I have decided to have one of every type of pump problem in my first month so I get it over with and can feel more comfortable. Kidding…though I dofeel more comfortable once I’ve worked through something with help from you guys!
My numbers have jumped up after an entirely normal lunch and didn’t come down (went higher) with correction, so since I was due to change my set later today anyway, I took it out to see if I could see any problem. The canula wasn’t bent but there was a bruise and a small amount of blood on the canula. When I pressed down on the site more blood bubbled up - not a gusher like I’ve heard some describe, but like what you see after a needle in a vein. On MDI I thought of “hitting a blood vessel” as possibly increasing the potency of my insulin, not decreasing. Is there some connection between a site like that and non-delivery/high numbers?
I took an injection shot and my blood sugars are coming down nicely, so I assume it was a site problem. I just changed my site. I guess blood is thick enough to clog the little canula?
You are right, that is what the CDE told me, that blood makes it harder for the pump to push the insulin in. Also you may have experienced “tunneling” the insulin going back up outside the canula (see Walsh, he explains it better). Was there blood inside the canula or just on the outside? With an angled set, I’ve seen a little blood going up the inside of the canula, I bolused & it disappeared & didn’t reappear, so I didn’t change the set.
My rule is, unexpected high BG, correct, if it’s not coming down in an hour or so then I change sites, first giving a shot to start the correction while I change sites.
Last week I inserted a set in my stomach & straight away saw blood around the canula, an angled set, so I removed it, & had to press down for a while to stop the bleeding, the next insertion was fine, but I have a bruise right in the middle of my stomach which I shall have to try & avoid when I insert sets. Thus reducing my small real estate even more!
I think the blood was inside the canula. From shots I know that hitting a blood vessel is not unusual. Is there any set that is less likely to clog if this happens? You said you “saw a little blood going up the inside of the canula”, I thought someone mentioned a type of set which is transparent so you could see problems like that; is that the angled set (inset 30 for animas)? I use the inset which doesn’t let me see what might be going on like blood or the canula being bent and it feels like being blind and having to wait for high bs to know there is a problem!
Yes I was talking about Inset30s (or Comfort if you can stand doing a manual insertion). The Inset30s are just as automatic to insert as the Insets but as you say you are not so blind when it is in.
I have a similar question but just a bit different. After I’ve determined that the site has failed, I change the site but I’m always unsure how much of a correction injection to take. Do I correct using the information on the pump or do I ignore the pump and just give a couple of units?
thanks
I did my correction injection using the information on the pump, Ressy, but realize the IOB may not be accurate as I may not have been actually receiving that insulin due to a site problem. But to be safe, I assume that I did receive it (or part of it). So my pump said that including the IOB I would need 2.85 and I did a shot of 3 units which would lower me to 109. I actually went down to 99 which is great…
Thanks, Annabella. When I re-order supplies I’m going to order some Inset 30s as well as Insets so I can try them. I really like the idea of being able to see.
I see! I need to be a bit more aware when the site is going bad though…I’ve usually given a correction or two before I get it figured out that the site is gone. I have learned that my sites only accept 100 units. They will fail after that amount of insulin no matter how long it’s been in. In the winter I’m lucky to get 2 days out of a site and in the summer can for sure get a good solid 3 days.
oh my gosh Zoe! icant believe it,i have the same problem,bruising and blood around the inset…it hurt so bad i took it out but i dont like wasting the insulin…this is one of the reasons i didnt goon the pump before,and now here i am with the same problem,this isnot good,and i hope it gets better with time?
If you want insulin delivered by syringe to be included in the IOB calculation, disconnect the tubing from the infusion set, tell the pump to bolus the syringe amount, holding the disconnected tubing over something as the bolused insulin will come out, the pump doesn’t know you were disconnected & includes this insulin in IOB calculations. Another tip from our great Animas trainer.
Oh my god, now the site I replaced yesterday (on the other side of my tummy) had the same problem, only worse. I was having high numbers starting last night and it felt a tad irritated so I did a correction shot this afternoon and went to re-do the site and this time I had a GUSHER when I pulled the canula out. I am definitely going to ask Animas for a sample of the Inset 30 but meanwhile is there something I could be doing wrong to cause this so often? I am following the suggestions a couple people gave: trying to press the circles to insert in a more steady firm movement (though it still happens in two steps), pulling out the inserter by grasping the white springy thing in the middle and pulling gently and as straight as I can.
I’m so sorry you’re having the same problems, Mary Ann. We are pump twins but we didn’t need to be pump problem twins, girl! Which infusion set do you use? Maybe try the opposite one? (and check out the instructions I included here for things people pointed out I was doing wrong!)
I just called and Animas said they would send me out a sample of the Inset 30 and they also confirmed that if I decide those work much better then I just call back and let them know I want to return the unopened boxes of the Insets. Cool on the customer service!
I can honestly say that I go through periods where I will have 10 bleeders in a row followed by a whole year of nothing. I usually do not have sites fail on me as often though, even when they are bleeding. I have gotten so frustrated with infusion sites failing that I have gone back to MDI for a couple of days just to get away (I had 5 different sites fail in a 4 day period- never found out why on that one) from my frustrations.
I know that this does not help much but to know sometimes there is no good explanation, even when there seems like there should be because the same problem keeps coming up. Hopefully the Inset 30’s will work better.
Thanks, MossDog. Actually it does help to get (frequent!) reminders that some things have reasons and can be planned for and some just don’t. I think all diabetics should have the Serenity Prayer emblazoned on our foreheads! (Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference).
I had a round of bad infusion sites during the beginning of the month, some high blood sugars I caught with the CGMS,some I did not. I had to repeatedly change out the quick sets, sometimes two a day!!! Some bleeders, some crimped cannulas, no gushers. It is a tad bit irritating. Today I am off work due to the ice storm, and I have been running lower than normal, on a somehwat less strenuous day ( all i did was wash and fold clothes and stayed on the internet)
You are right , Zoe:The Serenity prayer is greastly needed for those unexpected diabetic/pump mishaps.
I guess I’ll just work on the “change the things I can” part (it’s the easiest!)
Sounds like some pretty severe storms out there. Drive safe, Brunetta…or better yet don’t drive at all. Believe it or not I had a bad encounter a few years ago with a patch of black ice in the mountains here in sunny California. (I shouldn’t tell you it’s 60 degrees here today, but actually I miss snow!)
Not a lot of snow, today, here in columbus, Ohio…but freezing rain and and treacherous ice abound… Thanks for your concern, but I have not left the house all day!!! About to watch some Tv and hope for another day away from school…we are to get Ice mixed with snow tommorrow.
