Am new to the pump and getting problems of bent canulas. I notice that my blood sugars rise sky high when this happens? Can anyone tell me why this would happen as even if bent i assume insulin is still getting in? My new animas 20/20 doesnt give an alarm which i assumed it should if insulin not being received.
hello Chris, I have been pumping about 18 mos. I have a MM522, the 522 has a back pressure alarm that alerts you to no or very slow deliveries. I do get bent canulas from time to time, usually after strenous activity depending where the infusion sets are placed. Al.
Hi Chris, you need to call Animas and tell them you are not getting a no delivery alarm. I used to have an Animas IR1200 and had to exchange 2 for that reason. Also Animas pumps have a feature that let’s you set the sensitivity to no delivery check your and make sure it is set and the highest sensitivity. A cannula being bent most of the time not allow insulin to deliver but a slightly kinked one will. The pump is suppose to sense pressure so yours may not be set right or needs to be replaced. They will replace it free of charge unless it is different in the UK.
I hope you get it fixed and make sure Animas knows so they can start keeping record of the problem.
Take care and be loved
Dave I think it depends on the pump. My MM pumps needed to be blocked then they would alarm. My Animas pump was programed for the slightest resistance so even a slow delivery would cause an alarm when working correctly. I wear a MM again now but I know there was a difference on how each one would read the issue. If the Animas one was just slow in delivery it would alarm if set to high sensitivity. If set to medium it would have to be more then a momentary slow down. If set to low sensitivity it would require back pressure.
Be well and be loved
Your canula may be too long. Are you using a 6mm or 9mm? I occasionally have one bend and my alarm doesn’t always go off either. I think for the same reason Dave said, insulin is still getting through, but enough to take care of my BS. If my numbers stay high, I will just switch sites and all is usually right with the world again.
Hi Dave and you may be right it just may be that back flow is measured different. I had the IR1200, upon set up the trainer asked me what sensitivity I wanted to detect blocks or slow delivery. She explained it like a few seconds of delay would set off the highest sensitivity. I wish I could say it always worked. It seemed like a good feature but I know it failed so I would not rely on it. But Animas was very good about replacing pumps when they were not alarming.
It would be good for any pump user to do a test on that by blocking the flow of insulin and seeing how much it takes to set the alarm off.
Be loved Dave I am sure you are 
yep your right. My MM shipped with a little thingy to shut down the tubing so i watch my BG really careful after I change a site and never unless I do not have a choice at night. I use mostly needles though so the only time I have and issue is when it is against muscle then the insulin just does not seem to absorb but the sure T’s have helped with that I just hope they make them universal for all pump users. On Animas I used a bent needle alot and used angles I created myself for myself since the bent needle is still a bit long for me. The bent needles are universal but not very comfortable after about 30 hours. I also use a short sill/comfort when I run out of area’s with some fat but I watch those close just in case they get blocked.
My MM 522 alarms at 2.7 U when blocked. Does that match up with you? Just being curious.
Be loved
it affects how fast the insulin is going in. if the cannula is bent, it’s going in slower or the tissues are absorbing it differently.