Just got my new 522! I’m thrilled! But I decided to switch infusion sets from the Soft Set to the Sillouhette. Any idea how you hook those up? I figured you fill the tubing first, then clamp on the set, then use the serter to insert. Right??? It’s a very confusing little set. I’m waiting for a trainer to call me back, but I’m mystified!
Thanks, That did occur to me. I am hoping the trainer, who will be back from Diabetes Camp this weekend, will be able to help me out with it. I think I need a live person to show me how it works. Don’t think a tech person will be much use for this one.
I like my quicksets, the looks of the Sillouhettes freaked me out, just what you want to hear I know. Sorry I am no help, hope you find the answer soon 
Thanks, Karen. It took me 8 years to get past being freaked out by them. I took one apart last night and they’re even freakier up close. That’s a really long inserter needle! Got to try them though. When I get ready for competitions, I get too lean for my soft set micro’s. The 90 degree angle causes the cannula to rub against my muscle tissue and bend. Then I get no delivery errors. Just a big mess. The Sillouhettes are designed for exceptionally lean people. I guess competitive bodybuilding puts me in that category 
I’ll let you know how they work out…
I use the Sils in my thigh. When I put one in the inserter needle still hits muscle and I end up bruising and getting a knot, but the cannula doesn’t sit in the muscle. Personally when I use the sil I insert it manually as I don’t care for the inserter much. That and I use mastisol to get my infusion sets to stick and the sil serter gets stuck to my skin. LOL
You connect the tubing to your reservoir and prime it so you fill the tubing. You do not connect it to the cannula at this point!! You insert the cannula without the tubing attached. I found the serter to be more trouble than it’s worth. It always seems to insert them too deeply. Manual insertion really isn’t that bad. Remove the blue needle guard and the front piece of paper backing on the adhesive. Use your index finger to pull back the front half of the adhesive pad (let it stick to the tip of your finger), pinch up some skin and poke it in. I don’t worry about the angle when I do the initial poke because I just want to get the tip of the needle in. Once I’ve got it in my skin, I adjust my angle to where I want it and push it all the way in. Press down on the front half of the adhesive, remove the needle, and then stick down the back half. Once it’s in, you connect the tubing and do the fixed prime of .7 units. The fixed prime is the same for both the 13mm and 17mm Silhouettes.
I find that if I pinch my skin really hard it hurts less going in. If I really feel the initial poke I’ll often move it somewhere else, because it normally doesn’t hurt much when I insert them.
Also, have you tried the Sure-Ts? They have a metal cannula but it’s very short. It was originally marketed for kids but a lot of adults use them and they work well in lean areas of the body. They’re excellent for arm sites because they’re super easy to insert by yourself. Right now they only come in the 23" tubing so if you like the longer length you’re out of luck.
Thanks Guys! That’s all really helpful! Liz, have you tried the Sure-T’s? I saw them on MM’s website and thought they were even more freaky than the Sils… It seems to be a going trend that the inserter isn’t much, if any, help. I’m on the 23" tubing anyway, so if the Sils don’t work out, maybe I’ll try the T’s. I’m not afraid of sticking myself. I took injections for 25 years. When I was first diagnosed, the syringes weren’t a whole lot friendlier than the Sil’s inserter needle. Does anyone else have issues with the tape sticking? Cody, when I took one apart last night, I stuck it to my hand and thought the tape was pretty secure. I gotta play with stuff before I actually hook myself up to it
I live in AL where there is high humidity so the summer is hard on infusion sets sticking which is why I use the Masitsol. Before I started using it I went through 3 infusion sets in one day from them not sticking.
Yikes! Three in one day is crazy! I typically use IV prep pads with my old sets. The Soft Set doesn’t come with attached tape and if I use a moisturizer I have issues with it not sticking. I’ll try them with and without. Better safe than dropping a set while I’m out running around, right?
I want to thank you all for your help and input. I got my Sil in today, all by myself thanks to Liz’s help! It took me two tries, but you’re right! It’s not that bad at all. Now I just gotta figure out how to get it in my rear end for when I’m in a posing suit onstage I guess that will take some practice, and I have 11 weeks to figure it out. Should be a piece of cake by then!
If you don’t hear from me for a while, I’ll probably have a good hospital story to tell…
Woo Hoo! Postprandial 104 after inserting my first Sil and eating dinner. It was a success!
I have used the Sure-Ts. They are probably the easiest set to insert. They look confusing because there’s a 4" tubing tail attached to the cannula and at the other end is the actual connector, where you hook up the tubing. Since the set has such a low profile and a very short needle, it would be easy to accidentally yank out if the tubing was connected to it. The tail and separate hub stabilize the set. At first I thought it would be uncomfortable having two things stuck to me but it’s not. The hub is just sticking to the skin, nothing is under the skin there.
Congratulations on getting the Sil inserted!
Thanks, Liz! Could not have done it without your help. I still have a trainer coming by to show me how to use the serter for difficult locations… But I’m running at full speed today and have had terrific numbers! I just need to decide if I need something lower profile for under my posing suits