Friday, March 10, 2006

Quick question

To those of you out there that have waterproof pumps, do you/your child disconnect at bath time? And, if you do, do you prime the tube a bit before reconnecting? And (one more) is the pump "bubble proof"?

5 comments:

Shannon said...

The Cozmo is waterproof, but we disconnect. Since we don't turn it off, we don't prime because the insulin is still full in the line.

I'm not sure what you mean about bubble proof, but if it's what I think, then yes, bubbles form when the cartridge is in the pump.

It seems that when the insulin gets warmer, more bubbles form. This happens extensively if the insulin is taken straight from the fridge, drawn up into the cartridge and then immediately loaded into the pump. We eliminate as many bubbles as possible by prefilling cartridges (about 7) and flicking the bubbles to the top and pushed out daily until it's loaded in the pump. It's not fullproof, but it eliminates a lot of big bubbles and most small ones.

Allison said...

I'm on a Minimed, which isn't waterproof, but I still take it off, just because I think showering (or even swimming) with a pump is just annoying.

I also leave it on and running. Which is a waste of .4 units of insulin, but I'm okay with that. At least I know there are no bubbles. I like to be as worry-free as possible.

Sandra Miller said...

Penny, we too disconnect-- though the Animas is waterproof, haven't really figured out a way to bathe (or shower) with the thing on... nothing really to clip it to :-)

Joseph simply disconnects, caps off his site, and like Allison, leaves the pump running.

No worries, no bubbles (well, some bubbles-- but only in the tub :-)

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Thank you everyone. I was asking if it is OK to put bubbles in the tub if he wears it in the tub. Right now, we disconnect, but was just wondering if anyone else leaves it on.

I leave his pump running. I also prime just a bit before reconnecting. I read somewhere that insulin can get sucked back into the tubing while you are disconnected and it's a good idea to prime it a bit to prevent air in the tubing.

Anonymous said...

We have the Animas 1250 also. We were told even though it is waterproof not to take it in the water. We disconnect her and leave it running for showers and exercise. Therefore we don't prime and after shower, swimming, gymnastics, soccer, etc., we connect again. If pump has been off for sports we test blood sugar. It's usually low. Regarding bubbles, exactly what Shannon said. We leave insulin at room temperature for a couple of weeks. We draw it into the cartridge, getting all the visible bubbles out. We let cartridge sit three hours at least. More bubbles will then form at the top. We flick again, and expel insulin and recap. Then use.