Thursday, January 12, 2012

Is It Just Me?

Calling all insulin pump users...

I have a question for you.

So here's the deal: when I unhook my pump to shower or to swim an air bubble often (but not always) appears in my tube.  Right where it connects and it's about an inch long. There is no rhyme or reason to it that I can figure out.  I have tried hanging the tubing down off the counter so that gravity could do its magic.  I have tried lying the tubing flat and I have tried elevating it.

Sometimes it's fine and the insulin fills the tube right up to the edge and I can hook back in without a problem.

Other times there is about an inch of air in the tube.  Those days, I have to do the fixed prime thing to force the air out before I hook back up again.

When I shower, the pump is unhooked for about ten minutes.  When I swim, it's unhooked for about 75 minutes.  I never turn off my basal insulin when it's unhooked so one would figure that, particularly after a swim, I'd come back to find a puddle of insulin.  Nope - normally I find an inch-long air bubble waiting for me.  What about all the insulin that should have flowed through in that hour?

What gives?

It's not a huge deal but I do hate wasting insulin and doing a fixed prime to get the air out always results in a few drops being forced out too.

Swimming three times a week plus showering once or twice a day equals a lot of little drops.

Anyway, just wondering if I'm the only pumper out there with rogue air bubbles...?

2 comments:

  1. I don't THINK that's ever happened to me. it makes absolutely no sense if you leave your basal on (I do too). I'm gonna be sure to check next time I'm unplugged. That would surely piss me off.

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  2. Nope, I haven't noticed a problem. Do you suspend your pump when you disconnect? I don't because I remember my pump trainer said it could cause air bubbles. So maybe if you suspend, try not suspending?? Just a guess though. :(

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