[subvet1969]

Hello All,

I'm a new user as I just found this site today. Although I'm not diabetic, but my 6 yaer old daughter is, I have a couple questions. My daughter is 6 years old and has had type 1 diabetes for almost 5 years. She was started on the insulin pump just a couple months ago and we have found that it's much easier with the pump. The only real issue we have is with the quicksets.What causes the cannula's to fold over on the surface of the skin, rather than going into the skin? I've also noticed that the inserter sometimes will not release properly, or will "stick" when the buttons are pressed. We have wasted so many quicksets, and had so many pump errors("no insulin administered"). I want to call the company to see if they have a fix for this, or at least to replace the quicksets that are wasted, and we only get a certain amount per month.I order these by mailorder and get a 3 month supply for one copay, so it is not extremely expensive, but insurance won't pay for more quicksets than what was on the prescription.So it ends up costing us out of pocket, because once were out,we have to wait until the 3 months are over to get more..unless we pay out of pocket.Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
My second question...Because my daughter was switched to the pump recently, and we have a new bg moniter, we have 3 old bg monitors and tons of test strips.These test strips are good and not even close to being out of date.These are a comodity and highly seeked on auction sites like Ebay.Is there an insurance law that prevents me from selling these on Ebay? When it comes down to it, I have payed my copay on these along with my insurance premiums. Is it within my right to sell these on Ebay to get a return of my money to buy things I can really use....like more Quicksets mabe? )

Thanks for any help,

Subvet

[spike]

Order the Sure-T's from MiniMed, or call their hotline and ask for some samples. They are made primarily for children, but I love them and so does my wife. we gave up on the QuickSets this year due to too many kinked cannulas. I personally think the quality of the QS's has slipped, as I used them for 15+ months with nary a problem.

The official line on the QS is that they be worn for only 48 hours. I go 3 days without a problem, but children, with their stronger immune system might cause the set to clog if worn beyond the recommended time. My wife had a clog on her fourth day of her first ST, and I informed her that she shouldn't go past 3 days and she has not had a repeat since adhering to that schedule.

http://store.minimed.com/mmStore/app...ry_key=IS-PARA

the item is MMT-840

[Cyborg]

I've been using the Insets by Unomedical for about 7 months. I haven't had a single bent cannula and no problems with the built-in, disposable inserters that come with each infusion set.

BTW, Welcome aboard

[poodlebone]

Many. many, MANY people have been having problems with Quick-Sets. I have had the same problem you've experienced, where the cannula doesn't even go under the skin. I called Minimed so many times over a perioud of 2 months or so and they did send me some replacements, as well as shorter Quick-Sets but I had the same problems with those. I finally switched to the Silhouettes, which go in at an angle, and have had no problems. They can be scary for a little kid, though.

I'd do what Spike suggested and try the Sure-T sets. They're a metal needle but it's very tiny. No chance of them kinking or folding.

Do you get 4 boxes of infusion sets every 3 months? That leaves you 1 box as extras, in case of problems, but during my last month or so on the Quick-Sets I was using several sets before I got one to work, and oen time I needed 5 sets before one worked.

Do call Minimed, and make sure you speak to someone in customer service and not the order department. They will deny that there's anything wrong with the sets but don't back down. It really pisses me off that so many people complain about them and they act like it's user error. Well, some of them do but I have spoken to nice people at MM. Make sure you let them know how many bad sets you've had. Ask them to send you free samples of the Sure-Ts while you're at it.

I'm not sure what the law is on reselling strips that you got through insurance but since you didn't get them with the intention of selling them for profit, I don't see why you shouldn't sell what you're not using.

[subvet1969]

Thanks for the responses....I've been browsing around this site for a couple days now and have seen more than a handfull of complaints with the quicksets.I know we are doing everything right, and I know it's not normal for the inserter to stick when when you press the release buttons. The bad thing about the canula folding over is that you don't realize it right away. You have to wait a few hours for the pump to tell you that insulin is not being administered. By then, your bs could be 400 - 500+. I'm not bad mouthing the products,because when they work...they work great, but when they dont work...they just dont work, and then your fighting the bs the rest of the day to get it regulated again.
Poodlebone...you mentioned the Silouhettes..I think they would work the best,but when we attended the pump training they gave us the option of the quick-sets or the Silouhettes....to be honest with you,the Silouhettes scared her to death.I will probably take yours and Spike recommendations on the quick T's and try them. BTW, I was thinking last night, I wonder whether the canulas could be bending because of people tensing up or tightning of the abdomen. Have you had the same problem in other locations besides the belly(i.e. butt,thighs,etc.)....basically in places where you are unable to tense up the muscles as much. It's just a thought.Basically, I wonder if the people that have no problems are not inserting them in the belly. That is the only place we can get her to put them as of now. Our insurance recently changed from Medical Mutual(PERS/STRS) to Anthem Blue Cross.Medical Mutual had a program called Diabetes Advantage that would give you everything except insulin at no charge..even when you ran out of supplies early, no questions asked, they would send you more of whatever you needed. Anthem on the other hand has no program like that, which means we have to have a 3 month prescription for everything we order, and when your out, your out. Answering your question Poodlebone...we get 3 boxes per month with no extras,unless we want to pay retail out of pocket. So far, Anthem totally sucks compared to Medical Mutual. We change her site every 3 days, which means exactly 1 box per month=3 boxes per 3 months. So that leaves room for...lets see...0.000000 % error I dont know..mabe if we ask the doctor to write the RX's for more than exactly the amount...mabe that will work ?
idk.
I'll keep yall posted...thanks for the warm welcome, and keep up the good work. I'm sure I'll become a senior member in no time !! lol )

Bryan

[spike]

Sure-T's; not "Quick-T's". (Just want to be sure you ask MM for the correct item)

[subvet1969]

Ohhhh, my bad, thanks for the clarification Spike.

[poodlebone]

Yes, do have your doctor write for 4 boxes. If he has to, he should indicate that the site should be changed every 2 days or every 2 1/2 days, enough to cover the 4 boxes.

I had tried Quick-Sets on my hips and my upper butt area and still had problems. I don't think it matter where you insert them. I spend one day in the high 300's to 400's because of one failed set after another. I was told by Minimed that I should always insert the same way every time. One guy recommended that I stand for inserting them and if I couldn't stand, to lay down flat. He said if I used the Serter, to always use it and not to do some with the serter and some manually. None of the tips worked, the shorter sets didn't work and I finally moved to the Silhouettes. They do come with a shorter cannula now, maybe not so scary for your daughter. The new Sure-T's with the tiny metal cannula are aimed at children so you might have better luck with them. They're just a little bulkier, because there are two adhesive pads. One has the cannula, and that is very flat and sits close to the body. It's connected by a short length of tubing to the other adhesive pad which just holds the disconnect hub. Nothing goes into your skin with that. So, when you disconnect you have two adhesive pads stuck to you with a 4" or so piece of tubing connecting them. You just have to make sure you place them so that she can move without the connecting tubing getting taut and pulling the parts off, and not so loose that she catches it on stuff when getting undressed or using the bathroom.

The nice thing about the Sure-T's is that if you insert and it hurts, you can pull it right out and stick it somewhere else since it's metal. You will need some extra adhesive to tape it back down if you do that. The last one I inserted, it hurt so I mkoved it and it still hurt and I moved it again and it was fine. I used Hypafix to tape it down, which is exactly like the tape used on the sets.

So, ask your doctor to send MM a new prescription and call MM and tell them about the failed sets and how you have NO extras to play with. Get mad and don't let them hand you any user error ****. If they do, just wait awhile, call back and speak to someone else.

[am1977]

i would not go with the silhouettes, personally. I can completely see why they scare your daughter- heck, they scare me. And I found that when I tried to insert, they hurt most times. Of course, there are some who love them, but I just had a lot of problems with them regarding delivery as well.

I hated having to estimate the angle of how to insert them- I think most of the time I was inserting the sets too deeply. Of course, I was using the serter and I've heard that the serter tends to be problematic. My CDE showed me how to manually insert them, but I haven't been able to do that- guess I'm chicken.

I like the quicksets- I find that they are really easy to use and insert and I haven't had a lot of problems with delivery. And most of the time, they do not hurt- of course, that depends on the location.

I would also recommend calling MM. Perhaps if you explain your situation they could send you a couple different type of samples and your daughter can see what she likes.

Good luck

[subvet1969]

Thanks so much for your help. I can't believe how helpful you all have been, and I just joined yesterday. We are not new to diabetes, but we are new to the pump, and like most of you know, its almost like starting over again.I will look into the advice you gave me about the inserts and try a couple different ones.I'll be sure to call MM and try to get some replacements for their duds. Hope they don't give me a hard time about it....GRRRR!

Again, thanks for all your help, and you'll be sure to see me mosying around on this site for years to come.



Bryan & Savannah

PRAY 4 A CURE

[subvet1969]

Thanks all for you advice.MiniMed is going to send a few replacements to replace the "duds", and they are also sending a few Sure T's for us to sample. They also send a default of 4 boxes of supplies for every 3 month prescription (pretty much a spare box of quicksets and reservoirs to play with in case of errors or bent cannulas etc). I found out that I order these supplies directly through MM via my insurance, as my mailorder Rx company does not supply these anyway because thet are not a dealer I guess. BTW, MiniMed/Medtronic and BD have exceptional customer service, either that or I called when the grumpys were on vacation ! lol

Thanks all for your help !