Major Pump Problems on Vacation

[am1977]

A week ago from today, I set out on what was supposed to be a wonderful vacation. I headed down to Tampa, FL, where I would be getting on a cruise ship for 5 nights/6 days. This was really something I had been looking forward to and had been excited about...something that doesn't ordinarily happen. Well, shocker of shockers, I had a major problem with my pump. The first night, I woke up incredibly thirsty and with an upset stomach. I tested my sugar and it was over 300. So I bolused and went to sleep. I woke up about 1 hour 1/2 later, and checked and now I was getting HI readings. I felt like screaming What the F%ck! Yes, I had indulged a bit, but I didn't go crazy. So I took even more insulin and went to sleep. I woke up still on the high side, even after a large bolus, but at least my numbers had come down. I thought that would be the worst of my problems...of course not! We were half way thru the vacation, I was in the Cayman Islands (the Grand Cayman) and my pump started acting up. First I got an alarm...stating that I had a motor error. I never saw that message before and it really shocked me. Then right after that, I got another message E35. I wasn't familiar with that msg. either, but I thought maybe it wasn't a big deal. I was WRONG! It kept telling me to rewind my pump, which I did repeatedly. I don't know how many times I did that before I got it to quiet down.

(A little backup information, about 2 weeks before my trip, I had just returned a different 511 to MM, for also giving me error messages. So when I got the new pump, I thought I was all set and I wouldn't have to worry about any problems. I thought, what are the chances that I will have a problem with this new pump they just sent me? So I didn't pack any backup supplies. I realize how stupid and what an idiot I was for not planning for the worst. However, I think it's unacceptable that this would happen this soon after receiving a differnt pump.)

Anyway, I was really upset and confused by this all, but I thought it would be best to call Minimed. We finally found a payphone...after walking a bit in the hot sun. No surprise, although the number is toll free, it isn't from the Islands. I had to enter my credit card number so who know what I will be charged for that call. I finally got through and spoke to a rep. and explained the whole situation. In my state of confusion, I forgot to mention that I received a motor error msg. and only mentioned the E35. She offered to get me a pump the next day, but being on a ship makes it a little difficult to get the pump to me...so that didn't work :( . She really didn't know what to tell me, she did say that the pump should still deliver insulin, but to be careful of these messages and monitor even more closely. Well, I managed to go on with the day and Thursday with no problem. Friday came and I started getting messages again. After rewinding and rewinding the pump, resetting the settings, etc, I went to lunch. Of course, the pump basically died on me. It would not let me bolus and I was a mess. I was fortunate that there was an infirmary on board and even better, they did have insulin in their supplies as well as syringes for a fee, of course. So after all that, I bought some NPH and syringes and injected for the rest of my trip (that day, Friday, and Saturday).

I don't think my pump functioned as it should for the whole trip. I was mostly high during it all and sometime it seemed w/o reason, like the first night. I don't understand what is going on with these pumps? Like I said this was a pump I had just received....are they sending out defective pumps?! I was so angry (still am). It basically ruined my vacation after I had been so excited for it. I am completely let down and disappointed. I am planning on calling them and letting them know what happened. I want to send them my bill for that phone call, the insulin, and syringes. Yes, I know it's my fault for not being totally prepared for this type of situation, but I just don't understand why this happened. It should have never occurred.

I know this is a long post, but I really needed to vent. I am very diappointed and upset with how things went. This made a major impact on the trip and affected things tremendously.

[Belinda]

Sorry you had problems and it ruined your vacation. I have learned never never never to leave my house without insulin/syringes if I can't get back to my place within 2 hours. I am notorious for being over prepared :willy:

[Jayo]

Wow..that really sucks...especially on vacation!.That's exactly why I'm not sure I want a pump, I would freak If that happened to me.So what happened?...did they give you a new pump(I hope so)?...

[camjen1]

Gee Andrea what the heck were you doing to your pump? How many times did you drop it? How many times was it dropped in water? How many times did it hit your headboard? J/K :biggrin:

Whenever I have to phone MM about a problem I have to remember to stay strong and try not to buckle after the interigation they put us through. They ask you 20 million questions about how you broke your pump. If they don't get a confession or an admission within them 20 million questions then they finally break down and send a replacement.

Last time I got a replacement it was sent I think on a Friday by Fedex and then UPS showed up within 5 minutes to pick my old one up. I said oh no you will have to give me time to switch over. UPS said they will return but never did. I called MM again and stated that UPS has yet to return and ONCE AGAIN blamed me for not getting it picked up. They wanted to charge me to ship but I said well you just won't get a pump back. Needless to say UPS was at my door the next day.

I think we ought to throw these Paradigms at the wall and go on a strike. Wadda ya say? :stupid:

[duck]

Andrea, if I were you, I would write a letter to MM, and send it using FedEx or UPS or certified, so you'll know they got it. I'd outline all of the issues you had on your vacation, and make a point of being sure they grasp that you were on VACATION, y'know, that thing you get for about a week a year where you go to relax, and they basically ruined it for you and your family.

Be sure to send them an itemized summary of costs incurred because of the failed pump (call to MM, cost of syringes, etc). If you have a lawyer, CC them on the letter, that gets a lot of attention, for what it's worth.

BTW, "replacement" pumps are almost always refurbs. How long has the 511 been out now? You got a pump that was at one time returned to MM for some reason, so that has to make you wonder...

[grace]

That sounds soooo tough :confused: What i've realised from the beginning is that you can't be totally reliant on your pump. It was only into my third day that i got home from a shopping trip to find my blood was off the scale and my ketones were large, despite the fact i'd been dialling units all day. The reason, my cannular had kinked and the pump forgot to tell me! sending you all the support i can offer from one diabetic to another :beer: don't let it get to you too much, **** happens, especially when your a diabetic! :willy:

[JediSkipdogg]

Wow, sorry to hear about your vacation.

I guess I've just always been overprepared. I always have a needle with me, don't really carry the insulin because I figure if worse comes to worse that I could just stick the needle in the pump cartridge and get it that way. It's mainly just because I find it hard to keep insulin cold. But on vacations I ALWAYS have needles with me.

Another thing I do, and I must say this is great from Animas, is I just call them up and tell them I will be on vacation somewhere and they send me a backup pump for the week. You tell them how long your vacation will be and they send you a pump and you just send it back within 10 days of the end of your vacation. I took a trip to Las Vegas a few years back and did that. I never used the pump on the trip, but it was nice knowing I had it there. Stupid me forgot to take batteries, but that's another story and at least Walgreens sold the batteries.

So my words of advice are always plan for the worst and hope for the best.

[Belinda]

Minimed has loaner pumps too for vacations. I took one with me to Europe a couple of years ago. I too plan ahead and if on vacation in the states I know they would get me one in 24 hours...

[am1977]

I know it was sheer stupidity :****mate: that I didn't take back up supplies :stupid: ....I have been kicking myself for that:banghead:. But I truly thought that since I just received a replacement 511, I wouldn't have a problem. Well, I shouldn't have had one anyways. Sandi, you would think I did do all those things to my pump, at least that would explain things. There is no explanation for why these things went on :dontknow: . I guess I've learned my lesson from this all. It's always better to be overprepared than under.

As far as Minimed...I have emailed them a message expressing my disappointment :frown: . The thing I just don't understand is how they can send me a defective pump. I basically just started using the pump and to have all these problems is not acceptable to me :thumpdown . I am angry :mad: , I don't trust these pumps further than I can throw them, and I am skeptical about continuing to use them. I mean I could have ended up in a state of DKA...and I would realy be in deep sh%t. I am planning on sending them my bill for the phone call and supplies...I think it's the least they can do, especially after my vacation was pretty much ruined. It made a major impact on things.

MM did replace my pump yet again...though I'm still running high :confused: . They actually sent it to my parents home, since they picked us up on Saturday. So as soon as we got in, I put it on. I am very doubtful of these pumps now...I really lost a lot of confidence in them. I really don't even know why I am wearing it now. I'm not sure I want to continue with pumping at all. :s:

I'll keep you all updated on their reply...

[Tony]

Sorry to here you had a bad vacation, that sucks! Vacations don't come to often.

I'm with Bel, if I can't get back home within 2 hours I'm bringing syringes and a vial of insulin because you never know what may happen. You should try and get in habit to use a syringe when you are high. You will drop alot faster then taking a bolus.

As far as giving up pumping, I wouldn't go that far. I would however give up the 511 because we all know that they had alot of problems with them. I'm surprised you lasted this long with it. I would upgrade to the 515 if I was you, and see if you can upgrade for free because of all the trouble you went thru.

[camjen1]

Sorry to here you had a bad vacation, that sucks! Vacations don't come to often.

I'm with Bel, if I can't get back home within 2 hours I'm bringing syringes and a vial of insulin because you never know what may happen. You should try and get in habit to use a syringe when you are high. You will drop alot faster then taking a bolus.

As far as giving up pumping, I wouldn't go that far. I would however give up the 511 because we all know that they had alot of problems with them. I'm surprised you lasted this long with it. I would upgrade to the 515 if I was you, and see if you can upgrade for free because of all the trouble you went thru.


Good thought. I have had LOTS of problems as well and maybe I can use that as an excuse to upgrade. To be honest I couldn't even tell you how many times MM sent me a new Paradigm. :motz:

[am1977]

Thanks Tony and Sandi. :smile:

I have another update for y'all.

I just called Minimed and spoke to a rep :call:. Obviously, he could hear how frustrated and aggravated I was with everything, but I don't think he completely understood why I was calling. After explaining the situation and how I had been already sent another 511, he misunderstood and wanted to send me yet another one :rolleyes:. I think it finally did dawn on him that I wanted to let the company know about all these issues, he said he was going to note this all in my file. He repeatedly told me that I should have had backup supplies at all times, well yeah, I think I know that now. Anyways, I was hoping that he would want to help me somehow even more. I even said that I was hoping the company would do something for me after all I went through. He asked me what I wanted (how about give me back my vacation minus these problems? Ok, that's not possible I know, but I wish! ) and so I told him maybe the company could at least pay for my expenses or, even better, upgrade my pump (thanks for that suggestion ;) ). Well, he said he doesn't have the power to do those things, but he said he would pass this along to his supervisor and thta they may be to help me. So I should be hearing from someone in the next few days. I mentioned how I am uncertain of continuing with the company after having these problems and after hearing how other people have had similar problems with these pumps. Don't get me wrong, David (the rep) was very, very nice and understanding and I told him how I know it isn't his fault but I don't feel like I can feel like I can trust these pumps. :thumpdown:

So the saga continues...I'm still running high and I have no idea why :confused:. I've changed the set 3 times in the last day and a half. So I don't know what the **** is going on :banghead:. Maybe it's stress, but I'm going to lose it if things don't change soon. I guess if any good comes out of this, maybe someone here will learn that it's very important to have backup supplies at all times...learn from my mistake. B/c if something can go wrong, it will! :s:

[camjen1]

Oh oh please let us know if they agree to the upgrade. That would be so awesome.:dancing:

[amccrazgrl]

that totally sucks
i had my little road trip and did fine w/ my pump

[Cinnabon]

I'm so sorry you had to go through all this. I know exactly how you feel. I have the 715 and I have had times that I really get frustrated. I would definitely want my vacation scheduled again and EVERYTHING on MM!!! LOL
I know that can't happen but I'm glad you let them know how you felt. I hope you do get your upgrade!!! Please keep us posted!

[am1977]

When I got home last night, I had a message on my answering machine from a supervisor of techinical issues (maybe that's not her exact title :rolleyes: ) :call:. Basically she told me that she didn't think they would be able to do an upgrade for me :bawling:...I couldn't really hear the whole msg. b/c my machine is kind of old and crappy, but I did understand that part. I decided to give her a call and leave her a msg anyways and give her some backup info.

Well, I was expecting to hear from her today, but I didn't, so I gave her another call from work. She was very, very nice :smile:. I could tell she felt bad for my situation and that she did want to help :shakehand . Yolanda (MM supervisor) said she could understand my frustration and she wouild do all she could to make up for a bad situation. She's going to pass on my voice msg. I left her to some team (CAT) that handles pumpers who aren't satisfied w/ their pumps, along with some managers in my area. Yolanda also mentioned that they were going to try to reimburse me for some of my expenses as well (YAY! :rock: ) so at least that is good. She also suggested that when one of these people from CAT or a mgr. contacts me to ask if I can possibly get the upgrade instead of a reimbursement. I think it's a good idea and worth a shot. THe worse they can say is no.

So that's my update. I hope I'm not annoying or boring anyone with my whole sob story here :o . I really did feel the need to vent and I thank you for letting me do that and for all your support, advice, and suggestions in handling this all. You all are the best! :love:

[jeggeman31]

I hope I'm not annoying or boring anyone with my whole sob story here

Not at all. It helps us new pumpers to learn from what has happened. Even tho we don't use the same pump, I thank you for sharing.

[RITADAR]

When Al And I Went To Las Vegas Last Year I Was Concerned That
If Something Happened To His Pump We Would Not Know What To Do.
Somewhere There Is A Formula About Taking Shots That Contain
Your Regular Basal Every Few Hours. I Think This Came From Mini-
Med Originally, But We Got It From His Doctor. Thankfully We
Did Not Have Any Problems But It Helped Knowing That We Had
A Back Up Plan. We Have Only Had One Problem With His Pump
And That Was Over Christmas One Year. He Was Still Able To Use It
But Had To Do Something Backwards To Get It To Work. They Then
Sent Us A New Pump And No Problems Since. We Have Not Had Any
Problems With Mini-med And Are Looking To Replace It Next Year.
I Am Reasonably Sure That He Will Continue With Mini-med

Allways Carry Insulin And Needles And Have Some Sort Of Back Up
Plan. Good Luck Pumping - It Has Been A Wonderful Experience For
Al. Sometimes When He Has Been Eating Alot And It Is Hard To Get
B/s Down, I Tell Him That His Pump Is Not Working Well With His
System And That They May Have To Put Him Back On Shots. This
Seems To Work And He Starts To Watch His Diet More,
Because He Would Never Give Up His Pump.

[am1977]

I would strongly prefer not to have to go back to injections (I HATE them!):thumpdown:. However, I am going to do what's best for my health. If I continue to have problems pumping, which often leads to hi blood sugar, and my A1c dramatically rises then I will probably go back to MDI :nurse:. I truly hope that's not the case! :s:

Thanks for all your support and for sharing your experiences with me. I know I've learned from all this and from everyone here too. So Thank-YOU! :ciao:

[jeggeman31]

I know I've learned from all this


As A new pumper this thread was great. Thanks for Sharing Am1977

[jen_slc]

I would strongly prefer not to have to go back to injections (I HATE them!):thumpdown:. However, I am going to do what's best for my health. If I continue to have problems pumping, which often leads to hi blood sugar, and my A1c dramatically rises then I will probably go back to MDI :nurse:. I truly hope that's not the case! :s:

Thanks for all your support and for sharing your experiences with me. I know I've learned from all this and from everyone here too. So Thank-YOU! :ciao:

I totally understand how you're feeling. I hated the idea of going back to MDI after being on the pump for 7 years, but I couldn't deal with the pumping problems anymore. The pump itself never gave me errors, it was more to do with site changes and lots of pain and I ended up coming off it to save my mental health. :marchmell My daily levels and A1c improved a lot too. I don't know how long you've tried out the pump, but I would try to stick with it... once you get a good working machine, I think you'll like it... just as long as you're not in pain. :biggrin:

[Cinnabon]

Am....
I really do feel your frustration. To be honest, we all must be ready for going back to MDI at anytime, unfortunately. My fingers are crossed (real hard) for ya!! Keep us updated and we are all learning from your experience.

[am1977]

Thanks Jen and Cinn :love: . Going through all this mess hasn't been fun, but having all of you behind me and so understanding to my situation has meant more than I can express. :flowers:.

I've got another small update. Yesterday, I received 2 things from MM. I received a letter acknowedging my request for reimbursement for some of the expenses I incurred on my trip...they want documentation: of what the situation was, the costs of my supplies, and even insurance info too. You'd think they'd want to go easy on me...I guess not :rolleyes:. UGG! :mad: The second thing I received, I'm not sure is good or bad, was an email from a rep @ MM :pcguru: . Now he said he has been trying to reach me, but I have left them both my home and cell phone number so I don't know what's going on :dontknow:. I will let you know what happens once I speak with him...hopefullly, I'll have some good news. :rock:

I'll keep you posted :cool:

[am1977]

Yet another update!

I talked to Jeff from MM on the phone today :call:. I didn't have to explain the whole situation again, which was nice, but I don't think he fully understood what happened. Unfortunately, he said that MM doesn't just give out pumps...well, duh, I know that, but after everything that has happened with my 511s, I would think they'd want to keep me as a MM user, but that's my thinking :rolleyes:. Anyway, Jeff said that he had an idea that might help me. His idea :idea: was that he was going to explain my story to my Endo, and supply my Endo. with a demo pump (I believe a 515). Now from there he was going to leave it up to the office whether they wanted to "lend" me the pump...lend meaning until my warrenty is up and I can get a brand new 515 of my own or whatever the current pump is. Of course once I get my own pump, I would return the demo back to the company. It sounds kind of crazy, but I am willing to try this idea and see what happens. Hopefully, my Endo and his office will go with this. I guess we'll see :wink: