My 11 year old son recently started on pump therapy, and so far, so good, but we have found the trickiest part to be filling the reservoir so as to avoid air bubbles in the tubing. Can you explain why insulin for this brand of pump is not available in pre-loaded cartridges, the way it is for pen injection devices? This would save time in set-changes, reducing air bubbles and probably reducing the risk of high blood sugars. Our diabetes team didn’t really know the answer, and the pump company was evasive.

Filling the syringe and being sure to remove all air bubbles does take some time, but since it is only done every two to three days it is not as terrible as it used to be. I do not know if pre-filled cartridges are on the horizon, but the amount of insulin everyone takes is so different and the amount of time they keep the set in varies somewhat, that it may just be too individualized to have it work out. However, even a pre-filled reservoir will not eliminate the need to be sure all air bubbles are out of the tubing and that the insulin pump is loaded with room temperature insulin, etc.

LSF

[Editor’s comment: FYI — It takes about five years to get FDA approval for a new pre-filled reservoir.

SS]