Pump advice please

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AJLang

AJLang

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I think I've got this right but please could you advise
7am. 10.3 bolus
8.30am. 8.2
11am a surprising 12
12.30 wasn't able to test but did my normal lunch match of bolus to carbs
4pm got home 19.3😱 4.5 units bolus and primed the tube because we found air bubbles. High ketones
5.10. 19.7😱 changed the cannula I unit to prime the cannula plus 4.5 units bolus - I did consider injection but wanted to check if the pump was working

Is there anything else I should have done?
Is there anything that I could done to prevent this happening? I did a full set change on Saturday and it is now Monday. My cannula is 8mm accuchek flex link and I have plenty of flesh! The old cannula was straight ie not bent when I removed it
 
Hi Amanada,
some people seem to have a lot of problems with air in the tubing when using the combo pump. So my advice would be to make sure you have all connections tight so no air can get in and also make sure at least twice a day that you check to make sure you have no bubbles in the tubing.
 
Thanks Sue 🙂
 
Have you tried wearing the pump upside down so that gravity keeps the bubbles out of the way. It really works
 
Do you prime the air in the end of the tubing out, every time you disconnect to have a shower, Amanda? I find there's usually about half an inch of air in mine. And if I were to turn the pump off whilst showering, it would be worse. I mean if I have it off for a whole hour it's only 1u wasted, isn't it?

It's hard to not connect properly with the Flexlink IMHO, as long as you get a very positive click as it goes on and the connector on the tubing stays flat against your belly (or thigh, love-handle, wherever) at all times then it's safe.

And I don't get many air bubbles except when Pete fills the reservoir for me because he just doesn't get rid of the teeny bubbles properly in the first place. Thinks he knows everything I'm afraid.

The other thing is sites of course. For the reason of 'iffy' sites, and wishing to preserve as many usable areas as poss for as long as I can - I change cannulas every 2 days.
 
Thank you PGCity and TW. I had been priming the tube after a bath but not the shower so will start priming after a shower. I will also change my cannulas every two days to see if that helps. Thank you🙂
 
Only usually a couple of units Amanda, a whole new bit of tube only takes about 11 or 12 u. You can change the pre-set from the factory-set 25u by the way, I have it set at 15 to be on the safe side but usually turn it off before then - that's with 60cm tubing.

Dunno if other peeps do this but I also stick it on prime, to prime a new cannula too, otherwise pump will think I've had a random 1u bolus.
 
trophywench said:
Only usually a couple of units Amanda, a whole new bit of tube only takes about 11 or 12 u. You can change the pre-set from the factory-set 25u by the way, I have it set at 15 to be on the safe side but usually turn it off before then - that's with 60cm tubing.

Dunno if other peeps do this but I also stick it on prime, to prime a new cannula too, otherwise pump will think I've had a random 1u bolus.
Click to expand...

Never thought of that. As you say pump thinks you have had 1u bolus so ill try that next time thanks.🙂
 
Glad I am not the only one with a bubble problem had first cartridge change on Friday had my shower Saturday air bubble I used all the insulin constantly priming and flicking then whilst rehearsing for pantomime the alarm went off Occlusion panic got taxi home and changed everything again have another bubble but wear it sideways bubble at end BG seems ok
 
Well I just don't HAVE air bubbles other than 'champagne' ones in my reservoir and I try to eliminate them by making em bigger and then expelling them, so they don't get in the tubing unless I take the pump off, in which case I have to prime the tubing again before I reattach. Yup it's a PITA but there's nothing else you can do.

I've had the 'Occlusion' alarm go off twice since I've had the pump. Once when I hadn't reattached properly, second time when my darling husband who is apparently better at these things than me, cos he says so - had filled the reservoir to do me a favour (spit) - and hadn't got rid of the air bubbles in it.
 
My bubble problems have been reduced by following TWs flicking/inverting advice, and also by only part filling the reservoir with air.

I was directed to a YouTube vid called 'degassing the reservoir' which was a COMPLETE DISASTER and caused several reservoir seal failures (insulin leaking behind the seals) because the o-rings could not cope with the pressure. The idea was to create a vacuum in the insulin vial by repeatedly drawing air out of it prior to filling the reservoir. While the advice as offered failed massively for me, I wondered if there was something in the idea, so recently I've only been half filling the reservoir with air before drawing up insulin. This means that a very slight vacuum is created and I have not had those most annoying types of bubbles which seemed to magically appear overnight even after I'd flicked and fiddled all the visible ones away. Just that slight reduction seems to prevent the insulin being too aerated when drawn into the reservoir.
 
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PLus of course not injecting air into insulin in the first place,* only when you expel the bubble. And then you follow it up by expelling quite a lot more insulin than you need then waiting, waiting ....to make sure there's no bubble sat on the end of the needle waiting to be swallowed back into the res. when you resume the fill.

I dunno, is it because I was used to filling syringes, and the glass ones were a bugger for bubbles sticking to em with no lubrication after all that repeated boiling. And I used to cry out with pain in my finger nail-beds from flicking. They were HARD.

* Ooops! I mean you inject the air downwards into the bottle to begin with, into the air space that's already there! Then invert the whole caboodle.
 
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