Could my insulin have overheated?

[Amberzak]

was out in the sun all day. It was boiling hot and my pump was in my pocket.

Normally in this heat I hypo but today I went really high. I carb counted as usual and I only changed my canula yesterday.

I got home and changed the insulin in the pump for a new one from the fridge (I know I'm supposed to wait for it to get room temperature) and now it's coming back down quick.

So, I was told that having the pump in my pocket would be fine, but today I guess it's not.

Just ordered a frio cooling pouch for my pump.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

It's more than likely the insulin in the tubing that got fried

 

[Amberzak]

It's more than likely the insulin in the tubing that got fried

How do I protect my tubing? I got the pump in a frio pouch.

Or should I just prime it every so often?

 

[Pumper_Sue]

How do I protect my tubing? I got the pump in a frio pouch.

Or should I just prime it every so often?

Well if it happens again then prime it through or change the tubing would be a good option.

 

[CosmicHedgehog]

It could have gone bad, mine did on tuesday i was out in the scorching heat all day, i only had a little bit of insulin left in the cartridge anyway so wasn't a big deal doing a fresh one. Like other have said either that or the insulin in the tube went bad. Remember though our bodies are 37 degrees, and we wear the pump pretty close to part of us all the time. I think its the heat from direct sunlight that kills the insulin, especially as the sun would be shining through either a glass or plastic cartridge making it even hotter. i try and keep my pump covered or in a pocket so it's not in direct sun, but even then sometimes its just unavoidable. This heat wave is crazy!

 

[trophywench]

You are better off in this weather (though that's normally only found a lot further south on holidays LOL) not completely filling cartridges - just have a few days worth instead of your usual 6 days or whatever.

 

[Amberzak]

Thanks all. I decided to only fill half the cartridge this time. See if it makes a difference.

Sugars are back to normal so it was definitely something to do with the insulin. My body gets very hot and my skin seems to be giving off a lot of heat even now. (I get bad heat exhaustion too). I don't like this weather. I know others are happy but I really struggle in the heat

 

[trophywench]

So do I Amberzak - got dreadful prickly heat right now, and drives me bonkers itching.

 

[Amberzak]

So do I Amberzak - got dreadful prickly heat right now, and drives me bonkers itching.

That's what it's called. Yes. My whole body itches like mad.

Glad I'm not the only one

 

[Radders]

It could have gone bad, mine did on tuesday i was out in the scorching heat all day, i only had a little bit of insulin left in the cartridge anyway so wasn't a big deal doing a fresh one. Like other have said either that or the insulin in the tube went bad. Remember though our bodies are 37 degrees, and we wear the pump pretty close to part of us all the time. I think its the heat from direct sunlight that kills the insulin, especially as the sun would be shining through either a glass or plastic cartridge making it even hotter. i try and keep my pump covered or in a pocket so it's not in direct sun, but even then sometimes its just unavoidable. This heat wave is crazy!

I find that when there's only a bit left it more often goes bad. I expect it is more vulnerable to being overheated when there's less of it, if you see what I mean.

 

[Simon Clifford]

I find the insulin becomes less effective in the warm too. It's not too much of an issue, I just increase the basal to compensate. I find if I'm in a warmer climate, the Canaries, say then the insulin loses about 20% of its "go" after 3-4 days. I keep the pump out of direct sunlight, and I've usually got it hanging to the side with a Roche neck-pouch thing. I've tried the cooling packs, but they're HUGE!
For all the hassle of it, I find it's easiest to up the basal rates after the insulin has been exposed to heat for a few days. Exactly the same thing happens when you're using old insulin which has been out of the fridge for a couple of months. Getting experience with this sort of issue is excellent for calming yourself down and understanding that you can cope with just about any situation the world throws at you and you've got to use old insulin, say.

 

[Northerner]

I find the insulin becomes less effective in the warm too. It's not too much of an issue, I just increase the basal to compensate. I find if I'm in a warmer climate, the Canaries, say then the insulin loses about 20% of its "go" after 3-4 days. I keep the pump out of direct sunlight, and I've usually got it hanging to the side with a Roche neck-pouch thing. I've tried the cooling packs, but they're HUGE!
For all the hassle of it, I find it's easiest to up the basal rates after the insulin has been exposed to heat for a few days. Exactly the same thing happens when you're using old insulin which has been out of the fridge for a couple of months. Getting experience with this sort of issue is excellent for calming yourself down and understanding that you can cope with just about any situation the world throws at you and you've got to use old insulin, say.

Hi Simon, welcome to the forum 🙂 There shouldn't be any occasion where you need to use 'old' insulin, or insulin that has been over a month out of the fridge, its effects could be unpredictable Why would the situation/need occur? Obviously, you know yourself well enough to be able to deal with things, but others might encounter problems and should avoid using potentially compromised insulin.

Personally, I find I need to reduce my insulin in hot weather.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Personally, I find I need to reduce my insulin in hot weather.

Most people do except that the insulin tends to get a bit iffy when exposed to light and or heat as it would do in a pump 🙂