Diabetic Recipes
I woke up this morning about 30 minutes before my alarm to answer a call from nature. I stumble to the restroom and as usual I set my insulin pump on the sink counter. I should explain that I have a relatively small bathroom so the sink is pretty much half of the room. Well, no sooner do I set my pump down that it slides off and slams on the floor.
Ouch!
I have had my pump fall before but this one sounded extra hard. I leaned over and picked up my poor pump to see if it was okay. It was not. The screen was blank and even though I closed my eyes and wished for it to be fixed, it did not work.
What the heck am I going to do? I do not have any Lantus which is what I used to take on top of the Humilog I use in my pump. Not to mention, if I did I have no clue what I would take? Things are so different now for me and it has been a year and half since I was on MDI therapy. I started to panic.
Then I thought I should try pulling out the battery to see if that made a difference. I grabbed a quarter and unscrewed the battery cover. I pulled out the battery and shook my pump to see if heard the dreaded rattle of broken internal pieces. Luckily, I heard nothing. I stuffed the battery back in and tightened the cover.
Nothing.
Who do I call first? My endocrinologists office and see if he can get me a prescription for Lantus and some instructions on dosage, or Medtronic (the company who makes my pump) and see if they can send me a replacement immediately? Do I call work now and tell them I am going to be late? Maybe I should hop online and email all of my friends with diabetes and see what they say?
Nope, I decided to try the stupid battery one more time.
When I put the battery back in I saw a screen come up and a countdown which I was praying was not a "self-destruct!" I got a message that read: BATTERY FAILED.
I popped in a new battery and with a glimmer of hope I screwed that cap on. A new screen popped up that said something like: YOU TOOK TOO LONG STUPID! RESET THE DATE AND TIME!
As soon as I verified the day and time my good old pump was back to work.
A have already made an appointment to meet with my Endo soon to learn how to handle this situation in the future and to get a prescription for Lantus.
If you are on a pump, do you have a back up plan if your pump were to stop working? I cannot believe I did not have something ready and feel quite stupid that I didn't. I would love to hear what you do so I can prepare for a future pump plummet.
advertisement
December 2nd, 2008
Category:
| Type 1 | Type 2 | Oral Meds | Insulin & Pumps |
| Children | Food | Highs & Lows | Relationships |
| Complications | Emotions | In the News | Fitness |
| Women's Issues | Men's Issues | Real Life |
12-13-2007 7:04 PM EST by George Simmons
Categories: Type 1 Insulin & Pumps Complications Real Life
Tags: emergency plan insulin pump
Views: 806
Categories: Type 1 Insulin & Pumps Complications Real Life
Tags: emergency plan insulin pump
Views: 806
| Login to rate Rating (0): |
advertisement
George Simmons is a father and husband living with type 1 diabetes. A self proclaimed "born again diabetic," George began blogging as a way to meet other people living with diabetes and learn more about managing his disease. (Read More)
Latest Posts: Not By Choice | Hope | An Explanation
Lindsey is a typical, yet unique, Texas girl who loves shopping, movies and reading. She loves to travel and take risks. She dreams of diabetes cures, never-ending cheesecake and her own airplane. The rest you can discover in her blog!(Read More)
Latest Posts: Ups and Downs | Does My Cat Know I'm Low? | B.B. King's Lows
Our Other Bloggers: Michelle Kowalski, Kim Doty, Andy Bell, Carey Potash, Julia, Nicole Purcell, Kerri Morrone, Scott Marvel, Rebecca Abma
I will not let G read this. I think that is one of his biggest reasons not to get one. -R
Why do you have to take your pump off when you go to the bathroom?
I still had it connected, I just set it on the counter becuase I did not have any pockets.
Yes been there done that and what an awful feeling ! My bathroom is small too like my bedroom. I have dropped my pump lots of times or it just fell and dont you hate when you dont get the battery back in the pump in time ? Glad your pump is feeling better : )
George,
I keep an unopened bottle of Lantus in the fridge at all times.
We don't really have a backup plan in place such as dosing or anything like that. The one time Riley's pump failed I immediatly called his endo and she told me what to do.
Since Animas was sending a new pump out the very next morning we didn't even use Lantus. I checked Riley's sugar every 2 hours and bolused accordingly taking into account his usual basal at that time. It worked fine. He was only off the pump for about 14 hours and the endo didn't want to use Lantus because he would have to wait for it to taper off before starting back on the pump.
Still, that bottle of Lantus is in my fridge. I keep a check on the expiration date. And when it's up, I throw that bottle away and get a new one.
I'm glad your pump decided to start working again. You must have just startled it:-)
Medtronic gets you a new pump by 10 am the next day. I do what pennylane does. I just check my BG a few extra times and Give extra shots when needed. I keep a syringe with my glucometer just in case but just keep using humalog. After 4 years, I am so unfamiliar with Lantus, I couldn't imagine using it again.
Pumping for 4 years. Animas IR 1200. Probably had 5 pump failures. Some when I submerged in water and didn't have good seal for battery. Some when I banged screen against edge, concrete, etc.
Lantus is nice, but it was almost more work to roll onto and then off of.
They have always shipped a replacement overnight. If the replacement is coming next day, I just inject set an alarm and inject/test every 2-3 hours.
I have a waist pouch that I wear every night. It fits like a belt and keeps my pump secure. You didn't say which type of pump you wear (mine is Medtronic) so I don't know if your company has this type of containment system, but you can always check it out. It's also possible the Medtronic pouch would fit your pump even if it's from a different company. Good luck.
I am a pump troubleshooter for one of the companies you have mentioned. I wonder as well, why someone would not have an emergency back up plan when your life is depending on a machine that could possibly fail. I am also a diabetic and would never be in my home without several b/u methods for both highs & lows!
I am a pump troubleshooter for one of the companies you have mentioned. I wonder as well, why someone would not have an emergency back up plan when your life is depending on a machine that could possibly fail. I am also a diabetic and would never be in my home without several b/u methods for both highs & lows!