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nitinkapoor

@nitinkapoor

When do you disconnect your insulin pump?

I recently started using an insulin pump and I'm still figuring out the practical everyday stuff.

What do you all do for things like showering, swimming, working out or intimacy? Do you normally disconnect the pump for a while, keep it attached somehow, or does it depend on what you're doing?

I'm especially confused about swimming because I don't know how long it's okay to be disconnected, and I also don't want to damage the pump by assuming it's waterproof when it isn't.

I know different pumps probably have different rules, so I'm mostly curious how people actually handle these situations in real life.

254336 views
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@akash-m

For showers I disconnect. I'm usually done pretty quickly so it's never been a big deal for me.

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@sameerkhan

Same. Shower is probably the easiest one because it's such a short amount of time.

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@ajaychauhan

Unless you're me and somehow turn a shower into 40 minutes 😂

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@akash-m

Haha yeah at 40 minutes I'd definitely be paying more attention to how long I've been disconnected.

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@deepak91

Swimming is the one where I'd check the instructions for your exact pump. Don't assume all pumps have the same water resistance. Even if somebody here swims with theirs, that doesn't mean yours is meant to be used the same way.

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@deepti11

This. Also water resistant and waterproof aren't necessarily the same thing. I actually read the manual for mine after years of ignoring manuals for everything else 😂

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@abhishek24

Diabetes is the only thing that has ever made me voluntarily read instruction manuals.

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nitinkapoor
@nitinkapoor

Yeah I think I was making the mistake of treating 'insulin pump' like they're all basically the same. I'll check the guidance for mine before I try swimming with it.

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@soniya-patel

Exercise completely depends on the exercise for me. Walking, I usually leave everything alone. At the gym I keep my pump on but make sure the tubing isn't somewhere I'm going to catch it. For anything involving a lot of contact or movement, I have to plan more.

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@akashverma

Where do you keep it at the gym? Mine has nearly gone flying twice.

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@soniya-patel

Usually clipped inside my waistband. Not glamorous but it's survived so far.

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@akashverma

I'm stealing this idea because the pocket situation is clearly not working for me 😂

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@anandreddy

For intimacy, yes, I usually disconnect my tubed pump. It was awkward the first few times because I was so aware of it, but now it's basically just phone, keys, pump... where did I leave everything afterward 😂

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@rashmi04

The 'where did I put my pump' search afterward is very real.

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@sachinrawat

I have one specific spot on the bedside table now because I got tired of doing this.

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@anandreddy

This is much smarter than my current system of throwing it somewhere and regretting it later.

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@gauravmishra

The important thing is that disconnecting also means you're not getting the insulin the pump would normally be delivering during that time. How long that's okay isn't something I'd copy from another person's routine. I worked out my exercise and swimming plan with my diabetes team because I was going high afterward.

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@anupsharma

Yep. I learned this after treating 'I'll just take it off for a while' way too casually. Short shower and spending half an afternoon at the pool are very different situations.

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nitinkapoor
@nitinkapoor

This is the part I was missing. I was mostly thinking about the physical pump and water, not the insulin I'm missing while it's disconnected.

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@mukesh21

And exercise makes it even more individual because sometimes activity is already moving your glucose in the opposite direction. Definitely worth having a plan instead of guessing.

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archana15
@archana15

Tubeless pump user here, so my answers are completely different from people with tubing. That's why these threads get confusing fast 😂

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@avinash91

Exactly. People really need to mention which kind of pump they're talking about before saying 'I just disconnect mine.'

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archana15
@archana15

Yep. Even within tubeless pumps I'd still check the manufacturer's water guidance instead of assuming mine and someone else's are identical.

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@varun32

One tiny practical thing: if I disconnect for anything, I leave the pump somewhere obvious. I used to put it somewhere 'safe' and then spend ten minutes looking for the safe place.

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@komalpatel

This applies to diabetes supplies in general. The safer the place I choose, the less likely I am to ever find it again.

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