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Straight sets - bent cannulas

MushyPeaBrain

MushyPeaBrain

Well-Known Member
Messages
647
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
So lately I have been getting bent cannulas far too often. I have lost weight (another half stone) so the odd one I've put down to hitting muscle is areas I don't have enough fat.

However I've had 2 fails today, one after another and now I'm up late, very tired and fed up and I have to be up early for my son :evil:

It's not the pump. When I remove the sets they are always bent, often 90 degrees at the end. I've changed batches and to be honest the animas Inset IIs I use are pretty well made. So why do they happen? Is it me doing something wrong? A friend has been pumping 2 years on the same sets and only had this once.

I have looked at others but I am needle phobic so must have an inserter, although saying that I am debating being brave and trying a needle set. I need a more reliable set as I can't keep losing all this time on fails.

Any advice please?!!!?
 
My daughter uses the Contact Detach steel cannulas which are available in the UK from the Animas order line. They come in an 8mm or 6mm length, we use the 6mm because my daughter is quite slim. They are a G29 thickness which is slightly thicker than the insulin pen needles but not by much. We've never had issues with bending (almost impossible to bend steel) or blocking. My daughter says they're very comfortable to wear and I find them very easy to insert, very similar to sticking the needle of a Novopen in. Very quick and easy to use and gives trouble free pumping. The only down side is that the set must be changed every 48 hours rather than every 3 days like teflon.

If you get in touch with Animas I'm sure they'll send you some samples to try, you have nothing to lose by trying and deciding for yourself whether or not they're better. If you do use them there is a different procedure for priming etc so make sure you are aware of how to do the set change before inserting the cannula, the priming etc all needs to be done before inserting the cannula.
 
Sophia how do you actually stick it in? What happens if you hit muscle - would you know? I know I have some areas I hit muscle if I'm not careful.

Change every 24 hours :shock: :shock: :shock: I thought it was every 48 hours so that is an eye opener

When I used a Novopen I had to have the PenMate which fired it in for me. It meant I had to use 8mm needles but I never actually stuck them in. Before the PenMate I used a normal pen and lowered the needle in very, very slowly. Sometimes it took me 20 minutes or more to inject. I know this probably hurt more than jabbing it straight in but I couldn't do it any other way.

However the appeal of trouble free pumping is huge. I love my pump all except for the cannula issues!!
 
Hi Mushy

If you look online (eBay) there is some numbing spray called Xylocaine that can be bought. This is what is used on earlobes to numb before ear piercing and is fairly good. I use it when I am putting a set in above my navel. It takes about 5mins to numb and in the set goes.

With a baby I think the steel needle sets are going to be less problems as they are virtually flat (the Rapid D ones are). I replace mine every 2 days although sometimes I forget and leave it in for 2.5 days with no bad effect as yet. Maybe you could try using a steel needle set in your backside as I do as you probably won't feel it.
 
Sorry Mushy, I'm not sure where my brain was when I typed that message! Yes, you're right, every 48 hours and not every 24 hours. I've edited my post now to correct it.

Jess wears the cannula on her bottom so there's plenty of padding around there so very unlikely to hit muscle. We just stick the needle in, not too fast but not too slowly either. If you're very needle phobic would it help if you use Emla cream to numb the area first? Occasionally, and very rarely, she has said it's uncomfortable once in and we've had to remove the cannula and site it somewhere else. I'm not sure what causes the discomfort, I thought perhaps a nerve or something. Once the cannula is sited in a new position she's fine. I know we had similar issues with injections, very occasionally she's had an injection which hurt.
 
Mushy

Have you tried using sets from a different batch/lot number, just in case it could possibly be a box of ones that aren't quite right? Know I am a bit wary of sets, after finding that the accuchek ones that were faulty caused me so many problems.

Personally, I find my rapid-s sets so easy to put in, far easier that loading an automatic inserter thingy, they honestly put the fear of god in to me!!!!

One last thing, are you standing up when you put the sets in? I only put mine in whilst stood up, because the muscles are working rather than floopy whilst sat down. If I feel any pain at all when putting them in, then the set just comes out and goes in somewhere else. My stainless steel ones last up to 48 hours...

Bye for now
S
 
Thanks for your replies!!

I use Emla cream when I have to give blood for my HbA1c but the nurses said it wasn't good to use long term on skin for injections/sets etc and that an ice cube was better to numb it.

To be honest it's not so much the pain as the "thought" of the potential pain or drawing blood. I have managed to cope with the insets so I'm hoping that I could adjust with time to something else.

However if my cannulas are bending due to hitting muscle (what I suspect and also can't think of any other reason) then surely a needle will just go straight into muscle and both hurt like hell and not work?
 
Hi

Using steel needle sets it's really easy to insert them in your backside as all you do is join the two tubes together, prime and then put the set in. Taking the steel needle set out is a bit more awkward but a few squirts with Lift Plus etc makes them not too difficult.

Other than that, have you had a go with the Inset 30 as that goes in diagonal with an inserter? I have loads of Tenderlinks you could have :wink: :D but they need to be put in manually.
 
Unfortunately using my back side is not an option as I have tons of moles all over my body plus reduced vision so I wouldn't be able to see the moles in question to avoid them. Also I can't pinch an inch on my bum so not sure if that rules it out anyway.

I carry fat on my stomach and hip area so I can pinch an inch all round, including where I put the Insets. If only they did 4mm sets!!! :lol:

I haven't tried the angled sets yet, although I do have samples, as I keep reading that they are impossible to use if you dont get the angle right. Any tips?

What happens with the steel ones if I put it into muscle?
 
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