I knew at some point in my new pump adventure I’d move from excited to freak out but I didn’t think it would happen before I even started insulin! So I had my first session with my pump trainer today and I told her I don’t like wearing clothes when I sleep. She reassured me I would do fine with the 23 in set (I got both lengths) and that I could just put it under a pillow. I’m a restless sleeper at best; I sleep mostly on my stomach or side, but I do tend to shift around a fair amount during the night. So I started with the pump under the extra pillow and then practiced turning over and I immediately wound the tubing around my body! That can’t be good. So I put on some loose pants and hooked it on the back; that solved the problem of wrapping myself in tubing but then I wondered what would happen if I rolled over onto my back onto the pump!
Ok, now I’m completely awake…sigh. Any suggestions from you seasoned pumpers? Preferably that don’t require clothing. Does the longer tubing work better?
eh, i found a cell phone case that fits mine that has a soft clip so i only wear underwear to sleep and snap it onto the thinnest part of my panties on the side. problem would be that i wear it on my right side and i sleep on my right side. so i sleep on it every night. for years now.
i don’t know about the ping but my 2020 is fine. sometimes it digs into my hip and i shift around until it isn’t.
if you don’t have it in a case, there is likely to be a feature like the 2020 where you can ‘lock’ the keypad.
ah yes, here it is: the ping manual says this
Tamper Resistant (Locked) Feature
You can use the tamper resistant feature to prevent accidental button pressing. Simply wake up
your pump and press and hold the [up] and [down] buttons at the same time until the screen reads
“(LOCKED)”. This locks your pump buttons. To unlock your pump, wake up your pump so the screen
reads “(LOCKED)” and press and hold the [up] and [down] buttons at the same time until the screen display
wakes up.
oh, and i used to have a thing i made to wind the tubing up on but it wore out and i haven’t made a new one so i’ve been sleeping with loose tubing for about a year now. i rarely lose an infusion set in the night because of it [although i wear a taped down cleo90]
Thanks, marti. I knew I could count on some responses soon enough to help me sleep tonight! That’s good to know that you can sleep on it and not hurt it. Thanks for copying the info from the ping manual! My pump trainer did teach me that today and it’s one of the things I actually remembered!
That “stick it under a pillow” thing I think would only work if you stayed in one position all night.
I had the same problem. I put the pump in my left hand and hold it. Eventually it became my new norm. When I roll over i grab it without thinking (or waking) and it just moves with me. Give it some time. You’ll love pumping once you get past some of these minor hurtles.
When I first got my pump (I use an Animas Ping) I would keep it in a pants pocket or something but it was always a hassle – I would be constantly adjusting it and I would wake up with pump clip indentations in my skin. I found since that I’m most comfortable when I just set the pump next to me in bed and leave it be. I am also a pretty restless sleeper, so sometimes I wake up on top of my pump or wrapped in the tubing but it is never a problem. The worst is when my boyfriend ends up on sleeping on top of the pump and I have to wake him up to get it back. (Although sometimes I wake him up by remote blousing a 0 unit dose of insulin and the pump vibrates under him while he’s sleeping…he hates it but I find it strangely entertaining.) The weirdest part to get used to is remembering to grab the pump when you climb out of bed or you’re left with a pump dangling from your side… Unfortunately, sleeping with the pump is going to require some adjustments but you’ll be used to it in no time – just try different things and find something that works.
i put mine in the back pocket of my pj’s, but it never stays there. so i just end up having it in the bed on its own (not under a pillow). im a pretty restless sleeper too and ive never gotten tangled up in my tubing. if my site is in the back of my arm, it sometimes gets pulled out, so i usually ace wrap it to my arm before i go to bed. it does fine in my stomach though.
oh yeah, and i ALWAYS lock the buttons before going to sleep. i had a friend that accidentally gave herself a pretty big bolus in her sleep.
I found I can’t depend on just leaving the pump next to me. I haven’t pulled the site out many times (10-15 in 14 years), but not doing it at all is so much nicer! Good luck.
I bought a Spibelt to put my Dexcom in because you have to keep that fairly close. When I first started pumping, I was putting the pump in my pockets at night and a lot of nights, it would come out & I was pulling the tube off the pump – if you pull the tube but not the cap, it doesn’t beep at you so I wasn’t getting insulin. I started putting the pump in the Spibelt at night and that has worked out pretty good.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! It seems like I will have lots of ideas to experiment with. Fortunately, the first one from marti came in last night and worked quite well for me, so I was able to get to sleep. I am not a good sleeper so I needed an idea that would not wake me up thinking about what the pump was doing.
That is hysterically funny, Chemist! I was worried enough about my cat, let alone a whole other human being in the bed!
Mary Ann, the cool thing is that we have each other to learn from! When I couldn’t sleep and didn’t know what to do with the pump I just got up and got online and I knew that someone on tudiabetes would give me a suggestion in a very short time. Our combined experience is worth any number of Animas personnel or doctors!
I use a Waist-It, it’s a soft belt that has a velcro fastener & a little pocket for the pump that also has a velcro fastener to stop the pump falling out. It works great, when you get out of bed you don’t need to worry about the pump dangling down at your side, like you I wear nothing in bed. They are sold in the Animas store or at the Diabetes Mall www.diabetesnet.com. If you search the web for insulin pump accessories you will find other similar products.
Thanks, Annabella. I was waiting to order stuff until I figured out what I really wanted/needed. But I can see how that would make life much easier, so it kind of has a “home” and you don’t need to keep moving it around!
Yep, it was good fortune that you were the one that was up when I posted! I’m also going to order and try the Waist-it because that sounds like it’s good for all situations too, but at least now I know I can sleep. i get very grumpy when I can’t sleep! (Don’t we all!)
yes agreed! this will be my first night with the pump ! there is saline in it now for practice,saturday will be the insulin well see how it goes tonight
We are definitely on the same schedule. I started yesterday and I get insulin on Saturday as well. Hopefully you will learn from my experience and figure out what to do for bedtime, not wait till 1AM to figure it out like I did!
I gotta try this sometime (well once I am on the pump) as I do sleep over my boyfriend’s house and he sometimes sleeps over mine. I was gonna ask how do I sleep with it if he is with me. Good to know
Zoe I had the same question when I started my dexcom. I was so nervous sleeping with it. Now I was gonna ask the same question as you once I did get my pump (or did I ask for advice on this, I can’t remember). But good to see suggestions from others
