What length of tubing for my pump - new user

I don't have any idea of what tube length I need for the tSlim. I got approved today and they will ship next week. There asking me what I would like and I have not idea. Also I don't know what inset I should use.

Anyone have a good idea of what an adult male that runs about 25-30 miles a week and also travels 90% of the time via flights mainly should have? Please let me know your thoughts.

I am definitely not male! I’m 5’9" and use 24" insets (Animas). If you’re taller than that, I’d try the 42" tubing. You could try getting both lengths. Most suppliers will allow return of un-opened sets. With the shorter length, you’ll have to be mindful during those “serious” visits to the restroom. LOL

Thanks - I'm 5'10 1/2" (Yep - I can't claim 5'11" but there's no way I'm 5'10" either). I have 3 lengths to pick from - 23', 32' and 43'. So maybe I'll go for the 32" length.

I just got my t:slim last night and have never pumped before either. I'm waiting on my training before I hook it up so although I have it in hand I have zero experience.

I figured I'd try different infusion sets until I find the one that's right for me, but I started with a 9mm 90 degree cannula because I have a lot of adipose tissue, and I chose the 43" tubing length. My reasoning was that I would either hang myself with it (joke) or find that I preferred it. My CDE is a lifelong pumper and when she was on a tubed pump she preferred the longer tubing because she said she was prone to waking up to go to the bathroom or first thing in the morning and forget she was attached to the pump. She would stand up and the shorter tubing didn't allow the pump to fall to the floor, it would hang off her insertion point sometimes pulling it out.

I can envision myself doing the same thing until I get used to remembering it's there. So I figured I'd start with the longer tubing and see. The downside is that it will probably take longer to prime and from everything I've read the t:slim is a bit slow in that regard. I'm expecting it to take a couple of minutes to prime tubing that long, but I'll know more after I've actually done it!

Good luck! Feel free to friend me if you would like a fellow pumping novice to commiserate with.

Sounds like a good start! You shouldn’t hate that length. I would use that length if my sets offered it. You can also contact Orbit and ask for a sample in three different lengths! That way you’ll have an opportunity to experience them all for free.

Thanks Suz... I read up a bit online last night. I'm going to go with the COMFORT infusion set. I'm more worried about issues like running and how comfortable it will be for me. I know that it's more for lean and athletic people. But I found several people built like me (a bit overweight but workout a lot) that loved it. As far as length I'm torn between 33" and 42". I'm thinking that the 33" would be the better for me. I'm going to request both to start with to see what I like better. I'm hoping the pump will be at the house within the next 5 to 7 days.

You’re not going to want to see your pump worth thousands of dollars fall to the floor especially if there is no carpeting! My insets stick to me like glue! I’ve had a few times when my t:slim was just dangling. It’s never pulled the infusion set out. Perhaps just luck. Since I spent several years with the OmniPod, it was like a part of my body because it had no tubing. It took me a few days to get used to dressing while wearing the new pump. There are “belts” out there; but I haven’t bothered with ordering any. Women have more options than men. I sometimes wear mine in my bra…sports bra at night.

Don’t worry about comfort (pun intended). I SERIOUSLY doubt that you’ll feel that you’re wearing your pump. If you’ve ever had an IV…it’s nothing like that!

I almost always use the 43' length. I am just about 5'6". Reason being, it enables me to put my sites in many places, and still be able to 'hide' the pump if needed. For instance, I often times do sites on the back of my arm, but I put my pump in my dress sock while at work. It is a 'bit' short, even then, but works pretty good. I just roll up the extra tubing and put it inside my pants otherwise. You can't even tell.

I definitely prefer the short tubing. It prevents the pump from hitting the ground if you drop it, and I just end up having to wind the excess tubing around my pump.I am 6'3 and still prefer the short ones. I have never had a need for longer tubing or wished I had it, but when I was on the long ones, I really wished I had shorter ones. You can disconnect them anyway when you need to.

As far as traveling. All of the pump companies warn you that you can not go through the old fashion metal detectors ( magnetometers ) or the new scanners. You also can not put them through the x-ray machine either. This will void the warrantee. The only thing you can do is go for the groping and tell them you have a medical device. I know that people still wear them through the scanners, but I had a pump fail while on vacation. So I stopped doing that. I went through the groping process this last month and it was not as bad as I thought. The tubing length is a non issue in this case because you do not need to take it off for the pat down.

I like the manual insets that go in on an angle. Find I never hit a vein this way and they go in exactly right. The spring loaded ones seem to fail like 25% of the time. I guess it depends on what you are used to how willing you are to poke yourself.

Also the spring loaded sets do not allow you to check the cannula and see if it is still in correctly. Sometimes they come out and you wouldn't know until your sugars spike.Then you have to remove them in order to check. If it was in right, you still have to start over.

Sometimes it is just about trial and error, They will probably send you a few different sets to try them out if you ask them.