I tend to get lazy when it comes to changing insets. I just realized today this inset has been in for seven days; but I still have enough insulin left that I could wait till tomorrow. Part of the reason I do this is because I hate changing the inset and the other is I don't like wasting insulin. How many people go past the three days as recomended and is there any danger in this?
I sometimes go into the 4th day but no longer than that. Some people find they have higher numbers the third day or after but I do not, and it sounds like you don't either. But another reason not to go that long is that you risk infections which would not be fun.
You say you don't like wasting insulin, which I certainly understand. Another way to go is to compute as closely as possible the amount you need for 3 days and only fill that much. Finally, what I do if I'm into the 4th day and still have insulin left or if there is a problem and I need to change earlier is draw the insulin out of one cartridge with the needle from another. Then I add to it from my insulin vial to make the amount I want to have (after priming). I pretty much do that most of the time, actually, as it's too hard to compute exactly or time it for when you want to run out and change.
I don't know how long you have been on your pump, but I found that changing sets, which was a daunting task to me when I started is no longer a big deal.
I have to change mine every two days. Any longer than that and my blood sugars start to rise a lot.
I think that fresher insulin works better although I will go 3-3.5, maybe 4 days because I also don't like wasting insulin and like to play around running it down to like .5U left before I swap it out.
I almost always change every 3 days, occasionally on the 4th day if I have really overfilled the reservoir. I usually fill with about 75-80 units, which will get me through 3 days with some left over. I also start noticing blood sugar rises by the third day, especially when the weather is warmer.
You know that you can change your set and leave the old cartridge in. You would have to prime it but not throw away everything. You can change your cartridge without changing the set. They don't have to be done at the same time. One reason for changing is leaving it in longer causes scar tissue problems.
Like Zoe, I sometimes go into the 4th day but not often. I only fill the cartridge with a bit more than I'll need. Haven't had a problem with site infections or anything, and I'm not willing to risk it.
You can change your lancet and leave your old reservoir in there. I do that all the time. Granted, newer insulin works better, but I find that as long as it's not summer (and my insulin isn't exposed to lots of heat), I get the same result. If you don't want to do this, just don't fill the reservoir. Only put in enough for about 3 days or so.
You want to make sure you're changing your infusion every 3-4 days. Longer than that and you risk poor absorption and the development of scar tissue.
I'm curious if it's OK to leave a CGM sensor in place for six days why is it not OK to leave an inset in place that long? I'm trying to figure out what the differance is since I'm new to all this technology.
I have only been on a pump for 4 weeks and changing insets is getting easier and less stressful. The funny thing about the insulin in the cartridge is it was out of a vial that just turned 28 days old; so I changed it and through the rest of that insulin anyway. So much for trying to save the insulin. I wonder why they have an experation date on the box of 05/2014 but when I decided to open it in 10/2011 it goes bad in 28 days. Today I tried not to overfill the cartridge for what I need but it is very hard to tell how much I need because of changing basal rates and IC rates so much now. I guess in a few more months I will understand everything alot better. I am starting to think shots are easier than this. Tired of getting up every night trying to get basal rates set right. Starting to get a bald spot from scratching my head so much. I just wish I had ya'lls wisdom. I keep reading pumping insulin and all I have learned is I suck at word problems. I love it though; my training with animus was over as of Thursday and I still don't have the settings right. How do you enjoy life if all you do all day is try to figure out how to get your pump set right?
Tired of being Diabetic. Maybe I'll wake up from this nightmare.
sometimes i go a fourth day without realizing because i may have eaten less, i recently went to my doctor and he told me to be changing it every two days because its fact that if the insulin stays in a site for longer it does not work as good, and numbers could be lower than they are, i have also started to only fill up the insulin half way to avoid wasting it !
It gets easier, uniboy...honest! You do need to put a lot of thinking energy into it at first, and it takes awhile with trial and error to get the settings right. Keeping good records helps, because then you get useful information about what numbers need changing. But once you get it all figured out it becomes routine. I still tweak my numbers occasionally of course...I AM a Type one after all..lol. But I definitely don't spend a lot of time thinking about it and actually do a lot less computing in my head than I did on shots! Repeat after me: It WILL get easier!
My site schedule and insulin reservoir schedule is seldom in sinc. I usually change my ite every 3 - 3.5 days. After that, they begin to itch. what I do when I change the site and don't need to change the insulin cartridge is to suspend the pump, change the Inset, and then prime the new inset. Of course, the whole system is primed when I change the insulin cartridge. I waste very little insulin that way, and everything works as it should. I have only once had a bad inset, and for some odd reason, it kinked. The only thing that happens is that there is an extra infusion tube lying around that needs to be added to the new insulin cartridge. this plan works well.
Be well.
Brian Wittman
..... yeah I go 4-6 days with the same inset. I am not proud, just very very forgetful. I am working on it. After the 4th day the site gets harder and angrier. It can be dangerous. I am in school- why I forget/too busy- where I am learning about bacteria/body's own defenses, etc. including scar tissue build up, etc I def recommend 3 days and not past 4 days.
I too change the set and keep using the cartridge, etc. I equally dislike refilling my cartridge so I fill it to the top- lasts me almost a week or more.
Thanks Zoe. I was not having a very good night; mentally.I hope today will be better. I have been having alot of ups & downs since I have learned I'm T1 instead of T2. I look at the charts in pumping insulin and it makes no sense to me. So I am stuck with trial and error. For the basal rate in the morning I was only going up 0.025 at a time with no results so now i'm going up 0.100 at a time and now starting to show some improvement. I know one morning I will come crashing down but I will look at that as victory after I have been fighting with this for a month. To me this has turned into a game of russian roulett. I hope I win. I hope your right about it will get easier.
I am very glad I found the tudiabetes web site. It has been a big plus.
I understand, Uniboy. I also was misdiagnosed, but for me the Type 1 diagnosis was just confirmation of what I had figured out already and meant I could get started on the right treatment. I do remember feeling pretty overwhelmed at times though and when I started my pump (2 years after starting insulin) I went through another period of overwhelm.
It does sound like you're on the right track - starting conservatively, going up a bit and looking at results. Personally, I paid less attention to the charts and formulas in Pumping and more to the general principals and procedures. I think the formulas are just guidelines and don't hold true for everyone. You sound like you're like me, tweaking your own numbers rather than waiting for a doctor to tell you what to do - it works for me, because I developed a good understanding of what I was doing and why.
If you are slowly going up and seeing the results, you will hit a tipping point, but shouldn't really crash. Another key is to look at the different times of day and see if you have highs some times and lows the others and then create separate "time zones" for your basals. I have 7 I believe.
I always leave the set in for four days. Have been doing it for years and have had no problems.
For the CGM, I do this:
Charge the CGM SUnday morning and insert a new sensor.
On Wednesday when it Sensor Ends on me, I link to a "new" sensor, tricking the system.
Do the same thing on Satursay and begin the routine again on Sunday.
My CGM coach told me that I could leave it in for 6 days, and I just go to the seventh. However, I have to change it Sunday morning or the battery runs out of steam.
From what I know it's not so much the lining that is the problem, as it is leaving the "needle" in your body. Overtime scar tissue can develop, and you can get clumps under the skin that will make your site much more averse to absorbing your insulin.
I'm surprised you have that much left in after 7 days, I usually run out of insulin in 3.
I have six different basal settings now and three different IC settings.
I had only been on insulin for a few months and then next thing I know I'm being told I need a pump. I went to this one class where all the sales reps are there trying to sell you there product. All of them were asking me if I was excited about getting a pump. I told all of them HELL NO; Don't really want one. I see where alot of people on here are excited about getting a pump. I hope one day I fill that same excitement.
Go back to my endo on the 9th; can't wait to see what her reaction is going to be on all the changes I made. The week before I go back to see her I'm going to run a 24 hour basal test so I can see what she thinks.
It is the CGM for seven days, not the pump, if your reply was to me! :)
I usually go 4-5 days in the winter. If the temp is higher than 92 in the summer I change it every 2 days and put less insulin in the cartridge. I've gone 6 days by accident and suffered no ill effects. My complaint is that the medical supply company the insurance company made me use gave me the largest size pump which holds a lot more insulin than I need. I hate to waste all that money (insulin) so I never fill the cartridge more than half full.