Out of all the stuff I have looked up and read about the PING has not told me how the insulin gets in the reservoir. Can someone tell me? I feel totally dumb asking but I just need to satisfy this curiosity.
might be answering wrong but if you are talking about before you put it into the pump it has a needle that you put on the end of the resivorand draw it out just like you would if you were on MDI. Inside the pump there is a plunger like thing that pushes the resevior. I never even thought about that until you asked.
The reservoirs come with a plunger and a needle. You fill the reservoirs out of a regular insulin bottle, just like a syringe. The needle and plunger are then removed, the tube attached and inserted into the pump. It's really very simple!
People generally change the reservoir every time they change the site, yes. Some folks fill the reservoir and only change when it's empty, but I think they're the minority.
My daughter gets a kick out of seeing the needle for filling the reservoir, she gets to announce that's not for her, it's for her pump! We change the reservoir every site change, it's just part of the routine, we warm the insulin if it's cold, screw the needle and push the plunger into the reservoir, push air into the insulin vial, draw up the insulin, get rid of bubbles, and then remove the plunger and needle, cap the reservoir, let it sit for about half an hour and rewind the pump, take out the old reservoir, replace it with the new one, prime the tubing, insert the site, fill the cannula if needed, lock the pump back up and we're done. It's kind of like tying your shoe or putting in and playing a DVD, it sounds complicated on paper but once you do it a few times it's pretty straightforward. Hope that helps.
Minority here! I usually fill the resevior with about 100u (we only use about 10u/day) then we have a little wiggle room if we have to do an unscheduled site change or prime we have enough. I'm also a little paranoid about running out of insulin while we are out and about. I also use this trick if we are leaving DD's for the weekend with someone so they don't have to worry about doing that part. They just have to change the site. We fill the resevior from a regular vial of insulin using the needle it comes with. You then rewind the pump pull out the old resevior and insert the new one unhook the needle and hook up the tubing.
Also in the minority. We fill the cartridge completely and only change it when he has 10 units left. With warmer weather coming we'll put less in so we don't risk it getting too warm and giving us wonky numbers.
it becomes 2nd nature..i can practically do with eyes closed (ouch!)...The coz takes like a lot insulin, I fill like 200 units and change out as needed (I like to change when like 40-60 units left) Especially if warm out. But sometimes she doesnt remind me until like 20 units..We NEVER ran out. Also remember to check Battery. Keep batt in with your supplies when travel etc.
I always fill the reservoir to the full 180 units, and that lasts 1 or 2 site changes.. I don't want to go through a reservoir every three days, it just seems like a waste to me when they last longer than that.
