Hello everyone
It’s been an eternity since i last posted here…
but after 3 happy years on MDI, i am back on a pump. And a new one, it is!
As mentioned in this conversation https://forum.tudiabetes.org/t/new-pump-coming-to-canada/
there is a new pump on the market, by the small swiss company Ypsomed.
This pump was already on the market here for a year before i switched to it in October. Overall it is a great tool, it is amazingly small, comes with pre filled cartridges (for now only novo log, but you can fill other insulins in empty cartridges as usual). What I love about it is how basic it is, no fancy extras, just what i need.
the only bumps i have had so far were clogged infusion sets. this was pretty frustrating for me in the beginning, as i use steel cannulas, and back on my old pump (medtronic, which i gave up in 2015), those steel cannulas never gave me any problems. what i found out now though, is that these cannulas probably only clog with FIASP insulin. it is very misterious to me, but my doctor confirmed to me that he has other patients with the same problem. So now i have been trying out all sorts of insulins, and will probably switch back to Novolog, or maybe Apidra.
Any other people struggling with FIASP in pumps?
so that is my short story about my new pump
i searched for other posts on this specific pump (but found none), so if i made a redundant post let me know!
I am happy to answer any questions for people interested in this thing
No, the clogging Insulin was FIASP.
But I am trying out Apidra to try to resolve the issue. FIASP in Pens worked awesome, but with the pump it’s a pain. There are some German Blog posts about this issue, so it seems to be quite known…
That is interesting as the posts which I have read were entirely about Apidra and nary a mention of Fiasp.
It peaked my interest as we use Fiasp in our Tandem t:slim X2 pump and do not encounter clogging or occlusions at all.
As with most things related, there appear to be significant differences among people’s experiences.
Thanks for updating us on your diabetes-tech. I’ve been using Apidra for several years now and it’s seeming incompatibility with some pumps would influence my future pump choices.
I have not read much about Fiasp pump incompatibility but have read plenty about some people, like Tim Street, who did really well with Fiasp but then encountered troubles after their successful beginning. You may find this story from Tim’s UK blog informative.
Thanks for stopping in. I hope your studies are going well!
Is this the pump you are using?
The pre-filled insulin cartridges remind me of the Snap pump that many users liked. The Snap’s manufacturer, Asante, went out of business a few years back. Closed-loop developer Bigfoot bought up Asante’s pump assets.
yes, that’s my pump. In addition to clogging, i did also find FIASP less effective, but only after switching to the pump. I find it still OK if i inject it by pen/Syringe. YDMV for the win!
we will see how this pump company does in the future. however, they have quite some advantages, the swiss/european pump market is smaller than the US one (tandem not available here, animas was not in switzerland either, etc.). Plus they have a really nice customer support, really wanting the patient to feel important and heard, whereas medtronic is upsetting quite a lot of pumpers around here lately. I even got a chocolate advent calendar from them! yay for a happy pumper
but in the end, only time will tell if they make it.
I’ve been on Medtronic pumps since 2002. I tried Apidra in the pump but after several months it started clogging. I’ve never had that problem with Novolog or Humalog (depending on who my insurance company likes this year.)
Hey, @swisschocolate, just curious if you’re still having clogging issues with Fiasp and the Ypsopump? I use Fiasp in my Animas pump and will be switching to the Ypsopump in the next couple of weeks (just have to get a training date). The Ypsopump is new to Canada, so I don’t know anyone else who uses it. Here’s hoping I can continue to use Fiasp with it, though I can switch back to Apidra, if necessary. I was using steel sets with my Animas pump and will stick with steel sets with the Ypsopump. I’m looking so forward to being able to pre-fill cartridges as much as 30 days ahead of time and to being able to use an inserter with steel sets.
Hi @Jen , sorry for this late reply. When experiencing the clogging issues, I switched back to NovoRapid, with that it was better. But since March I am now on the Minimed 670G, with that and FIASP I have no issues. I also used the steel sets with my Ypsopump. I know a few who use the Ypsopump, some are struggling with clogging, others are not. Wishing you the best of luck, feel free to ask anything, sorry again for the late response, I am enjoying myself on exchange here in hot Tunis . Hope you are well!
Your comment sent me looking for insulin and viscosity information. I discovered the 2017 study below that found when insulin denatures, its viscosity increases. I didn’t look into to any viscosity differences in Fiasp, however.
Thanks for your response! Interestingly, I have been using the Ypsopump for the past week and a half with Fiasp and steel sets, and today experienced an occlusion while attempting to bolus. I disconnected the tubing and was able to prime that, but when I bolused again, I got another occlusion. I stupidly decided to deliver the bolus in smaller increments, which appeared to work (in that I got no occlusion alarm), but now my blood sugar is 25.6 mmol/L two hours after eating (I was 5.7 mmol/L prior), so I don’t think I’m getting insulin. I’ll be watching this occlusion issue closely, thanks for alerting me to it!
[EDIT: After changing my site (and doing an injection, of course), I primed through the old set and got zero insulin. When I primed through the tubing, I think I got some insulin, but it’s hard to tell. So either the tubing and/or the infusion set clogged completely. I will definitely not try to “prime through” any future occlusion alarms! I’ll switch to NovoRapid and see how that works if this happens regularly.]
I haven’t switched over to NovoRapid yet. I did have a second occlusion a day or two after that first one, but that time it appeared to be a site issue because I was able to prime through the tubing and set. I haven’t had any issues since.
I love Fiasp so really do not want to switch. But I will give NovoRapid a try if I have any further issues.
yay for a happy pumper 
. Hope you are well!