Tangle in a web (of insulin pump tubing)

I was at a one-man show last night with some friends, it was pretty late (like 1am) and everyone was hanging out in the bar afterwards when

*misery*

somebody passing by caught their ARM in my tubing! AWFUL! The look I gave them, I think they realized it was *attached* to me. It didn't pull out, but it was shocking to say the least.

The indignity of it is really all the harm there is, but I was beside myself at the time. My cord sticks out of my pocket a little typically, if I tried to tighten it I find it pulls on my side (which is uncomfortable) so I'm okay with a little peak.

Okay, now round two. At my pool most people on my masters team know that I use an insulin pump. So no one really comments on my "extra nipple". But I started going to a new gym and I was changing in the bathroom (holding my pump in my mouth as I change to shorts) and they did *not* know what to do with me. My site is below the belt 1/2 the time but this time it was right on my upper lower-back and I loved *loved* how ::what IS that:: the guy next to me was.

Anyone else have tubing troubles?

 

I've ripped out tubing a few times.. once it got caught on the oven door handle as I walked by and another time on a door knob haha I usually keep my pump on the sides of my stomach/lower back so I clip my pump to my jeans and tuck the tubing way down inside my jeans it so it doesn't hang out at all. I always wondered if guys had it easier or harder being able to just carry their pump in the pocket of their pants (since they are usually baggier than women's pants), but I guess everyone has the tubing issue!

One time I was out with some friends (most of whom didn't know about my pump).  I was wearing the site on my abdomen and my pump in the back pocket of my jeans, tucking the tubing into my pants.  Apparently it came untucked and one of my friends thought it was a loose string from my sweater and pulled on it.  Ouch.  The site didn't come out but it hurt and she was very embarrassed when she realized that it was actually attached to me.  There have also been a few times when I was sitting on the couch and my pump slipped out of my back pocket and fell in between the cushions.  Of course I didn't realize this until I went to get up.

I'm never able to keep cool when my tubing gets stuck on something or someone.  It always gets me flustered.  The moment it happens my mind jumps to a frenzy of thoughts of if it came out ("Crap, it's about to come out"..."Do I have another set with me?"..."Can I change a set right now?"..."Didn't I just put this in last night?") and all that just overwhelms me and I'm never able to play it off well to the other person who's horrified by getting caught on some random tubing on someone's body.

If it's just some inanimate object that I get caught up on then it just pisses me off like crazy.  Probably has to do with my hatred of changing sets and how much I procrastinate doing it.

ugh tubing was the WORST part of the pump for me.

I almost had it rip out when it untucked itself from my belt and caught on the stair railing while I was vaccuming the stairs..didn't notice til I went up a few steps and suddenly my site was being pulled on. then one time it caught on a branch when i was jogging at the lake and i didn't notice (again) and it actually ripped out! swore like a salior, thank goodness there weren't any kids. I also used to rip it out in my sleep sometimes because it was itchy. i started dating my boyfriend while on the pump, and sometimes we'd wake up and he'd be tangled in the tubing too (i didn't attach the pump to my clothes cuz i toss a lot). I had so many tub rip-outs/site failures i used a whole MONTH of sites in under two weeks!

UGH sucked majorly.

I use the short tubing and don't have any problems.  I've occasionally caught it on a drawer handle or my son yanked it a few times when he was a toddler, but thankfully it never pulled the set out.

[quote user="Brianna"]

One time I was out with some friends (most of whom didn't know about my pump).  I was wearing the site on my abdomen and my pump in the back pocket of my jeans, tucking the tubing into my pants.  Apparently it came untucked and one of my friends thought it was a loose string from my sweater and pulled on it.  Ouch.  The site didn't come out but it hurt and she was very embarrassed when she realized that it was actually attached to me.  

[/quote]

I have to one up you here. A few years back, I was at a friend's apartment. While talking to someone else, the owner of the apartment spotted my tubing and also thought it was a string. Rather than pulling on the string, or even notifying me about the hanging piece of thread, she simply grabbed a scissor out of the drawer and cut it. Oops. 

[quote user="Dan"]

[quote user="Brianna"]

One time I was out with some friends (most of whom didn't know about my pump).  I was wearing the site on my abdomen and my pump in the back pocket of my jeans, tucking the tubing into my pants.  Apparently it came untucked and one of my friends thought it was a loose string from my sweater and pulled on it.  Ouch.  The site didn't come out but it hurt and she was very embarrassed when she realized that it was actually attached to me.  

[/quote]

I have to one up you here. A few years back, I was at a friend's apartment. While talking to someone else, the owner of the apartment spotted my tubing and also thought it was a string. Rather than pulling on the string, or even notifying me about the hanging piece of thread, she simply grabbed a scissor out of the drawer and cut it. Oops. 

[/quote]

who would think it's okay to walk up to someone and cut a string hanging off their clothing without talking to them first?!  i hope you flipped out at them.

Oh no!  I am usually pretty calm about most things, and was pretty calm when my friend pulled on my tubing.  But if someone *cut* my tubing, I think I would freak out!

I mean at first I was pretty pissed, but it was a friend and she just didn't want to interrupt my conversation. After taking a deep breath, I understood her intentions and luckily I lived right down the street so it wasn't a big deal. By the time I got back to the apartment after changing my infusion, it became a pretty good laugh. At least it didn't hurt like pulling on it.

Maybe medical tubing should have special coloring like white canes with red tips for blind people. 

Speaking of cutting tubing... About 5 years ago I was watching a movie with my boyfriend at the time and his family had just gotten a kitten. I decided I wanted the adorable, innocent little kitty to sit by me... About halfway through the movie I'm like *sniff*sniff* "do you smell insulin?" I look down and the kitten had completely gnawed through my pump tubing in like 5 places haha It's funny looking back but at the time I was terrified that either the cat would pass out from low blood sugar or I would pass out from high blood sugar.

[quote user="Dan"]

I have to one up you here. A few years back, I was at a friend's apartment. While talking to someone else, the owner of the apartment spotted my tubing and also thought it was a string. Rather than pulling on the string, or even notifying me about the hanging piece of thread, she simply grabbed a scissor out of the drawer and cut it. Oops. 

[/quote]

Hahaha that's amazing...in a not so amazing kind of way.  That's something I haven't heard before.

 

And HECK NO to making the tubing bright with special stripes/colors to warn people.  I'm all about making the pump as discrete as possible.

[quote user="Ideen"]And HECK NO to making the tubing bright with special stripes/colors to warn people.  I'm all about making the pump as discrete as possible.[/quote]

I have to agree with you, Ideen.  I would not like my pump to be any more conspicuous than it already is.

Just the other day my cat decided that my tubing looked pretty fun to play with.  He was doing just fine until it moved to much and he tried to bite it.  Thankfully he didn't get close enough as I turned around at the same time.  I had JUST changed the site so I was very happy nothing happened.

I suppose this is just one more reason for me to be a dog person as opposed to a cat person!  Ha!

My cats also LOVE to play and chew on my tubing! They especially love hair-ties, so I think that they mistake by tubing for them!