Cannula

Trust.

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When I first started on an insulin pump two years ago, my diabetes educator prescribed me with insets. During those initial weeks, site changes were an awfully overwhelming experience, causing several hours of anxiety following each change.

The pressure from the ‘inset’ insertion device would often trigger bruising and bleeding on my very lean body. I would spend hours watching my site and my blood sugars like a hawk, just waiting for signs of failure. I could really feel the sites ‘digging’ in as I crashed on the couch watching a movie or laid in bed at night. It wasn’t uncommon to feel stinging when I administered mealtime insulin boluses, either.

Then there was one tumultuous night where I discovered a kinked cannula hours after a site change, as I was on the verge of DKA (when all I really wanted to do was kick back and watch Serena Williams play in Wimbledon).

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t question whether insulin pumping was the best option for me.

Thanks to the help of the diabetes online community, I eventually found an infusion set that went in on an angle, and was inserted manually with my own two hands and a needle. And it’s quite honestly the very reason that I am still able to use an insulin pump with confidence today.

Although I never believed it would be possible at the time, I now realise that I very rarely have infusion sets fail on me. I can place an infusion set with ease, alternating around the left and right sides of my stomach, and go about my day without giving it a second thought.

I guess I’ve been reminded of this in recent weeks as I’ve tried to reconnect to my YpsoPump, which does not have angled sets, on several occasions (more about the YpsoPump here and here).

The 90 degree sets simply don’t agree with me.

When I spend relentless hours of my life managing diabetes, the very last thing I have time for is tending to tethering issues with the devices that I use.

My Animas Vibe gives me the option that I trust the most to infuse insulin into my body 24 hours a day, and that’s why I’m happily sticking with it for the time being (although I wouldn’t say no to a #TslimForFrank, either…)

First Site Change

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I had it under good authority that first site changes are a mess, and boy did I learn my lesson last Thursday morning when I did mine.

I left the old site on my stomach in place, until I was sure that the new one was a success. I opened the insertion device, unwound the cannula, unwound the paper from the adhesive, and pulled back on the inner white plastic. I squeezed on the edges of my insertion device until it “clicked” into place onto my stomach, directly above the old one.

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I pressed down to ensure the adhesive had stuck, and then pulled the insertion device up. This is what was left on my stomach.

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I could feel uncomfortable pinching underneath. My first site certainly didn’t feel like this. I looked at my site, and I knew straight away that I’d gone too far left, and too far up on my stomach. There was hardly enough body fat underneath the site to cushion it. I had to rip it out, and start all over again.

After connecting the other end of the tubing to the insulin cartridge inside my pump, I went to prime it. Insulin wasn’t coming out. I primed again. I still couldn’t see any insulin coming out.

By this point, I had been disconnected from my insulin for at least half an hour. My desk, my bed and my dresser were strewn with diabetes junk. Fucking diabetes. Fucking diabetes, I cursed out load as I searched around frantically for my workbooks. Not to mention I had the live Survivor finale on timeshift that morning, which I’d planned to be watching by this point. After finding the page that talked me through refilling and replacing an insulin cartridge, I primed again. There wasn’t a single drop of insulin coming out of the cannula.

With all avenues exhausted, I decided to give the AMSL diabetes helpline a call and see if they could help.

Guess what? You know how when you start a new insulin pen, you have to prime 10 or so units until the insulin comes out? That’s all I had to do with the pump. Hold down the prime button until insulin came out. I felt so stupid.

On the bright side, my second site change on Saturday was a piece of cake. I think I’ve got this…