Yesterday, I got a letter from Accu-chek titled "“Urgent Medical Device Correction”. Evidently they have determined that people have been experiencing mechanical errors due to small amounts of insulin dripping into the cartridge compartment because of improper cartridge changing. It included what could happen, error codes, and a two page training paper with 19 color photos showing the proper steps.
So all the time I’ve been using their pumps, I’ve been doing it wrong! (I’ve never had this type of error however, lucky me). Maybe I won’t say how MANY things on the training paper I was doing wrong, but the worst is I wasn’t connecting the infusion set to the cartridge before I slid the cartridge into the pump after correctly adjusting the piston rod to the volume of insulin I’d put in. The other thing you’re not supposed to do is hold the pump upright when inserting the cartridge.
I received it yesterday Marie. With the exception of holding the pump at an upside down 45 degree angle when inserting the cartridge, I have been pretty spot on.
The 45 degree angle thing is pretty bogus if you have secured the screw on adapter and luer lock tubing correctly.
The two big things they appear to be after is insuring you don’t get liquid (aka - insulin) in the cartridge chamber, and having the plunger seated into the bottom of the new cartridge properly.
Liquid in the cartridge chamber can lead to frying the pump since the insides aren’t IPX-8.
If the plunger isn’t seated into the bottom of the new cartridge properly, you might have an extended period of non-delivery while the plunger is moving, but not pushing the requested insulin out of the cartridge.
My reading between the lines leads me to believe that some people have ignored or not understood the alarms associated with these two conditions.
Bottom line of course, is to follow the procedure each time. In the 16+ years I have been pumping with various Disetronic/Accu-Chek pumps, I think I have been pretty close to perfect (ha!!! yeah, right!!!)
It sounds like the “mistakes” are pump specific. I still use my old Deltec Cozmo and was trained by my CDE to cap the cartridge and slide it into the pump in an upright position…
Sounds incredibly complicated compared to the process for the Asante Snap pump I use – and even there I do one thing wrong, though I do it intentionally. They told me the exact opposite - that the pump SHOULD be held upright when connecting the tubing to the cartridge after inserting it into the pump. Supposedly, that failure to do this may interfere with the autopriming action. I find it much easier when it’s not upright, and have not had it fail to give me a priming “bath” every time.
well, these companies are extremely afraid of being sued, and therefore give you instructions on every area how to use the pump, so if you do one thing wrong you cant sue them. i always think: if it has been working for so long, it can’t be wrong…
marie i hope you are still alive, or has this false usage led to the pump giving you too much insulin and you going into a coma? i always get annoyed by letters from the pump companies about so trivial stuff. the other day we got a letter from medtronic telling us that if you are in the bolus menu and push the down arrow once you directly go to the max bolus, which had always made sense to me. apparently some stupid folks didnt know and had injected themselves the max bolus amount.
not sure if i should feel sorry for them…
That bit about the insulin spritz when connecting the tubing is one of the Snap’s little personality quirks–yup! I’ve evolved an elaborate arrangement of Kleenex tissues to keep it from going everywhere. Proper upright orientation of the pump is not a priority factor in this arrangement, to be sure, but I’ve never had any problems.
Well, not sure how it’s handled outside the US, but here it’s not just a letter, it’s an elective recall program. In my case, it was not just correcting the wrap-around … though I decided that changing that would be nice since I could do a 0% temp basal by just pressing & holding the down arrow.
But I also had an annoying scratch on the display of my pump. I was considering trying to coax Medtronic to do a warranty replace, but, after I stumbled upon it, I decided to go through the recall program since it seemed an “easier” way to exchange my pump with a “better” one. I was really surprised that they chose to overnight me a brand new 723 as the replacement.
And besides, when they updated the firmware, maybe, perhaps, could be that they included updates to the CGM calibration algorithms? A man can have silly dreams (self-delude?), can’t he?
The pic below is how Medtronic still does firmware updates for their pumps. You’d think given all the cost involved they’d work harder to being able to do it electronically, the way Dexcom & now the Tandem t:slim and t:flex pumps have done it.
I just got my brand new pump today. I’ll be asking about this for sure.Or at least I will pay close attention to training! Otherwise hope I like this pump system. The service has been great so far!
If possible, please start a new topic in the Insulin Pumps subcategory and post about your experience. Personally, I am always interested to hear how the learning process (if any) goes for people new to an insulin pump.
I’m always especially curious what sort of training people are given these days. I started in 1997 and didn’t really go through a more formal “face to face” training. Not the way the person whom I later found out was supposed to train would have preferred, but … oh, well.
Oh gosh, I’m not new. I had a 508 Minimed in 2000, followed by Animas IR1000, 1200, 1200 plus, Cozmo, Ping, Revel and now just received Accu-chek. I’m going to definitely do this training since it is brand new to me. My new lovely health plan has a dreadful 50 percent copay on pumps and supplies. Though I wouldnt have minded a new Ping (mine is 8 years old), the quote I got from Animas was double the Accu-chek quote. I am keeping my Ping, and sending in an older pump for some extra credit, I din’t want a pod for sure, and the Snap didnt offer Novolog cartridges. No other pump was on my priority list except a new Ping or the Combo pump. We shall see how it all goes.
Update: While the customer service at Roche was pretty darn good, I didnt like the pump for the features that were missing. Returned the pump, and am back to my old Ping for now. Simply a matter of what works best for me.
Congratulations on the new pump. I certainly considered Accu-Check for the bigger cartridges, but after I Animas was denied by my insurance, I ended up with the Snap, which DID get covered. @irrational_John - I was new when I got the Snap in November. Asante provided me with a CDE who gave me up to 4 hours of training up front (by the end of which, I was using the pump with insulin. The CDE then set up calls with me after 24 hours, 72 hours, 1 week and 2 weeks - plus, I could call her any time in between with questions. I provided logs before each of the calls, when the CDE helped me adjust settings and told me how to proceed for the next period. This was all during the “free trial” period, but at the end of that, I was good to go.
`Snap just got started in my state, but they didnt offer Novolog so that ended any deal right there. Hope it turns out to be a wonderful pump for you. I believe we need lots of choices in the pump market!
The pump has been great for em, so far. And, while I’m technically inclined enough to work out how to use almost anything, I appreciate the simplicity of the design and the ease of use – has made my transition to a pump easier.
I also appreciate that they pay close attention to user requests in designing their updates and upgrades.
I know that they don’t offer Novolog yet – I am hoping they get that approved soon. I can NOT use Humalog, due to a sensitivity to something in the mix. Been working it out, somewhat “off-label” with my endo’s support, but for Asante to succeed in the market, I agree that they need to get other insulin options approved and out there soon.
