Cannulas

[teapot8910]

Morning everyone,

I upgraded to the 780G earlier this year, didn't get on with the sensors so am back on the Libre 2 whilst pregnant. I'm noticing more and more that so many hours after a set change my insulin doesn't get through the tubing the same because of air blockages.

At the moment I'm unclipping the tubing like I do for a shower and then going through the motions of a set change then finding that there's air in the tubing, not just a bubble but a small section of tubing from the looks of it. I'm not sure how it's happening though? I'm doing my set changes as I've always done for the last 8yrs with my 640G. I'd like to say it's a batch issue but this is going on longer than that.

Is anyone else noticing this? At first I thought it was pregnancy affecting my BGS but within a couple of hours my BGs are responding better. Just unsure of how I avoid this going forwards as I'm not even halfway through pregnancy and it's making my doubt the tech I should be trusting.......

Other than contacting Medtronic (which I will be doing next week) does anyone have any tips/suggestions please?

 

[Inka]

I don’t use a Medtronic pump @teapot8910 but they have a reputation for developing cracks. Have you had a good look at your pump to check there’s no damage or hairline cracks? The other thing to suggest is could the tubing be loosening somehow, perhaps because of pregnancy, the pump position, etc etc, and air is getting in that way?

 

[SB2015]

I have been using the Mio advanced cannulas for over two years now. I also unplug for showers, I don’t suspend my insulin for that time, and have my pump in the bathroom. I then reconnect and just continue.

I briefly tried suspending as that is what we are supposed to do for any disconnection, but had bubble issues. I did get over this by using the ‘fill cannula‘ , whilst still disconnected, as opposed to the change reservoir. Then reconnecting.

I don’t know why it has suddenly started happening for you, it certainly your description would suggest that it is linked with the disconnection. I hope that the ideas above help.

 

[SB2015]

I don’t use a Medtronic pump @teapot8910 but they have a reputation for developing cracks. Have you had a good look at your pump to check there’s no damage or hairline cracks? The other thing to suggest is could the tubing be loosening somehow, perhaps because of pregnancy, the pump position, etc etc, and air is getting in that way?

A good thought @Inka, but I think if it was a crack in the body of the pump it would not be evident through bubbles in the tubing with the structure of these pumps. Mine have cracked around the battery compartment each time, and just continued to work, until I went for a swim!!!!!!

 

[Inka]

I don’t suspend my pump for showers either, if it helps. I just rest the open cannula end in a special container I have (for hygiene) and leave the pump as it is. I only suspend if I’m going really low or if I’m taking the pump off for a few days.