# Pumper Eve



## VanessaK (Nov 10, 2013)

Tomorrow I become a pumper, it is going to be strange I think going from the mdi to a new regime....one of my worries is not having the safety net of the glargine and the possible quickness of going really high. Oh well this eve is reminding me why I started looking into the pump in the first place it was all the hypos I kept getting, I am just recovering from a no symptom 2.8 def must have over calculated for tea  well tomorrow's def gonna be a very strange new day !


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## VanessaK (Nov 10, 2013)

Should have been pumper eve, silly phone......


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## Redkite (Nov 10, 2013)

Good luck with your pump start 

Don't worry too much about not having any long-acting in your system.  You'll be checking your BG at regular intervals and taking action if you see any highs.  Always carry a pen containing fast-acting insulin as back-up just in case there is a problem with the pump when you're out and about.  In nearly six years of pumping we have only needed to correct with the insulin pen a handful of times and he hasn't suffered DKA.  It's all good!


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## VanessaK (Nov 11, 2013)

Thanks Redkite, feeling very nervous and didn't sleep too well but by the end of the day I will be a newbie pumper unless I forget my vial of insulin lol


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## Northerner (Nov 11, 2013)

VanessaK said:


> Thanks Redkite, feeling very nervous and didn't sleep too well but by the end of the day I will be a newbie pumper unless I forget my vial of insulin lol



Good luck Vanessa! Hope everything goes smoothly for you - don't forget the insulin!


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## Casper (Nov 11, 2013)

Good luck and let us know how you are getting on - coincidentally, I start on Wednesday, also in Newcastle, and am nervous too! Have dreamt about pump overnight  a couple of times, and will sort all my stuff out ready on Tuesday evening.


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## VanessaK (Nov 11, 2013)

*And breathe....*

Thanks northy and Casper, I am now "live" it went well this morning I got it, then when it came to bolusing for my lunch I wasn't sure I'd done it or not lol keep on testing.... good luck Casper for Wednesday my pearls of wisdom at the mo is its a bit weird and I keep thinking I've forgotten my injection! Even though I am connected ha ha


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## Casper (Nov 11, 2013)

Glad to hear its good, did you have your pump to play with before today?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Nov 11, 2013)

Good luck to all of you starting on pumps in the next few days/weeks. Quite a flurry it seems!


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## Maryanne29 (Nov 11, 2013)

Good luck! I only have a week to go and can't wait. I'll be interested to hear how your first few days go.


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## Tony R (Nov 11, 2013)

*It does take time*

Just remember it does take time to get used to the pump and work out the correct basal rates. 

My son went on the pump in January and for the first couple of months his readings were all over the place. Now his readings are steady and his average glucose has really come down.

If you have problems at the beginning, don't think it's just you, everyone has them. But you really get the payback later.

Also there's lots of advanced features like square wave bolus, dual wave bolus and alternative basal patterns. Don't try to learn too many things at once. Get used to the pump and start using the extra features when you're ready.


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## VanessaK (Nov 11, 2013)

I think it must be Santa's pump season he's getting them out before Christmas - everyday ups and down  Casper for me they gave me a pump with no insulin in but I was attached by a cannula for 3 days to see how I lived with it, sleeping was ok the only thing that I had to keep remembering was not too drop it down the loo lol also it may be a bit diff for me as I am down in notts now but still wishing I was in Newcastle cause the team I had up there were brilliant, however I seem to have lucked out so far as the pump team here are great too! Maryanne will keep posting my nuggets I am interested to see how long it takes to do my first set change  Thanks for the advice Tony it will def be one day and one bolus at a time for my little brain...Thanks guys x


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## VanessaK (Nov 12, 2013)

*Bubble in Tube*

Ok so over night ok, managed to bolus for meals so bit better than yesterday. I noticed a couple of little bubbles in the tube so I took cannula out ran a normal bolus though of a couple units and the bubbles went away....great I thought, however then I thought these units have now gone into my IOB calcs.
So questions really are is that what I should have done ref the bubble in the tube, and when I come to bolus for my tea it will show the IOB so I am going to have to knock that off but that still accomodates for the basel too so I need to put that back on dont I?
Hope this makes sense cheers


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## Redkite (Nov 12, 2013)

Not sure with the Roche.  With the Veo you would detach from the cannula and run through some insulin from the "fill cannula" option in the reservoir menu (might be called "prime tubing" or something).  This wouldn't end up in the IOB.  The Veo doesn't include basal in the IOB and I don't think your pump should either (?), but if you know your bolus ratio and your sensitivity factors (that are programmed in the pump), you can do the maths yourself to check what your bolus should be for tea.  The Veo wouldn't reduce the carbs bolus for IOB, but it would reduce any correction for a pre-tea BG higher than your target.  Hope this helps


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## Pumper_Sue (Nov 12, 2013)

VanessaK said:


> Ok so over night ok, managed to bolus for meals so bit better than yesterday. I noticed a couple of little bubbles in the tube so I took cannula out ran a normal bolus though of a couple units and the bubbles went away....great I thought, however then I thought these units have now gone into my IOB calcs.
> So questions really are is that what I should have done ref the bubble in the tube, and when I come to bolus for my tea it will show the IOB so I am going to have to knock that off but that still accomodates for the basel too so I need to put that back on dont I?
> Hope this makes sense cheers



I assume you mean you disconnected the tubing and didn't take the whole cannula out? 
I don't know how to access the section you need on your pump, but all you need to do is prime the pump or fill the tubing. (different pumps have different commands) None of this then shows on your bolus delivered.
The basal is completely different and does not come into the calculations for insulin on board it's basal and that's it.


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## VanessaK (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks Sue and Redkite, sorry should have said I am on the Animas Vibe, the primeing of the tubeing def sounds like what I should have done and thats in my prime / rewind menu, and Sue I did disconnect the tubing  still getting used to all the pump speak. And the seperate basel makes sense too think I am thinking too much, but not in a logical right way - if that makes sense humm maybe I should just get my tea lol


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## Pumper_Sue (Nov 12, 2013)

VanessaK said:


> Thanks Sue and Redkite, sorry should have said I am on the Animas Vibe, the primeing of the tubeing def sounds like what I should have done and thats in my prime / rewind menu, and Sue I did disconnect the tubing  still getting used to all the pump speak. And the seperate basel makes sense too think I am thinking too much, but not in a logical right way - if that makes sense humm maybe I should just get my tea lol



Hi Vanessa, I have the Animas 2020 which is the model before the vibe 
Don't worry about pump speak no ones having a go if they clarify what you mean  It wont be long before you get the hang of things.  Brain fusion and info overload always follow on from pump start. It's a very big change so logic tends to go awol for a little while


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## ingrid (Nov 13, 2013)

Hi Vanessa, I'm Vibing too, man! Yeah, like the others have said, use the priming command to flush insulin through the tubing. Press 'Prime/Rewind', then scroll up to 'Prime' and press, then press 'Continue', and then hold 'Go Prime' down for as long as you need to push the insulin through. 

I've now changed to AccuChek sets but with Inset IIs, I used to find the patterns on the tubing looked like air bubbles sometimes! If you twiddle it around against a bright light, some marks disappear, so they were only on the surface of the outer tubing (it has inner & outer tubes). But if in doubt, flush it out


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## VanessaK (Nov 14, 2013)

Thanks Ingrid, think your going to be my vibe expert  Well did my first set change today, ive left the other cannula in just in case.....It took me about 25 mins as I kept getting bubbles when I filled up the cartridge..and they were being difficult to move...so I had cold porridge for breakfast yum ! Will check shortly to make sure its working ok fingers crossed, one down many more to go lol


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## Pumper_Sue (Nov 14, 2013)

VanessaK said:


> Thanks Ingrid, think your going to be my vibe expert  Well did my first set change today, ive left the other cannula in just in case.....It took me about 25 mins as I kept getting bubbles when I filled up the cartridge..and they were being difficult to move...so I had cold porridge for breakfast yum ! Will check shortly to make sure its working ok fingers crossed, one down many more to go lol



Hi Vanessa,
so no bubbles make sure your insulin is at room temp. So at least 30 mins out of the fridge. Put enough air in the vial to cover the removal of the insulin. Slowly draw some insulin out then push it back in again if any bubble are visible, keep doing this until your cartridge is full. Remove from vial with needle still on the cartridge check the cartridge for bubble and give a gentle tap so the bubble go to the top if any. (any stubborn ones use a pen to tap the cartridge with)
The more practice you have the better you will become.


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## HOBIE (Nov 14, 2013)

Hi Vanessa & Maryann. It is the best thing so far !  Nothings perfect but in a few weeks time you will see the benifits.  Today i was flat out at work didnt have time for dinner, about 1.30 felt hypo ish. Tested 4.2, Put temp basal on for an hour of 7% (dont know why i picked that but). Had 15gr of carbs & 2.30 was 6.7.  You could not do that on mdi.  Really good luck & let us know how you get on.


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## ingrid (Nov 15, 2013)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Hi Vanessa,
> so no bubbles make sure your insulin is at room temp. So at least 30 mins out of the fridge. Put enough air in the vial to cover the removal of the insulin. Slowly draw some insulin out then push it back in again if any bubble are visible, keep doing this until your cartridge is full. Remove from vial with needle still on the cartridge check the cartridge for bubble and give a gentle tap so the bubble go to the top if any. (any stubborn ones use a pen to tap the cartridge with)
> The more practice you have the better you will become.



Oh god yes my first refill/set change took forever with lots of panicking! Pumper_Sue has covered it all brilliantly above - room temp (some peeps take vial out night before even...I carry a vial around as my back up with syringes, so it's out of the fridge anyway) & slowly slowly, if you rush the plunger it will suck air bubbles in. Also, once filled, keep the cartridge upright so that any bubbles are at the top and will get pushed thru with priming. It gets easier very quickly, honest


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