs, the pump is in my good books. However, that can change in an instant and it can just as easily return to being my nemisis!

Good luck!
 
Thanks iHs

I'm still waiting for funding approval, so I won't buy anything till the pump arrives. Meantime I'm interested in all options for pump wearing, especially cheap ones I can afford to try. I don't think putting it in my bra will be an option for me in public (3 boobs, or 1 big and 1 small, isn't a look I aspire to!) but the vests with bra-type lining may be good at night or round the house. Moneybelts were mentioned here recently, I'd already wondered about them, so was glad when someone confirmed they'd successfully used them. When I try new clothes on, or wear something different such as a dress or nightie, I think about where I'd put my pump if I had it. Helps fill the time while I'm waiting!
 
jopar said:
Must admit it would drive me bats having my pump on my arm, did try the bra once but well OH half just burts into fits of laughter :evil: decided you needed a clevage for that which I don't have
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Lol, I suffer from the same problem Jopar! What works for me is to wear a sports bra OVER my normal bra and then pop the pump in between the humble cleavage :lol:

I also wear a sports bra to bed and keep my pump in there when I sleep. It's never come out yet and it's really very comfy. If I want to sleep on my side or tummy I just move the pump over to the side so it's not in the way, very handy!
 
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