For the past 8 days I’ve been skiing in Colorado at altitudes between 7400 and 11500 feet. I’ve been having problems with my BG control. There are days when I’m running low all day and I need to consume twice as many carbohydrates than what I calculated for when I administered my bolus. On other days I need triple the Insulin than what carb counting would have indicated.
I just changed my cartridge and noticed that it had lots of tiny air bubbles. These bubbles were definitely not present when I started using The cartridge. Could the changes in air pressure caused by altitude be responsible for the bubbles? Does anyone have a similar experience caused by altitude?
I’ve been skiing in Colorado for the past 29 years. Previously I used needles and had no problem with glucose control. The pump makes things much easier - no need to find a place to remove clothing and inject - but It has been impossible to control my BG.
Hi Dave- I have lived in Denver all my diabetic life, and was on an Animas pump for 3 years. I regularly had problems with bubbles in the insulin and generally solved the problem by always mounting the pump in my pocket in a position where the tubing-exit end of the pump is in a downward position. Bubbles that form then float upward to the back end of the reservoir, and do not enter the tubing. It worked for me, but I realize that keeping the pump consistently in this position while skiing hard is not simple, but you can rig it somehow. Another thing to consider is that bubbles will form from the shock and vibration of skiing if you're hitting it hard. But again, with the tubing end down, the bubbles should stay out of the tubing, and therefore not interfere with delivery of the precious fluid!
-Tom
I agree with Tom about the little bubbles possibly being caused by motion, mainly because I seem to get the same sort of bubbles without being at a high altitude.
Thanks for the reply. I use the clip on the Animas and attach it to my underwear while skiing. I'll have to figure out a way to ski with the pump upside down.
I'm pretty active. At home, in New Jersey, I regularly jog 3 miles and Bike 10.8 miles, much of it over an unpaved trail. I've never had a problem with bubbles in the insulin cartridge. I changed the infusion set last night and I seem to be running a little high today, I'll see if turning the pump upside down makes a difference.
Thanks for getting back to me. The skiing today was great.
