I am having site problems again. I have good absorption when the site isn’t in blood. What should I do? I am getting fed. I would love to grab hold of this great technology but I don’t think it’s working for me. Even if I wanted to take a pump break I don’t know how I would manage. I have a basal pen for my basal insulin but what do I do when I eat?
Are you using standard insets with teflon cannulas (e.g., Mio’s)? Have you tried changing to steel ones, e.g. Sure-T? A lot of people find that can help.
I was using a plastic cannula with the mio sets. I have also tried sure t’s to no avail. My site changes seem to work well for a while and then boom, stuff happens where I can’t get anything to work. I have tried the angled silhouettes… I don’t get kinking. The sites are being diluted by blood in the infusionset. Help. I am so upset right now. My hopes of a closed loop insulin pump seem to be a distant thing that I won’t be able to use because I can’t get the sites to work! I think my main issue is blood in the cannula. I really don’t want to go on MDI as the pump gives me a healthier a1c. I couldn’t get below 8.0 on injections.
Dee, I hope that the pump works for you. If you decide to stay on MDI I would be happy to help you try for a better A1c.
I have used Injections for 61 yrs. For the past 20 yrs I have eaten different ways, and my A1c’s have ranged from 4.6 to 5.6. I had one 5.9 in the last 20 yrs.
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Gee, thanks. I got a phone call from the nurse at my diabetic clinic. I went over my problem with her and she was able to see my cgm data as I share it with the clinic. She said that by the looks of my data that it doesn’t seem like there’s a problem. I explained how when I correct my sugar isn’t going down as fast as it use to. Or when I bolus for carbs and wait it doesn’t go low or blow my threshold. I see her tomorrow. Maybe she can set me straight. I will keep your offer in my mind. Thankyou.
I’m fighting a similar problem myself. After 30+ years pumping the sites around my abdomen are becoming unreliable. I’m spending far too much time swapping out poorly performing sites that either don’t work from the outset or fail at irregular intervals.
I’m testing different infusion sets. While initially promising, the 6mm TruSteel infusion sets are proving less reliable than I would like. I have always used 6mm cannula length so I have 9mm soft and steel cannula sets that have yet to be tested. I tried the 30 degree angled soft cannula sets. They didn’t work. You might want to get samples of all the available infusion sets for your pump and test them. I get at least 5 of each because one success doesn’t spell victory.
Have you looked at alternate sites?
The last 10 days I’ve been using my upper thigh for infusion sites. My legs are muscular and I work out regularly. I really didn’t think it would work, but so far I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Reasonable adsorption. Not as good as my abdomen but something I can deal with via dosing adjustments. They also don’t last as long as abdomen sites, but I can live when that. I just want consistency! If I move to Control-IQ that’s a ticket to play.
Good luck! Please keep us posted!
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I saw my diabetes educator today and she didn’t think that I needed to take a pump break and to tell you the truth I don’t really want to. The pump gives me so much freedom and I can’t wait for when I am able to get my self regulating pump. She gave me some pointers for my site changes. She said there always will be a little blood but as the cannula goes in the blood clots and gets inserted in the fat. It helps to see a professional as it helps to settle my emotional part. I get upset very easy when things with my d aren’t working out.
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So glad that you will be able to still wear your pump Dee.
Thankyou. The Educator and I changed my basal rate between 10p -12am from .025 to .050. I have been having a bit of a hard time sleeping so I took some Passionflower caps. It is a herb to help relax you. Well, supposedly my dexcom went off at 1130pm for a low. I checked on my dexcom clarity report and it alarmed me at that time. I must have answered the alarm and went back to sleep. The next time it alarmed was at 130am. Urgent low!!! Oh, brother! So I got up and got something. Man, I’ll be so happy when I get the closed loop system so I won’t have to worry about adjusting my basal rate and having lows.
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When I notice that my site isn’t working I reinsert the needle in the cannula and use it again until my site change is successful. I have saved a few infusion sets doing it that way. I have skin tac that helps it to stick it to my skin when removing the insertion needle.
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