One of my biggest problems with the pump (actually my only problem) is planning when to change the site around my schedule.
I go to school Monday-Thursday and spend the night at my boyfriend's house on Wednesday nights. And I work Thursday-Monday mostly closing shifts. So I have a hard time deciding when to change it and if I will have time to do so. I'm supposed to change my site today and I'm going to my boyfriend's after school. And then tomorrow I'm going right from school to work until 10. It's a hassle to carry my insulin with me since I have nowhere to keep it cool.
Well if you gotta change it, it gotta change it. I don't keep my insulin cool unless it hasn't been opened. Once i open a vial, it stays at room temp.
It only takes me 5 minutes to change my site, 10 mins if I add in malfunctioning time lol
I never really have this problem. I keep an alert on with plenty of leeway so I will know I have plenty of time to change it.
I like changing it at night only because if I wake up in the morning and I am high I know for a fact (depending what my sugar was prior to bed) that my site is bad and therefore I can change it again. If I chnage it during the day it sucks cuz there are so many other factors that can contribute to high blood sugars it takes me a while to figure out whether its the site or just other factors.
I would recommend just waking up 10 minutes early and doing it before you go to classes. this seems like the best time for you to do it so you don't have to worry about it all day.
I feel like it takes me a really long time to change my sites. Like my dad can do it in a matter of about 2 minutes. Me, about 10-15. Maybe it's because I am really careful about it. I think if I can squeeze time in between class and work today I'll go home and do it.
How long does it normally take you guys to change your sites?
Depends how proactive I am about changing. Sometimes can be 3-5 minutes, other times it can be about 10. I can be ADD when I'm changing my site. I usually plan ahead, if I don't have enough insulin to make it through the next day ( < 20 units) I'll change my site the night before. It's all circumstantial really, but you do have a super busy schedule. Perhaps change it after work if you figure out that you have enough insulin to make it that far... :)
You're not supposed to change your site before bed, what happens if you have an occlusion in the middle of the night? Your blood sugar will sky rocket!
@ Courtney. I don't see why this is a problem for you because it definately isn't for me. Changing your site/infusion set takes about as much time as going to the bathroom or sending a couple texts. For me personally I don't really schedual a time i just wait for a little break where I have 5-10 minutes to spare and then it's done.
I don't have 5-10 minutes to spare. I wake up early in the morning as it is to get ready for school, it takes a half hour to get to school without traffic. With traffic I have to leave an hour and a half before class. Most days I go right from class and rush to work so I'm not late. I don't have a single day where I'm not at school or working. And the day that I have to change my site always falls within a day where I'm at school and work.
HiCourtney- Is there a reason you can’t change it at your boyfriends? Insulin does not have to stay in the fridge unless its unopened. Can you keep a bottle with some supplies at his house? I just change my site whenever, at work, in my car, other people’s houses wherever, it takes me about 5 minutes. I keep the opened bottle of insulin in my purse at room temp. If I do change my site when I am not at home then I do not remove the old site until I am sure the new one is ok, that way in a pinch I can use the old site until I can get home and change it. I keep a few emergency syringes in my desk drawer at work, just in case something happens when I change out my site because I live about 45 minutes from work.
I try not to change out my site before bed but when it needs to be changed it needs to be changed.
1st - I would highly recommend keeping supplies at your boyfriend's regardless or on you. You never know when there may be an emergency where you have to change your site.
2nd - I would also recommend waking up 10 minutes earlier in the morning. This extra 10 minutes may seem like super, super valuable sleep time which I can respect but if the site needs to be changed that is more important in my book. I personally change my site every other day in the morning. It's as natural as brushing my teeth. When I'm showering I take off the current site then dry off, brush my teeth, set a new site, get dressed and my day begins.
Try to make it just apart of your normal getting ready for class routine.
I always carry my supplies with me when I am traveling in case of accidental rippage. However, I have a set pattern of change, granted I sometimes toss more insulin than I like to do, but I change my site every three days. I get up, remove the old infusion set, shower myself all nice and clean, prime rewind and start anew. This way it is a routine, always done in the morning, and keeps me from forgetting. I have my insuling planned out to usually having about 10 - 20 units of insulin left over. If you are concerned with morning time issues you can fill your reservoir the night before and just need to handle the rest of the stuff in the AM. It should not take too much time and it would shave a few minutes off in the morning for you.
If you establish a routine and stick to it, it will become easier and you will be used to it. However if using the every three day schedule, or changing it on the fourth day, you can plan it out where if you your change day was supposed to be Thursday after spending a night at your boyfriends, maybe stretch the site out for one more day, if you can get the right amount of insulin into the reservoir. It just depends on what your daily use is.
I usually change every 3-4 days. My endo. decided that because I have better luck with one side of my stomach than the other that leaving the site in another day on the side it's comfortable on doesn't really make a difference. My biggest problem is just carrying around the insulin with me. I have nowhere to store the insulin while I'm at school and my car is usually in the hot sun for about 8 hours, not a great place for insulin. I have taken a bottle to leave at my boyfriends house so that solves a little bit of the problem. My schedule is too hectic. I can't wait to finish school!
Why not your purse or backpack. Being at room temperature is not a bad thing for insulin for some time once you pop the seal on it. You need to use it up anyway. Insulin has yet to go bad on me and I have bottles in three different locations sometimes, all at room temp.