I'm on a pump and I have been having a great deal of difficulty lately with my canulas plugging up. Often there will be liquid in the canula and/or some whiteness at the end of the canula which obviously would stop the flow of insulin into my body. I have been using my sides primarily as sites to insert my infusion sets. I use Medtronic Quick-Set Paradigm infusion sets and a Paradigm 722 pump.
I also have been having difficulty with frequent "No Delivery" messages which often appears to be a pressure problem in the reservoir. The other cause of course is the plugged canula.
Anybody got having ideas as to how to resolve these issues?
6mm and I’ve called Medtronic a million times about these problems and all they do is take me through the usual template of questions… they have not been of much help!
Yeah, I’ve asked for replacements many times. Doesn’t solve my problem though. I’ll look into the Sure-T. I’ve never heard of them as all I’ve ever used is the Quick Set and the Silhouette. Between those two I’m a bigger fan of the Quick Set as insertion is much easier I find. Guess I’ll have to give the Sure-T a try!!
It varies. Anywhere from minutes (not very often though) to hours (more often). As to the number of hours, that varies as well lol! It’s a huge pain in the ■■■!
Maybe your insulin is crystallizing? Have you tried a new bottle of insulin? Maybe not if it is happeneing very soon after insertion. Maybe you are having an immune response to the cannula material? In this case the Sure T would definitely be another option.
I’ve tried new vials of insulin. I don’t think that’s the problem. I talked to my pharmacist and Medtronic about the Sure T and nobody seems to be too enthusiastic about them because they’re steel and not fiberglass. So, once again, with conflicting information I’m not quite sure what to do!!
The non-sure-T sets are actually Teflon material and some people react to them badly - with things such as redness, bumps at infusion sites, discharge, and issues with absorption and no delivery alarms. It can’t hurt to try them - call Medtronic, and ask them to send you out some samples. It definitely can’t hurt to try!
I use Animas not Minimed, but I have to use steel sets because I had an allergic reaction to the Teflon ones. Medtronic should at least send you some samples to try out so you can see if you like them or not and if they will work. It sounds like an allergic reaction to me also.
David used quickset for a while early on, with lots of problems as well.
David is well muscled, 6’2", 220 lbs, a junior level hockey player, 17 yeas old. He had to change very early on in pumping to mm’s silouhette. He uses the shortest, 13mm set and inserts manually only on tummy sites where he can actualy pinch an inch. Our biggest issue pump start at age 14 was no delivery alarms. Leg sites that bled and blocked the cannula, tummy sites that kinked and blocked the cannula and a tendency to wrap his tubing into his pants and tighten the belt overtop restricting insulin flow. The silhouette has worked much better for him BUT he has also increased the prime on each set change from the recommended prime to 1.5 units of insulin and now leaves the tubing loose. This pushes a little more insulin through the site to prevent a tissue backup, but you will need to test this carefully to see what works best for you.
As for Kelly’s reply, I think Nel if you look her up through Canadian members is also using a steel set, one that is an MM set and she is very athletic and trim, so her infusion set suggestion for an MM pump might help. You could try looking at her home page. I am not sure if it is sureT or not that she is using, but whatever it is… next time we are having difficulty, I will be looking closer at what Nel is using for an alternative that works.
Thanks for your reply Cheryl. David is pretty well the same size as me, about 10 lbs. heavier. I play a lot of sports as well and always have. However, I’m much older at almost age 54. I know that I’ve tried Silhouette’s before. I just can’t remember how long ago and why I switched to Quick-Sets. Could be the length of the canula. I’ve been using 6mm but have been advised to go to 9mm as I’m not as lean in the midsection as I used to be lol. You may have a good suggestion for me. I will see how the 9mm’s work out. If they don’t, I’ll probably to go the 13mm Silhouette’s or even the Sure T. Around this city though, for some reason, Sure T’s don’t have the greatest reputation (probably because they’re steel). I’ll see how it goes. Thanks for your assistance.
Mine was severely. I thought I posted something one this early elsewhere since I want to know how this keeps happening. I switched last night, had a little food and wake up in the 500’s. I took the correction and woke up 6 hours later in the 400’s. at that point I ripped it out and not finding anything wrong and it was bent. I can show a pic of it too if needed. I just would like to know if I’m causing it to occur and what I would need to do to prevent this.
When my daughter wanted to change the type of infusion set we were using I called Medtronic and they sent me 2 samples of every type of infusion set they supplied, so that we could try them out. Free of charge.
My daughter had two quicksets kink in a row. We did put them closer to the belly button than usual, but I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. It happened to be her birthday and we had changed her line right before dinner. When we got home she was 450. I changed it and monitored her overnight. By 430am she was off the chart, meter couldn’t even read it. Changed it again and put it in a different location. Luckily this one was good, but it took all day to get her sugar normal and her ketones down.
