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New to the pump.. any advice for hiding it as a female?

L

LC diabetic for 13 years

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi everyone, i'm new to this forum so this is my first message..
I've been using injections for the last 13 years, but now im using the Accu-check Aviva pump for 2 weeks now, and i would recommend it to everybody. It's given me a lot tighter control already. I resisted going onto the pump for a while, because as a 20 year old university student I just didn't fancy having it on me all the time, and I was worried where I would hide it.
But it's a lot easier then i thought.. however i would love to know of any handy tips of hiding it under dresses/skirts (especially tighter ones) for when i'm going out? and what does everybody do when on holiday?
Thanks,
Lucy
 
Does your pump come with a remote, because if it does you could get a bra/thigh pouch to hide the pump in.
 
Thankyou for replying Julie,
Yes it does come with a remote, I've tried tucking into bra which works when wearing baggy clothing, but its very bulky if i'm wearing a dress.
Where would you recommend getting a thigh pouch from?
 
You can try Accu-check although pump manufacturers can be a bit costly, so why not try ebay, amazon or someone like pump fashion. They are a few places that spring to mind. If you google pump cases, you will find some. And your welcome. The bra pouch I have has 3 popper settings so would hang down under a loose fitting top or dress and I got that from amazon, for a few pounds.
 
Hi


I have the Combo pump and have always kept it diagonal in bra cup towsrds my arm pit. Its not uncomfortable and I hsve been able to wear tight fitting t shirts and dresses with no real problem meaning no one has noticed. I have small boobs as well lol The Genie type lycra bras are good. You can get them at markets for about £3 and in nice colours

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Using tubigrip as a leg band works for me, double it up with the fold at the bottom, place pump in fold. If wearing jeans etc just put it in the pocket, I always wear longish tops to cover the tubing., last resort for posh dresses and evening wear, a pair of tummy control knickers and just put it either at hip or at back of pelvis. Hope this helps.



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I use an insulin pump pouch that I got off eBay for £7.99. I fasten it round my bra either underneath my arm or round the back where my bra fastens if I'm wearing something more fitted and really want to hide it. I think the seller on eBay was pouch4all I love the punch definitely will be buying some more after trying lots of other different ways of wearing it this is definitely the best for me. Until I got the pouch I was really worried about whether I was going to get it to work for me due to not being able to find a comfortable discreet place to wear it.
 
I'm considering M2F gender reassignment surgery just so I have a decent place to hide the thing!
 
Hahaha wasn't expecting that response then Spiker!!
 
I've crocheted a big flower onto some elastic. It slides onto my pump and turns it into an accessory rather than something to be hidden. I'm guessing big flowers attached to hair elastics that you can buy in the likes f Claire's Accessories might do the same. I've also crocheted a cover for it, rather like those phone "socks" for more casual days. My hoodies (for dog walking etc) have a wee hole cut at the top of the pocket to thread the tube through so the pump can stay in the pocket.
 
On the odd occasion I do need to wear a posh frock or something tight I do as JANROU and put my pump at the small of my back inside a pair of suction passion killer knickers. It seems to hold my pump tight. You do get an oblong lump but it's around the back so not particularly visible. On holiday if I don't have a pocket, I keep it clipped to my waistband of shorts or bikini and put it in either a trainer sock or small mobile phone sock to shade it from the sun. If I disconnect it to swim I use a hard glasses case to put it in for a short time.
 
I have a medtronic pump with a clip attached and wear it clipped on to my bra between the cups. I have found this very comfortable and I am able to wear quite fitted clothing and camisole tops without it being noticable. I tried using a pump case that clipped on to the bra but found that the pump was dangling so not at all comfortable. Keep trying different ways and you are sure to find a way to carry your pump that suits you.
 
I thought this would be a problem at first (I've only been on my pump for just over a week). I had a massive ditzy moment of desperately trying things pouches etc etc to hide mine (I'm on the accu-check spirit combo so it's quite big) and found that I couldn't walk without it being uncomfortable. After a couple of hours, yes hours, I came to the (undeniably easy to see to everyone around me) realisation that, actually, I could take the pump out of the rather bulky clip that the rep had given me it in! I wear tight fitting dresses pretty much all the time and I've found that I can put it at an angle inside my bra cup (of the side where I'm a lite smaller) then I pop a breast pad (either the maternity type ones, or the ones that come inside the pockets of some bras that you can remove) in each side of my bra to even it up a bit and cover up the squareness that's sometimes created by the corners of the pump. No one ever notices I'm wearing it and best of all neither do I. My bigger issue is finding where to put it when I'm out jogging as it's really uncomfortable in a sports bra so I have to have it on show then
 
I have the accu-check spirit and I just shove it in my knickers! Although I am a big girl, I do wear dresses most of the time and it doesn't show.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Made me laugh too! That location would keep it nice and safe, might block the connection to my CGM though.
 
For dresses/tops with v necks (when clipping the pump to my bra doesn't work so well), I've found that I can sometimes clip the pump to the hanging strap at one side so that it just hangs down inside. If the dress/top is tightish then I can position it wherever is comfortable (e.g. push it round the back) and it is even less visible.

For exercise, the best thing I've found is the Spibelt. They have diabetic-specific ones but I find the normal ones are just fine and there's more choice of colour etc with them. The double ones are a godsend for exercising in cold climates - the pump goes in one pocket and my meter goes in the other, avoiding those "Lo" temperature warnings!
 
I just got a spibelt...and that is good....though most comfortable to date is an old top (a tighter fitting/shaped one) and cut the bottom 8" or so off then fold it in half - so it would be about 4" wide, stitch it together so that you get a belt of t-shirt material around your waist,I created 3 pockets across the back and stitched the top of the other half together and then you can slide it around and have the pump in that small bit of your back (not sure that makes that much sense...but like these, just homemade http://www.diabete-ezy.com/Comfy-Pump-Insulin-Pump-Belts-scc5087.html. I recently unpicked the stitches in a pocket on a maxi dress so that I could get to the pump through the pocket (quite comedy - but it worked)....and I was thinking for posh frocks wearing my hair down and clipping it to the back of my dress so it is covered by my hair? (not sure whether that will work? plus you need long hair ). Someone else I know on a pump tried a thigh belt but found it was too big...and they are quite pricey...so tubey grip is probably the best alternative.
 
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