Pump difficulties.

aussie mum · #1 (**permalink**) 11-23-2007, 05:03 AM

My 7 year old son has just been put onto a medtronic insulin pump. We have to keep resiting the pump every other day because his canula is getting kinked. I think that it is kinking because he keeps on fiddling with the pump.

We started out with a quick set and have changed to a silhouette. Tonight when I resited I noticed that the silhouette canula was not under ths skin but hanging out. I am pretty certain that this would have happend because he was fiddling with the site.

Does anyone know anything I can do to stop him from touching the set? Can I put some extra sticky bandaids over it to help the canula stay in? Has any other parent had a problem with a child fiddling with the site?

Thanks
Therese

notme · #2 (**permalink**) 11-23-2007, 08:06 AM

I don't have a child with a pump Therese, but I have a couple of ideas. You can insert the canula on his backside where it is hard for him to reach. The best place to set the pump would be the upper part of his butt. This site is comfortable and hard to reach. The only problem I have ever had with this area is lowering drawers. Sometimes your finger nail can catch it if you are not careful. You can get IV 3000 to put over the top. You can cut a hole around the site area and apply it so you are still able to remove it for bathing.

Hope this helps.

xMenace · #3 (**permalink**) 11-23-2007, 08:24 AM

Try some Benzoin resin/tincture aka Friar's Balsam which should be available at any pharmacy. Use a q-tip and dab some on the set after inserting. Wait a minute or two to dry before covering with clothing as it will stick to it too. It's water proof and very adhesive. It's a little tougher to get off but not that bad.

catgalla · #4 (**permalink**) 11-24-2007, 03:03 PM

My son is 7 and has been on the pump since he was 5. We use the silhouettes as well. I use the bard prep wipes and so far we haven't have any problems. He takes it off himself most of the time before a shower or whatever. They have been a godsend. They are better than the iv prep pads. Good luck

kstreeter513 · #5 (**permalink**) 11-25-2007, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notme

I don't have a child with a pump Therese, but I have a couple of ideas. You can insert the canula on his backside where it is hard for him to reach. The best place to set the pump would be the upper part of his butt. This site is comfortable and hard to reach. The only problem I have ever had with this area is lowering drawers. Sometimes your finger nail can catch it if you are not careful.

That's where I keep my infusion set. When I first got mine seven or eight years ago, the tubing hanging from the bottom of the set kept getting stuck under my pants while sitting. Then when I went to stand, out she came. But watch out because it can get caught while pulling up/down the pantalones.

aussie mum · #6 (**permalink**) 11-25-2007, 12:34 PM

Thanks for all your replies. This week we are going back to see our Diabetes Educator and I will speak with her about putting the cannula in his butt.

He has had a pretty good weekend and the cannula hasn't come out. I resited his cannula on Friday evening so finally we have had a site that has lasted 3 days.

HollyB · #7 (**permalink**) 11-26-2007, 09:44 AM

Hi there,

I'm coming a bit late to the thread but am wondering if you're using anything besides the adhesive on the set itself to help it stick? Some people don't need anything more, others need a prep wipe to give a bit of extra adhesive, and some (my son!) need to use Skin Tac wipes or some other adhesive (like the tincture of benzoin, cheap but man that stuff STINKS and turns the set brown...). We lost a lot of sets on the 2nd day before we started using the Skin Tac.

Hope you get it sorted out.

blbrocky · #8 (**permalink**) 12-11-2007, 02:21 PM

My son uses the Skin Tac wipe under the infusion set and on top of the silhouette he uses the IV 3000. These seem to do the trick.

john wallace · #9 (**permalink**) 01-01-2008, 01:35 AM

there's now a SURE T which we will try; I picked up 3 samples from Minimed. Nurse told me that it's better than the Sil. It has 2 locations, a non-injection site which prevents tugging at the actual injection site. It is the shortest - 6 mm - which is important for skinny kids and athletes with little body fat.

I am new to this site. 10 y-o son has pump.

CGMS. I read numerous abstracts which are favorable for the Real Time CGMS and it sounds very good, especially for hypo episodes, but our doctor's attitude is - wait for the next version. With an ER visit recently b/c of pump malfunction and highs b/c kinking, I am very motivated for our son to try the CGMS.

PARENTS OF DIABETIC KIDS. I would like to join a support group. We live in Westlake Village, California.

ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO EITHER ITEM?

xMenace · #10 (**permalink**) 01-01-2008, 03:16 AM

Welcome to the forum John.

I am not opting for the current CGMS either. I am not convinced of its benefits. The reports of accuracy are discouraging, and you must test as much or more with your meter for ongoing calibration. I find with a bit of aggressive basal and I:C profililing, I can get steady, repeatable numbers just fine. Though my own ER experiences do make that hypo-alarm very desireable as well.

Type1Mum · #11 (**permalink**) 01-23-2008, 10:12 PM

I know you asked this question a few months back, but I haven't been around for a while. My 13 yo started with his site in his tummy and always got kinks, I think mainly because he is really lean and quite muscley. So now he uses the top of the hip/backside area and wouldn't do it anywhere else. He doesn't seem to have any problems knocking out the site when he ischanging clothes etc, which he has to do all the time at school.

Hope it all goes well.

krisburtner · #12 (**permalink**) 02-07-2008, 05:32 PM

My 6 year-old daughter has been on the Medtronic pump for almost 8 months now. We too had the cannula kink over and over again. I finally got so frustrated that I called Medtronic. We were using the Quick-serter to insert the sets and they told us that if we didn't press the two buttons on it at exactly the same time, the serter would go down at an angle thereby bending the cannula at the time of insertion. Easier said than done. I still couldn't press the buttons at the same time every time. However, we decided it just wasn't worth the hassle and switched to the sillhouette. We use skin-prep pads to prep her skin, then use the IV3000 tapes to go over the site (cut a hole for the tubing). We place two tapes on most of the time, as she swims several times a week. To remove it all, we use Uni-Solve pads (better than the Skin Tac wipes). I do have to add though, that we are going to take her off the pump for a while to see how she does on Lantus. We just can't stand to see the scarring that the infusion sites leave, and she refuses to use any sites other than her stomach and buttocks. Hope that helps.