Any advice?

[Julie.reid1906]

I've been using a pump for 13 months now and so far it's been pretty good. However, I seem to have hit a bump in the road. For the last couple of week my blood sugars have been up and down and I can't explain it. I have been having problems when I change my set, I seem to get a lots of bubbles in my insulin cartridge, not sure what I'm doing different but there are always bubbles now. Any advice? I also find that after a hypo my blood sugars are swinging high, which has never happened before on my pump. To be honest I'm just a bit fed up with it all I feel sick a lot too which doesn't help. Would love a break from my diabetes please!!!

 

[Redkite]

Hi Julie,

Are you feeling sick due to high BG levels? And if so are you checking your blood ketones?

Everyone hits a wall from time to time, where everything seems to be going wrong, but don't worry you'll get things back on track! We do get bubbles forming in the reservoir by the 3rd day, due to the insulin having warmed up, so we now routinely do a full set change every 2 days. Possibly with the warmer weather you have had more bubble formation than usual? Do you make sure the vial of insulin is at room temperature when you fill the reservoir? Never straight from the fridge.

If you're experiencing an unusual spate of problems with cannulas or reservoirs, it's always worth opening a new box preferably from a different batch. If the new ones are problem-free, ring your supplier and ask for the faulty batch to be replaced. We have experienced this problem once or twice with infusion sets.

Another thing to consider would be your cannula sites. Are you rotating them sufficiently and not reusing scarred areas?

If all the hardware side of things is ok, then it's time to have a bit of a blitz on the testing front. Keep a food and exercise diary for a week, sticking to "easy" foods if you can, and do some 24hr BG profiles (waking level, before each meal, 2 hours after each meal, bedtime, and perhaps a 3am one on a couple of nights. Then you'll have plenty of info. on which to base some decisions on tweaking your bolus ratios and basal rates.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[m1dnc]

On the bubbles issue, I have been experimenting recently with some very gentle warming of the insulin vial before cartridge filling. In particular, when I take the vial from the fridge I pop it in the breast pocket of my shirt for half an hour or so before cartridge filing. I have found that I get far fewer bubbles.

 

[Phil65]

On the bubbles issue, I have been experimenting recently with some very gentle warming of the insulin vial before cartridge filling. In particular, when I take the vial from the fridge I pop it in the breast pocket of my shirt for half an hour or so before cartridge filing. I have found that I get far fewer bubbles.

......exactly what my wife does for me! 😉 seems to lessen the bubbles.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

I've been using a pump for 13 months now and so far it's been pretty good. However, I seem to have hit a bump in the road. For the last couple of week my blood sugars have been up and down and I can't explain it. I have been having problems when I change my set, I seem to get a lots of bubbles in my insulin cartridge, not sure what I'm doing different but there are always bubbles now. Any advice? I also find that after a hypo my blood sugars are swinging high, which has never happened before on my pump. To be honest I'm just a bit fed up with it all I feel sick a lot too which doesn't help. Would love a break from my diabetes please!!!

It sounds to me as if you need to go back to basics and do some simple basal testing. Many people find they need a change in the amount of insulin when the weather changes 🙂
Simple things like checking your tubing and priming out any bubbles will help no end. I always check when I get up and before bed.
Perhaps fill your cartridge and leave for 20 mins afterwards then recheck to see if any bubbles have formed. If not check that you have the connection tight enough from your tubing to your cartridge. If it's not tight then air gets in and bubbles are the out come.
After doing all the above perhaps think back as to when the problems started....... was it when you started a new batch of cartridges, if so perhaps a faulty seal could be the problem.
If you feel sick all the time then you need to pay your GP a visit 🙂 As you know being unwell tends to play havoc with blood sugars.
Chin up 🙂

 

[Julie.reid1906]

Thanks for all the advice, will definitely try the warming thing. I have started keeping a diary again as of yesterday. Haven't done it for a while. Hoping it will help me spot any problems 🙂