Ladies: Pump and Dresses

Hi everyone. I have about 1.5 weeks to go to decide whether to keep the pump. It’s a minimed 722. So far, I’m not the biggest fan. I’ve had A LOT of problems with the infusion sets. So that is a major strike against keeping it. Another problem is dresses. I have a lot of them, and I can’t find a way to wear them and the pump. Let me list what I have tried: bra, side of bra, medtronic leg strap(kept falling)…

ANy suggestions? I have seen some of the spandex type leg bands, but can’t find a pattern or any for sale.

Thank you!

How about something like the spibelt? Unless the dress is very clingy, I would think that would work well, especially if you twisted it so the pump were on your hip or back. I haven’t worn a dress since I started pumping, but that’s what I plan to do.

Just a comment on the infusion sets. I’m on the Animas and it’s just short of 3 months. I don’t know anything about sets for the minimed, but assume they are similar. For the first two months I had lots of problems with sets and now I have very few. I definitely think there is a learning curve as for correct insertion, which type set works for you, sites, etc. So if that is your only concern you might want to consider trying a bit longer (and if you plan to try a different pump you might not have a different experience)

There is a remote option for the 722. It’s not too sophisticated at all, but we’ve used for dresses. It looks like the little key fob you use to unlock your car. You push the button to send insulin (you preprogram how much insulin each button push gives out).

At least then you wouldn’t have to worry about digging out your pump to eat (if it’s in bra or whatever).

Ugh you just rulled out what I do. I put it in the side of my bra. Another suggestion I have (which since you have lots of dresses might not work) I buy skirts and clip it on them.

I have several times attached it to the top of my boot. ! OK, so someone asked me why I was wearing a pager on my boot, but whatever. I’m not concerned about hiding it. That was quite convenient, because you can bolus easily. But you have to make sure your infusion site is low enough! (If you’re on the tall side, anyway.)

Also, it obviously won’t work in the summer, when we ladies aren’t wearing boots.


So I also just bought a custom leg thing from T & J design, which I haven’t used yet, but which looks really promising.

I bought a generic pair of Spanx to use with dresses and my insulin pump. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding and needed to have a place to hide the pump and the Spanx worked wonders. I had it on the side of my leg for the whole day and the thing didn’t move. Obviously this doesn’t work with a really tight dress, but I try not to wear dresses that tight. I do have a remote, so I don’t need to be able to access the pump in order to bolus.

Jayna

I swear by my leg strap pump holder from http://www.tandjdesign.com/

Have to comment here. First, keep trying with the pump. There are several types of infusion sets, and MM will send you several of each kind to try. I like the stright in ones, but I know some like the angle better.

Dresses are hard. My answer to most of the fashions questins is always the same: POCKETS! If the dress has a pocket, open the seam just enough to get thinfusion connecter through. Put the pump in your pocket, thread the infusion tube through and connect. I have even added small pump sized pockets to skirts and dresses. Mostly I wear slacks and never buy them without pockets.

Keep working on the pump. It can change your life!

Another option might be to keep the pump, but not use it all of the time. When you want to wear dresses, you can go back to shots for a few days or weeks. I got the MM pump last November and had many of the same problems you described. I decided to go back to shots for a few weeks and it’s been great.

Oops, I’m spoiled, I have the Ping which has a remote and I do all my bolusing from there. I didn’t think about having to access under your clothes.

I have been type 1 for 21 years now. I wore a minimed pump for almost two years, and went off it about a year and a half ago. While my pump gave me great control, it also drove me nuts (irritated my skin at the site & eventually didn’t work for me due to scar tissue issues). I could never get it to disappear under a cocktail dress, and the leg bands always fell down - it was a nightmare & I usually ended up disconnecting it, and then reconnecting it to give a bolus until I could wear it again.

I have been able to get my diabetes under the same great control using injections since then and will likely never go back. I enjoy the freedom of being without the pump too much. Decide whatever works best for you, but know that you can achieve great control using your diet and injections if you decide to go without :slight_smile:

This is one of the reasons why I think the Omnipod is leaps and bounds above all the others. I love dresses, a lot. Then I started on the MM522. No longer could I wear a dress that didn’t have pockets without having to excuse myself to the restroom to dig it out of my bra and bolus. Pockets do make things easier b/c you just cut a hole in the pocket for the tubing. But dresses with pockets are rare. And cute dresses with pockets are even rarer.

So basically, I don’t have any helpful hints. I tried the spandex around the thigh thing and it just kept falling down. Off to the restroom was my only solution.

With the Ping you don’t need to worry about digging out your pump either, Kimberly, because you can do all the actions you would do from the pump from the meter remote.

I’m a brand new ping pumper. I got the tallybelt (tallybelt.com) and it’s worked beautifully under dresses. Wouldn’t want to have to fish it out though. I also ordered a pack of mitten clips (remember those?) and made some 2-sided clips in various lengths. I use them to attach my meter in a baby sock to pajamas, the inside of nightshirts, etc. Maybe something like that would work as a garter to keep your leg thing up?

Now that I think about it, couldn’t we just clip it to underpants as well? I do that for sleep, so don’t see why it wouldn’t work for under a dress as long as the dress wasn’t tight and it was on a corner or back?

When I had a pump I clipped it to the middle of my bra in the front. This works if you’re a size B or up otherwise the pump will show. If I had a dress that showed cleavage but was flowy under the waist I would clip the pump to my underwear at the waist (and I’d wear a sturdy pair) and if my dress was tight all over I’d wear the pump clipped to the outside of the dress a little below the collar-and be proud! I have used leg bands too but they were all too big for me and would slip down my leg :frowning:

Good luck and don’t give up trying!

At least I know I’m not the only one who has had problems!

Who makes the Ping?

Thanks everyone! I am going to look into the T&J. I also found a tallygear website.

With the infusion sets, the biggest problem for me is that I am very thin. Even in the spots with the most excess skin tend to hit muscle etc. I occasionally had problems with shots, but not often because of pinching up skin.

Unfort. the Medtronic people I have been dealing with locally are not so helpful. I was told the quickset were made for the thinnest people… found out through the accounting department that wasn’t the case. I had one of their NPs tell me that due to my “stage in pregnancy” she understood I was having problems. I told her I wasn’t pregnant… she asked if I was sure. I repeated myself two more times before she quit asking me if I was sure… I am hesitant with working with people who don’t seem to have a clue.

Hi Brittany. I think Sure-Ts were made for children and thin people. It might be worth trying them if you haven’t already.