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New to pump

T

Tracyidd

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi all, I have been on my accu chek combo pump now for 3 weeks. I am getting on ok and have seen a huge difference in my control already :thumbup: . I was told to change the cartridge every 6 days whether it is empty or not. I was just wondering if everyone does stick to the 6 day rule? The reason I ask is because I do tend to have about a quarter of a cartridge left when I change it after 6 days and I have read on one of the posts on here a couple of people saying that "that kind of wastage is bad and costing the NHS valuable money" which made me feel rather guilty! :(
Any feedback would be great. Thanks :think:
 
Tracyidd said:
Hi all, I have been on my accu chek combo pump now for 3 weeks. I am getting on ok and have seen a huge difference in my control already :thumbup: . I was told to change the cartridge every 6 days whether it is empty or not. I was just wondering if everyone does stick to the 6 day rule? The reason I ask is because I do tend to have about a quarter of a cartridge left when I change it after 6 days and I have read on one of the posts on here a couple of people saying that "that kind of wastage is bad and costing the NHS valuable money" which made me feel rather guilty! :(
Any feedback would be great. Thanks :think:
Click to expand...

Hi Tracy,
Some use the cartridge for longer but it's not recommended (I'm guilty) So your simple solution is to not fill your cartridge completly :) Every bit of money saved can help another person, so I'm all for saving where I can.
 
I was told that the insulin is not good to use after 6 days in the plastic cartridge. But as suggested do not fill it completely.
 
I've got the Combo as well..

And I fill my cartridge up and use until it's empty, which is just under the month mark...

Not had any problems with doing this, and I've been doing the same for over 4 years... In my case it's not a conscious decision to save money just it's what I've always done.
 
I usually fill up my Combo cartridge with enough insulin to last about 6 or 7 days and do a refill and a change of tube, but I do keep my pump inside my bra cup so insulin does get a bit warm. Jopar keeps her pump attached to her waistband I believe, so insulin is a tiny bit cooler. Also, the Tenderlink set that Jopar uses also has a slightly bigger diameter tube than say for instance, the Rapid D tube.

I think one of the reasons why newbie pumpers get instructed to fill the cartridge upto the max level is to try to eliminate the build up of air bubbles but I dont think this makes a wonderful lot of difference (well, it made none for me :roll: ) and in the end I sorted out my own way of filling the cartridges and getting rid of bubbles which I still do without too many problems.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I have since tried only filling to around 280 and that worked out great this time with only around 5u to throw away.
Thanks Again :clap:
 
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