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Pump failure help

B

BertSmyth1

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi
I use Animas vibe Pump,battery low came up so changed battery,error mesasage came.up,rang Animas,they said it' a pump error,sending.me replacent due Saturday delivery. Now on way to docs to pick up needles/syringes, I use Hulamlog insulin.
Need advice please on how to get through til Saturday, should I inject.little &often?
 

You need a basal insulin, you can't just get by on injections of Humalog. Are you able to get Lantus or Levemir to tide you over?
 
Well I know how to MDI & agree with the above..

However... Switching back to pumping at the weekend. This calls for a tag in.. @himtoo @catapillar @Juicyj
 
You won't be able to simulate the pump effectively with injections of Humalog alone, it will be a losing battle and you could end up in DKA.
 
Relying just on rapid is going to require waking up and injecting at least every two hours, maybe 3 hours at push. You should really have some basal insulin in your fridge for pump failures. If you don't, then get basal prescribed to see you through the weekend when you're at your doctors
 
Got prescription for docs for needles &went to asda chemist they didn't have it- just got home drinking.lots of water bm is 23
 
Waiting for out of hours medical to ring -hoping they can do a prescription so I can get sorted tonight
 
BertSmyth1 said:
Got prescription for docs for needles &went to asda chemist they didn't have it- just got home drinking.lots of water bm is 23
Click to expand...

Do a little ring round of local chemists to find one that does have what you need in stock.

Test for ketones with a blood sugar of 23

If you can't get hold of a chemist with what you need in stock and ready to dispense it to you, get to A&E.

How can you not have needles and basal insulin at home as a back up in case of pump failure? That's against all the guidance issued to people with pumps. It's patently not beyond the realms of possibility that the pump could fail and without back up pens and needles (even if it's just a syringe to inject from the vial or reservoir) you're just asking for dka if you have a pump failure.
 
London36_ said:
Go to A&E. Their chemist will have long acting.
Click to expand...

If you don’t want to go to A&E, if it were me (note I’m not a doc!) I’d take humalog now (whatever your usual correction dose is) then when you get back to a better range, see if you can calculate your 24 basal total and spread out over injections every 4 hours - including throughout the night. Obviously test as much as possible. Low carb with extra injections using your carb ratio. Depending on sensitivity you might need to eat more as the syringes won’t go to 0.1, 0.2 etc of a unit.

Good luck! I’ve had a pump failure with Medtronic before but got my replacement within hours.
 
Still waiting on phone call back to get me a prescription
I've been on pump about 12 years so got a bit of working out to do
 
Hi @BertSmyth1 -- if you take your daily total basal ( so maybe 14u , 22u , 29u etc etc )
and as @London36_ says -- divide that in to 4 hour blocks - and take 1/6th every four hours
that should help keep you out of DKA

I can't believe your DSN has allowed you not to have full back up of pens and cartridge insulins ( basal and bolus ) it is part of my repeat prescription -- of course i don't order cartridges regularly -- but i fill a back up pen with a new cartridge every month -- it goes with me everywhere in case of pump failure
 
Got nova rapid flex pen, given 5 units as was 21, did this at 10pm just done bm now &15.9
Going to check in 1.5 hour & through night to see
Ring my DSN in am
 
BertSmyth1 said:
Got nova rapid flex pen, given 5 units as was 21, did this at 10pm just done bm now &15.9
Going to check in 1.5 hour & through night to see
Ring my DSN in am
Click to expand...
try not to overtreat -- if you can keep low teens or high single figures that will be good -- don't risk a hypo if you can help !!
 
sorry -- it is going to be a night of frequent testin ( every 2 hours would be my recommendation )
set some alarms on your phone................ better safe than going DKA
 
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