Month: April 2018

Managing sharps safely

Just a little “show and tell” of some of the “sharps” containers in my house at the moment, and how I use them in managing the sharps produced by my “insulin habit”. On the right of the above picture is the 1.7 l container supplied by the local council. Back when I was using syringes …

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Backup insulin pens

For a change I’m not going to write here about the latest insulin pumps, CGMs, and closed-loop systems. This is about insulin pens, and possible compatibility between some models that the manufacturers won’t tell you about. Before I started using an insulin pump, I used injection pens for both my short-acting (“bolus”) insulin and my …

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“Hard” or “soft” expiry dates: a Spirit Combo story

We see “expiry” dates on many medical items, and some of them are often treated with a little disdain. For example, lancets tend to last for aeons, and CGM sensors don’t stop working right when their expiry date passes. The Accu-Chek Spirit Combo pump has a few “features” many people seem to not be aware of, …

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Cleo 90 infusion set – forgotten but not gone?

The Cleo 90 is an infusion set for insulin pumps which is available through Australia’s NDSS, but seems to have been forgotten by many people. Since 2010 I’ve used a variety of infusion sets with my pumps. The Animas Inset II (and the equivalent Medtronic Mio) and the Animas Comfort (and the matching Medtronic Silhouette). …

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Pump cannulae and infusion sets: what are the differences?

Cannulae (the plural form of “cannula”) are the tubes we stick into ourselves to infuse insulin from our pumps. They’re either made of steel or flexible teflon. Some go straight in (90˚) and are available in 6 or 9 mm lengths. Some are a lot longer. Today 6 mm is a common recommendation, although longer …

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