Emily Adamski

Getting the air bubbles out of the syringe... tap the syringe against the table (not too hard of course) so that all the bubbles rise to the top and are easier to get out. I've had great success with getting them out that way. Or tapping the syringe with a pen works pretty well too. Avoiding hypertrophy... Be sure to rotate so that you don't get any "bumps" from injecting your pump site in the same spot. Try using your lower hip. It doesn't sound comfortable to some, but I found it is the same as my stomach.

If you find that you run out of insulin before it is time to change your site frequently there is a piece you can take out inside the pump to enable more insulin to fit into the pump. The neck of the syringe will stick out but it sure beats changing your site before you really need to.

Where to wear the pump for sleeping... I hook it to the waist of my pajama bottoms, on the front since I don't sleep on my stomach. It doesn't move around, and therefore I don't notice it is there while sleeping at all.

Having a tough time inserting your site? Some days it just seems so much more "stressful" changing your site, even though you know you can do it. I sometimes find I have to walk away for a few minutes to just forget about it so I wont tense up. If you tense up, it'll just hurt more and cause stress...lol

Tape problems? I find the tapes Minimed puts with their sof-sets don't work for me. One of them doesn't stick to me and the other gives me a little rash, so I found that Tegaderm (and IV tape) sticks well for me, even through swimming all day.

Going to be at the beach? Keep the pump out of the sun in a cooler (but not right on top of ice). If you don't want people to see the pump site (wearing a 2 piece, or boys) try your lower hip as in insertion site. Be sure if you take off the pump to cover the basal rate you're missing.

If going to be active for a while... Set a temporary basal rate to avoid unnecessary eating if planning on wearing the pump through strenuous exercise. Set it a little before you start exercising though so that you wont go low early on.