New Pumper & need some help pls with infusion sets :s

I have been pumping since July 2009. I have an issue with my infusion sites.
I currently use the quick-set 9mm for my paradigm/Minimed 722 pump.

After about a day or two the site becomes sometimes painful & sometimes too painful, and in both cases this is making me so nervous & not feeling comfortable. when I remove my set there is a hard “bump” beneath my skin. It usually takes about a week to ten days to completely vanish.
Also the insulin burns or more like stings like crazy while going in on a bolus. It seems to occur no matter where my site is placed.

I thought it is all about a scar issue but No! because i am really using different sites (abdomen) specially that i am newly diagnosed as type 1 diabetic.
And btw my blood glucose is very well controlled so this means i have no problems with insulin delivery or absorption at all.

I am about 176cm & 72kg (look at my pic: not too thin, i do have some skin & some fat in & around my abdomen only but that’s enough!) and as i already said I am using the quick-set 9mm for my paradigm pump.

My question is: can i use the quick-set 6mm? could it be the solution? sometimes i am always feeling the cannula or even some pain in the infusion set (even in day 1 or 2).

Btw i have no other choices. Minimed only provide Quick-set 6mm or 9mm in my country (lebanon).

So in my case, should i try the 6mm cannula?

Thanks for the advice.

Shad
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What insulin are you using? What you described sounds exactly like my reaction to Novolog and Humalog… it’s not related to the type of set, I’ve used them all and it’s the insulin.

Hey sarah,

I have been using Humalog for 2 years now (by taking shots) and had no problems at all (sometimes some burning but nothing serious at all) and since july 2009 i have been pumping using Humalog too. I donno but i don’t think my problem is related to the insulin type.

Hello Mark,

It is not about someone sending me a 6mm infusion set. i can get it here.
i just wanna know about others experiences & tricks or even solutions in order to solve this issue.

I think it is the Insulin. I have never felt my bolus. I have pumped for 4 years and on insulin for years before that. If it burns, it is Insulin, not the infusion.
I do not think it is quickset. the 9mm will give you more insulin. the 6mm will only slightly lower the rate of delivery, unless you are delivering bolus of 25 more at a time. You can always try novalog. it reacts the same and would be the easy to change.

My first suspicion is the cannula, even before I got to the end of your post. It’s either too long or too steep an angle. Based on your description, it sounds to me as if the cannula is entering muscle.

Try the 6mm or a set that inserts at an angle. I use the Silhouette, others swear by the Sure-T.

Terry

That’ll teach me to read . . . all . . . the . . . way . . . to . . . the . . . end.

Terry

This may be redundant, but did you check your lot number… because lot 8 was recalled for absorption issues and such. If not perhaps you do need the 6mm set. maybe you don’t have enough fat depth for 9 mm…I say try the 6mm… Good luck

Hi Shad, I use the Minimed in Hungary and I have the same problem that they only offer limited infusion sets because it is such a small market. But I asked for Sure-T’s repeatedly and they are starting to offer them now. So I encourage you to ask about them every time you call the representatives. It’s not so hard for them to start carrying more infusion sets if they know there is demand for them!

I had much better experience with the 6mm than the 9mm (but this was related to the cannula bending).

Here Minimed will even let me trade in an un-opened box of infusion sets. So you might be able to get some 6mm’s right away to try. You can also ask them for one sample infusion set.

i have been using the HUMALOG since 2007 and had no problems with it! and yea i need much more insulin than normal … my bolus is about 15 to 20 units … so maybe a 6mm cannula will slow the delivery rate & solve the pain issue…

Hey Kristin!

I really can’t stand trying the sure-T’s!! i really dont like like them! i called them the “torture device”.
I hope i will get better results with quicksets 6mm…

Hey Lydia,

I dont think the problem is about the speed of the delivery because the delivery process in the pump is much much slower than manual injections. Usually its not a big deal if i am facing some burning from humalog or bolus delivery. The main prb is the infection site, even when i am not delivering insulin … if i press on it or turn around it does hurt me sometimes, or even when im removing the quickset, i may still feel some pain in the site for 2 days … i dont know … i think the best thing is to try the 6mm cannula … and then ill see what to do …