…NOW
Here to hear your news 
According to other’s experiences, you should keep the same basal rate but lower units at boluses, but your diabetes may vary !
Are you using a minimed pump? If so I have some not so good news. I have been using a minimed pump 722 for over 15 years and just recently my docotr switched me to Apidra. I started to get No Delivery messages. I spent 3 months trying to identify the problem and have done some pretty extensive testing to find out what was causing the problem.
Here is what I did and found out. I changed my all the consumables to eliminate a possible mfg issue. I had a new pump delivered and I started using sites on my body that I never used before to eliminate the possbility of scar tissue. The last test I ran was with the older pump and I ran the pump, not attached to my body and after pumping for two hours the dreaded No Delivery appeared. The tubing became plugged by the Apidra.
Please be aware fo this existing problem. It doesn't happen all the time but if you start getting No Delivery meesages I would suggest you go back to using your older insulin.
I am back to using Humolog and have not had a single No Delivery message in the two weeks using the Humolog.
Gary
Thanks for that info, Gary. I had no idea that Apidra had these issues. I did, however, find my sugars more unstable and less predictable with Apidra (not to mention the inability to carry spare vials with me at room tem/p and the pain in the butt with changing reservoirs every other day), so I switched back to Novolog. Apidra seems to have so many caveats with it that it’s just not worth it for me.
Strange, though. I’d heard of the same occlusion issues you describe… but with Humalog.
Scott Good luck with whatever you try. I guess each individual has their own problem with one thing or another. The only thing I can say is that after 38 years of diabetes the last 15 have been the best because of the pump. I hope I see the day they cure diabetes.
Oh, I am still using the pump, I'm just pumping Novolog (as I have for a few years), not Apidra.
What I experienced with Apidra in my pump was lower sugars the first day of a set and higher sugars the third day. I believe Apidra is more pro-inflammatory than the Humalog or Novolog, which isn't as much a problem for MDI and in with that use the faster action would be worth it. But in a pump, I'd rather wait a while after a bolus to eat than have to change my sets a day early. Anyone else experience the higher sugars on the third day? I know people respond to the different insulins differently so I wonder if it is just me.
I have not had the expereince that Apidra is more unstable at the end of the third day, but then I have not really checked it out.I do have more no delivery messages with Apidra, but not very often,It is usally do to other things ( like a crimped cannula- I have to stop using those quick sets!!) I have an active prescription for Humalog on file at my pharmacy. I may go back to it in February when my Apidra supply is low. Maybe I can get that a1c at 6.0 this y3ear.
God Bless
Brunetta
I also noticed that the my BS was going up on the second and third day with Apidra. I expect that prior to the no delivery messages the normal daily basel is not being delivered resulting in the higher BS. I have now been back on Humalog for over two weeks and I haven't received the no delivery messages and my BS is in its normal range of 120. I am really suprised that the doctors are still working with Apidra since there are so many complaints. I even submitted this web site to the minimed complaint dept as proof that people are experiencing problems with Apidra and the pump.
Good luck to all that use Apidra and hopefully you do not experience the problmes we are having. If you do have problems look at your insulin first before questioning your pump or infusion sets. Doing so can save you weeks worth of high BS.
Gary
All friends which I know and use apidra are very satisfied with it and find humalog too much prone to make bubbles and too heat sensitive.
YDMV
Well, if you look at the literature inside of the box of Apidra, it says that it should only be used for two days. I believe Humalog is not approved for pump use at all. I had switched from Humalog to Novolog even before I began pumping, so that never really became an issue for me.
Humalog was approved not long ago for three days pump use (may 2011 link), but that doesn't change experiences reported ....
Hi GRezGolfer. I got my first No Delivery with my MM 522 recently. It was during the night when I didn't hear it; when I discovered it the next day, I ran high for 24 hours, then low for 12 hours. The whole thing was very disconcerting. (I now use Apidra after finding that Humalog clogged my tubing at the entrance to the reservoir, and find that Novolog is dependable but slow.) So my question is this: did you notice how much insulin was left in the vial when you used it to fill the reservoir, or in other words, does older insulin from the Apidra vial clog more than newer insulin from the Apidra vial?
I run the test with new refrigerator apidra in my old pump and the reservoir and infusion set were new. I let the pump run for two hours using normal basal rate and also gave a bolus of 5 units at the half hour range. At the end of two hours I tried to give another bolus of 5 units and got the no delivery. The tubing, not sure where, was plugged. The reservoir wasn't plugged because I put the blue fill connector on the reservior and was able to push out insulin. This is were I made my decision not to use Apidra again and went back to using Humalog. Now I have used Humalog for my complete pumping life and never had any problems. I even keep my Humalog in my case which is stored at room temp.
I guess this blog is problably not where this conversation should be stored. We are taking up Scott E time. I might just make a new blog about this issue. Trudy, Scott and all if a new blog is better then let me know and I will start a new one. Sorry Scott for filling up your postings.
I think how different insulins work in pumps (and MDI, for that matter) is interesting, so I'd be happy to see a blog on the subject. Thanks for your blog, Scott!
No need to apologize.... I know this has diverged a bit from my original intent, which was as a follow-up to my contemplating switching to Apidra (see that discussion here). If you'd like to start a new discussion about how various insulins work in pumps (you might get a broader audience if you do), you are free to do that, but I don't mind the discussion here.
But if you haven't seen the other discussion I linked to, take a look at that. I learned A LOT from that one.