Reservoirs for both Medtronic and Animas pumps are plastic. The manufacturers "recommend" that you change your reservoir every 3 days because that is the length of time they have been tested for for approval by FDA and CE. It is basically CYA. I know people use them for up to 6 days without problems. There is also no need to change the reservoirs every time you change the infusion set.
Although some people seem to get away with it it is not advisable to keep your set in for longer than 3 days. The preservatives in the insulin causes irritation at the site which then absorbs less well. Also insulin can clog the cannula. I have to change my site every 2 days or they start to work less well. I can get ~ 4 days out of a reservoir.
I have never had problems with tubing kinking and occluding. I have had problems with cannulas kinking (particularly if inserted in a part of my body that I sit upon). The occlusion alarms on my Animas pump are much more sensitive than on the Medtronic I used to use (which basically never went off).
For the new pumpers on this thread, the KEY is getting your basals set correctly. This requires a lot of basal testing, can be frustrating and generally a PITA but there's no way around it. It's much easier if you use a CGM.
My pump sits in an SPIbelt outside all my clothing, and it gets noticeably warm to the touch from my body heat. Less warm that it would pressed up against skin, but definitely still warm.
My t:slim has so far only given me occlusion alarms when I bolus, never while basal is running (my basal rate is low, 0.375/hr). My impression is the t:slim has a very sensitive occlusion alarm, i.e. these are modest, partial occlusions. Occlusions only seem to happen when I'm sitting down, scrunching up my abdomen, or when I'm flexing my abs, I suppose this generates counter-pressure against which the insulin can't infuse as easily. I'm fairly lean, and use a 90-degree Inset, so my cannula may be close to muscle.
It would seem odd to me if you were not getting alerts if your pump was genuinely fully occluded, I suspect we're talking about partial occlusions at modest, through which the pump can still deliver basal insulin. When these occlusions happen, it would be interesting to remove the infusion set and try to run some insulin through it and see if the set itself was occluded.
I frequently change THE INFUSION SET, WITHOUT CHAINGING OUT THE RESERVOIR (AND i'LL FILL THE RESERVOIR IF IT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND I AMM ONLY ON DAY 2 OF THE INFUSION SET. I JUST PRIMTE THE RESERVOIR-TUBING, AND PLUG IT INTO THE INFUSION SITE. oR, CHANGE THE FINFUSION SITE AND FILL THE CANNULA. I DON'T LIKE TOSSING OUT INSULIN.
Well, that one was at a full right angle, we tested everything else, and blood poured out when I removed it so that was definitely the problem in this case, but no alarm due to my low basal rates. I still would like an alarm rather than quickly climbing to 250 etc. Yeah, that would be interesting. the Tandem tech said the bleeding will stop the insulin.. odd thing was I didn't feel a thing with this and I'm usually super sensitive.
I noticed that also.. I sometimes tuck the tubing under my clothes but I think leaving it ouside pants/skirt and covering it is a good idea to stop it from getting too much heat. But then the cold weather is a problem too maybe.
Unofficially, sure. I just hate throwing away the residual insulin in the reservoir and tubing (about 25 units).
However, if you do get occlusion errors, this may be the lubricant in the reservoir just being gone. I have felt it harder to pull the plunger when filling up the reservoir, and that's when I know it's time to change out. But, it's nice to know that it can be done, in an emergency.
PS: Love the airplane in the background! I think Air Canada has a few as well!
