Note: For new readers or those who've forgotten, I have never been on an insulin pump before this, but I have used three different CGMs prior to this system, I have worn I-Ports, and I'm more than comfortable setting pump settings for other people. And I've been using a jet injector for the last thirteen months. I use Novolin R.
My pump and sensors and infusion sets and manuals(!) and senserter and quick serter and reservoirs and charger and transmitter for the system came on Monday. I spent a few days talking to the trainer and starter and all those people going back on forth on whether or not I need training on the system and to wait and all that, and on when my 30 day return window counts down from.
Last night I decided to try wearing the system. Since I had already set up the pump with the settings I wanted, I put on a temp basal of 0.025 u/hr so as not to be giving myself basal in addition to the lantus, I took out the insulin from the fridge, I took a bath and shaved the areas where I intended to place the sensor and the infusion site, and then I assembled the stuff.
First: I loaded up the reservoir. I put in the full 1.8 mL of air into the vial of insulin, which was a mistake. It was too pressurized. I tried to draw out 140 units of insulin and to not have any bubble and I thought I had succeeded, but when I unscrewed the reservoir from the blue thing that connects the reservoir to the insulin vial, I could see a huge bubble. After attaching it to the connector with the tubing, I had some difficulty pushing the air out, but I think I managed that too. However, it was really difficult for me to tell when the bubbles were all out.
Putting the quick set into the quick serter was not as easy as expected- there was a bit of a trick to getting the set into the serter. And it hurt more than I expected going in. But- it's in. I put it on my left butt cheek. I took a short break before coming back to insert the sensor. The needle looked scary big and I have bad memories of sof-sensor insertions. The sensor went in pretty easily - I put it in my left abdomen. The sen serter hit the area around my abdomen with kind of the distraction thing going for it, and it didn't hurt much. I looked at the pictures of the taping up and tried to do it right, but wasn't sure I got it. I connected it with the transmitter.
The ISIG of the sensor took about an hour to really correspond with my Dexcom readings. Once I calibrated it, it gave readings that didn't agree 100% with my dexcom or my meter, but they were in the neighborhood. Feeling that the enlite sensor was working well, I took out my Dexcom sensor in the morning when the one week period of the Dexcom sensor was up Unfortunately, about 20 hours after insertion, my sensor abruptly failed. I got "weak signal" and they "sensor lost". I called the minimed 24 hour hotline and the woman on the phone said it might have been because I did tape it wrong, but they're replacing the sensor. Then I tried to put in another sensor... but the senserter did not deploy. I called the hotline again and they said my senserter had broken... and it broke that sensor with it. So they're replacing both.
I put on a Dexcom sensor.
The infusion site and tubing has been OK. It's been hard figuring out how to move in respect to it. I think I want longer tubing (I have 18"). I've been very relieved that I can't feel the insulin going in. In the evening my blood sugar rose a lot and I bolused four times to try to get it down, then gave up and did a shot with my jet injector, set an alarm, and woke up in the night ... and the blood sugar was fine! I woke up again around 6 am when my blood sugar was a little high (Dexcom read 161 and the pump read 148) and I tried to bolus 1 unit. The pump alarmed "No Delivery" but when I hit resume delivery I guess it did, because when I woke up again my blood sugar had dropped a lot. Breakfast spiked but came down and I had a mild hypo right after the sensor failed, so I guess I'm getting insulin.
No comments:
Post a Comment