It’s sad to say goodbye to my insulin pump due to insulin leaking inside my reservoir chamber. I only had my pump for three months as of now but I feel bad to let it go but I am getting A new one because it still in warranty through Medtronic’s I have the 530G . so now I am getting a new pump and color not clear plan like I did have at first I still don’t understand how insulin was leaking inside my reservoir chamber until I smelled a harsh smell of insulin coming from my insulin pump At first I thought the infusion site had came off in the middle of the night but it sure was not that inside the pump it smell like pure chemicals and there is insulin even inside the components of the pump it still works as usual except that Medtronic believes that eventually it’s going to fail on me so just to play it safe they are sending me a new one it will be here this morning at 10a. Am I the only one that has experienced this issue with the reservoirs leaking and damaging there pump or is this something that happens all the time.
Almost 13 years using MM and never had that happen, you might be the “Lucky one”, go get a lottery ticket!
I suspect you probably had a defective reservoir which leaked past the plunger seal. The pump was probably faultless, but I can understand that Medtronic would want to replace it because of the potential for the leaked insulin to cause damage. There have been bad batches of infusion sets and IIRC reservoirs in the past, but I haven’t heard of any recently. Just bad luck I suspect.
When I switched to using a pump 3 years ago my first set of reservoirs was from that recalled batch, which may explain why I had such a rough time with the transition. Haven’t seen anything since, but there is a caution out about turning your insulin vial upright before removing the reservoir when you’re filling it, otherwise insulin may drip out of the vial onto the exterior of the reservoir and cause problems inside the pump. This sounds like a bit more significant leakage than that, though.
I’ve found that in every box of reservoirs there’s usually one that has a sticky plunger that won’t come loose when you go to unscrew it. Sometimes it’s just a bit sticky and releases if you’re careful with it, but often enough I’ve had them spin the whole seal inside the tube and suddenly you’ve sucked a big air bubble into the reservoir and you have to squirt it all back in the vial and start over with a fresh reservoir. So yeah, my confidence in the integrity of those seals is not exactly 100%.
URGENT: CALL MINIMED AND CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR SETS HAVE BEEN RECALLED. AND NEVER USE A SET PAST EXPIRATION DATE. Very dangerous. It’s probably not the pump; it’s the reservoirs. Glad Minimed is sending you a new pump. But call Minimed and read off all the pertinent numbers on every reservoir set you have because reservoirs and sets are recalled. I would not say this happens frequently but it does and has happened at least three times in the past ten years. Other pump companies same thing. There is often an issue with detachment at the site, but this is very concerning. Check expiration dates on all your sets. Never use a set that is past expiration date. And check the numbers on each box of sets with Minimed to see if Minimed sent out a notice to recall those sets. Minimed will replace the defective or recalled sets.
You seem to have your doubts about the viability of those sets I have stashed away which expired back in 2012. Why? What on earth do you think is going to happen to them after only a few years?
I have to agree with @irrational_John. Every piece of medical equipment and medicine has to have an expiration put on it legally and sometimes its, well, ridiculous. Medicines I totally understand, but for some medical equipment it really doesn’t make any rational sense. My husband is an EMT and they have to throw stuff out that is still completely usable but since its expired they have to get rid of it legally and it seems and feels like a waste.
The reason for expiration dates on certain items is exposure to heat and/or cold that degrades the quality of the equipment and/or meds. For equipment, if you keep in a pantry or closet away from extreme heat and cold then you should be good to store it and use it.
The key is understanding the reasoning behind expiration dates on equipment and meds.
If equipment is defective, ie it doesn’t work like it should then get rid of it. Not the same thing as expiring though.
Busybee
I called Medtronic’s and my mini med reservoirs are not recalled at all they told me they haven’t had a recall in like four years but my sets are not being recalled it was just something that just happened. They apologized once again and I am not having anymore problems with my new pump or reservoirs I just think that my pump was going through some problems and that’s why that happened or is just happened because of bad luck I guess with that insulin insulin pump