My daughter has recently switched from Silhouettes to the Quick Set and we have been getting a lot of high readings (in the 400 range). They just don't seem to work as well.... Has anyone else had this problem?? Looking for suggestions. My daughter likes the Quick Set better but this is getting very difficult. Thanks in advance for the advice. Elizabeth Arruda, Rockland Maine
I don't know how old or how big your child is, but is it possible that you need the longer cannula? If I remember right, they come in 6 and 9 mm lengths; if the cannula isn't in far enough the insulin can't be absorbed as well. Of course, we've only had anything to do with pumps for a couple of months, so I could be completely talking out of my elbow....
We use the Quickset and I am not that fond of it. I find that it fails more frequently than the Sure-T that we used for a while. The only reason that we stay with it is that my daughter tolerates it better than the others. My prob with the Quickset is that if the site gets bumped "just right" the cannula pulls out and kinks up underneath the pad and you can't see it, so you don't know about the failure until you have highs.... I change sites alot, but my daughter says they don't hurt and she doesn't mind the changes. With the other sets, she screamed and threw a fit everytime we went to change the site... So, even if I have to change the site 2 times in a day, it is better than the tantrums that we had every 2-3 days with the other sets.... PERSONALLY...I loved the steel sets because i knew that the needle was in and giving her insulin, but she complained that the site hurt all the time when she wore the steel sets... Walked around holding her butt. I have a sensitivity to all metals, so I wonder if she also has it and just couldn't tolerate the steel??.... Anyhow.... Probably too much information!!! *smile*...But oh well... Have a great day!!! CarrieP
My son uses both the Quickset and the Comfort Short (like a Silhouette) and when he first started we definitely had more problems with the Quickset. It didn't seem to take much to get a little bend in the cannula that would not completely fail, but run him high. Like the insulin was getting in, but too slow and not all of it. I must say though that in the past six months we've had no trouble with them. I don't know if that's because I've stopped jumping to the conclusion that it's the set every time he is high and am more comfortable giving a correction time to work first or because we've got the insertion technique down better.
Hmmm. I don't know? We have been using them for about 15 months on my daughter and 12 months on my husband, and they work really well for us. It could be, as Beth mentioned, that the set isn't going as deep as the (very long) silhouettes did. It could make a big difference in how the insulin is absorbed. If your daughter was tolerating silhouettes she may be able to use the 9mm length w/o much trouble. Strangely enough we had more highs with them in the very beginning that I wondered about, but like Holly, we almost never have any issues with them now, so I don't know if the highs were set related or just changing insulin needs. I love the easy painless design too, so I hope you can figure it out!!!:cwds:
My daughter has used the quick-set for the past 14 months. We have had pretty good luck with it but I have noticed that the sites we chose in the leg sometimes go high. It's hard to tell the difference between muscle and fat on a 7 year olds thigh so I think that is our problem. We have the best luck when her site is in the stomach.
My daughter is 14, dx 08/06 and pumping since 10/23/06. She uses a minimed 722 with Quickset 6mm x 23" and the Quickserter and has never had a problem either with the site or with insulin delivery. Perhaps different body types work better with different types of sets?
We had no luck with the Quick Sets and had to switch to Silhouettes. My daughter is only 3 and pretty slim. I noticed when I'd take the Quick Set site out, the cannula was bent. Silhouettes were not fun to insert though and we've just switched again to the Sure T and we are loving it!
We use the 6mm quick set also and have had no issues so far. Well, one night it fell out...but, other than that...no issues.
Chase has only been on the MM 722 pump for about 3 weeks now and we started with the quick set 6mm in his stomach and he couldn't tolerate it either he said it was so painful that we even had to stop pumping for a few days. He wouldn't let me insert another one in. But I had him put it in his bottom and now he loves it. No pain and it hasn't fell out nor has it kinked.He loves the quick set.
On lean kids it's very important to put sites in the place with the most padding. Stomach sites are a common problem for very lean kids, and even with a short 6mm cannula they can hit muscle and kink. We have never been able to use Emma's stomach because even a short cannula will hit the muscle and it causes problems. Being too close to a muscle can also cause lows, bleeding, discomfort, etc. with any cannula, so even though a steel needle may not kink it still needs to be in an adequately padded area to work really well. Upper butt cheeks, love handles and outer thighs are *our* best sites. They are the only places that accommodate the cannula well enough on Emma.
What size is her canulla's my daughter was first using the 9mm we had problems with highs then we switched to 6mm and no problems since
We had problems with the Quicksets kinking & going high. Probably 3 out of 4 would get kinked. He is a really active almost 3 year old, so I think that must be what causes the kinks. We just switched to the silhouttes & besides the manual insertion, we like them better. He says they are more comfortable & numbers have been much more manageable. Good luck
Emma uses thee silhouttes and they have been great I uses Emal cream to freez her skin before i put the new site in and it works great. She doesnt feel it and I dont feel so bad putting it in..... Sometimes its not the site but maybe your bailse is not high enough or your carb ratio is off. Ill pray for good numbers!
Quick sets vs. silhouettes My10- year old daughter uses both the 6mm quicksets, and the silhouettes. We have not noticed any difference in her numbers, but we have found that the quicksets fall out more easily if she is very active. She was the one that elected to go back to the silhouettes for a time, because she was sick of her quicksets falling or being "yanked out" so easily. She likes to insert her own sets, and much to my disbelief, she prefers inserting the silhouette because she feels like she has more control. She doesn't like pushing a button and getting shot. Carole - mom of Lauren 10 dx 10/05 Jenna 11 Tim 14
