Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jen on January 15, 2011 at 5:54pm

I usually wait until my cartridge is empty before changing infusion sets, even if it means leaving the set in longer than "scheduled" (but I only use sites for two or two and a half days, so leaving them in a little longer isn't really that long). I've sometimes thought about sucking insulin out of the tubing to reuse, as there's also about 20 units in there, but I don't know if it would still be potent or sterile if I did that.

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Permalink Reply by Devon on January 15, 2011 at 5:59pm

I tend to reuse the insulin if there is 20ish unites left, but I'm not sure if I should be doing it...

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Permalink Reply by Mike Ratrie on January 15, 2011 at 6:17pm

??? - I may be missing something. When I change the infusion set (the part that attaches to my body), I just prime enough insulin to fill the canula and keep going. I rarely change out the tubing unless it is damaged in some way.

Mike

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Permalink Reply by nel on January 15, 2011 at 6:27pm

The response will be a 2 part : 1 ) I aim at changing my Sure-T set every 48-50 hours ; most of the time, the time to change the reservoir does not coincide with changing the needle part as was the case today . My pump warns me ,when I have 20 units left ...this happened before Lunch today . Presently 12 units are left and I will only replace the reservoir .
I fill my reservoir to about 1.6 ml .I will have some waste .
I use an average of 20 units a day and hope my record keeping is correct ...lasted 11 days ? ...wow .. You probably could fill your reservoir with less ?

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Permalink Reply by nel on January 15, 2011 at 10:53pm

I have to do some more " research " ...tonight out for dinner, poked my finger and had a BG of 10 ( x 18 ) ??? ...was my aged reservoir of 11 days the culprit or ....?
I use Apidra insulin and do change to a new the vial every 28 days ....cannot avoid waste .

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on January 15, 2011 at 7:35pm

I can't say that what I'm doing is 100% 'correct' per the insulin manufacturers suggestions, but what I do is take the old tubing off of the cannula, add the needled to the cannula and inject any extra insulin into the bottle. I figure that if it is working well enough while away from the bottle in the cannula while in the pump then it is fine to inject it back and not waste 20 some units of insulin. :-/

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Permalink Reply by kmd on January 15, 2011 at 10:21pm

Like Nel, infusion set changes and cartridge/tubing changes rarely coincide for us. I change my daughters infusion sets on a 3 day schedule and the cartridge and tubing when the cartridge is near empty. Makes for very little insulin waste.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on January 16, 2011 at 2:26am

I do the same as Nel and Karen. I change my infusion set and my cartridge totally independently. I change my Sure-T every 2 days and my reservoir about every 10 days. I do throw away the last 15 or so units of insulin because I heard that the Minimed pump delivered less accurately then (but I'm not sure if that's true).

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Permalink Reply by FatCatAnna on January 17, 2011 at 6:06pm

Mike,

I'm pretty well the same way as Karen's daughter. I only fill up my reservoir with enough insulin to see me over 2-3 days (I average about 20). When I run out of juice - I just refill the cartridge with fresh juice (I do a no no - where I reuse the cartridge about 5 times - as long as it's lubed up - I feel that's okay to continue to use). I have heard of some D's drawing up the insulin in the tubing (which in my case would have about 8 units) via syringe, and then putting it back into reservoir. Too much work for me. I'm lazy.

BTW, use the Contact Detach (or Sure T) - so I don't have to fill up the cannula - as this is a straight needle inserted under the skin (I had allergic reaction to the Inset - so Animas sent me a box of Contact Detach to try out - and have never gone back to the Insets since). Hope this makes sense.

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Permalink Reply by Mike W on January 16, 2011 at 3:37am

I just thought it was a package deal, that everything had to be changed out after 3 days.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on January 16, 2011 at 5:02am

That's what I was taught too, but because of all the wasted insulin I tried not changing together and have been doing that for 5 years now. You just need to make sure that when you change the infusion set and not the reservoir that you fill the cannula with enough insulin. This will vary from the type of infusion set you use. I just fill the cannula before inserting it and then do the additional filling the cannula after inserted as usual.

What infusion set do you use?

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Permalink Reply by Mike W on January 16, 2011 at 5:05am

I am using the Animas Inset (6mm) which take .3u to fill the canula.

Thanks for all of the emails, its good to know I don't have to waste so much.

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