tenders
HI…I am in line for an insulin pump and have recently joined this list to
learn more about it. What are the definitions of "infusion" and "tenders,
comforts"///Thanks
16 Responses to “tenders”
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September 21st, 2003 at 2:27 pm
Silhouettes, Soft Set, Bent Needle, and Micron are all infusion sets that
are sold by Minimed. Rapid’s, Tenders are sold by Disetronic.
Choosing the right infusion set for yourself is very important to Insulin
Pump Therapy. It is vital to when choosing an infusion set to take a good
look at them, make sure that you will be comfortable with it, even try it on
yourself to see if it feels right for you.
Choosing a set is very individual, it depends on several factors that you
and your health care team must use to determine which one is right for you.
Both companies offer a full line of infusion sets.
To see the differences in the sets that you will be using with the pump you
can contact Minimed, Disetronic or your educator and ask them for some
samples of each one to see what you are more comfortable with. Most of the
sets have a disconnect feature, at this time the rapid does not but it does
come in 3 different depts. The soft set and the Micron have some dangling
tubing which is uncomfortable for me but may not bother you. The tender and
the silhouette are the same set which has no dangling tubing but you have to
manual insert it. The soft set and Micron have a device called the soft
serter which automatically inserts the set. All 4 of these sets allow you to
withdraw the needle and leave a small piece of plastic inside your stomach
for up to 3 days. The Bent Needle and rapid set are needles that stay in
your body.
If I have left anything out please members please add.
Thanks,
Frank
September 21st, 2003 at 8:38 pm
I would like to make a few comments about the bent needle infusion set:
I have used several set types over the 10 years I have been on the pump,
and have concluded that, at least from my perspective, the bent needle
is the only satisfactory solution.
The so called soft sets and equivalents have several disadvantages from
my perspective. First, they are considerably more expensive, and
second, I experienced a rather high failure rate using them (as much as
1 in 3 failed within hours of insertion for various reasons). Once
this occurs, there is no recovery except for exchanging it for a new
one. And worse, one often experiences BG’s of 400-500 in a couple of
hours following the failure.
The bent needle, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive, almost
always works properly, and can be left in place longer (at least from my
experience) than any of the others. Four to five days seems to work
well with me without any sign of irritation or reduced performance.
I find it no more uncomfortable than the soft sets, as well. I suspect
that there is a certain squeamishness in having a real needle inserted
all the time, but in actuality, once in place there is no difference at
all. The pain associated with insertion is the same, since an insertion
needle is required with the soft sets. In fact, Minimed has come up
with elaborate insertion devices to relieve this insertion difficulty,
but I had no better success using this than the ‘poke it in’ method.
Another advantage: If the bent needle fails for some reason in the
first few hours, it can be reinserted at another site, if done
carefully, and done only once. I have saved probably 30 sets this way
over the past three years. Also, the insulin in the tubing can be
recovered by using the removed bent needle as an insertion device for
placing the 20 units of insulin remaining back into a recovery vial.
This is certainly not an ‘approved’ procedure, but if done carefully
certainly seems ok, given the stability of insulin in the tubing that
has been reported.
I know several CDE’s who are also pump users, who use the bent needle in
preference to the others, for similar reasons.
However, I note that most of the discussions on this topic on various
e-lists are dominated by the soft sets and equivalents. I am not sure
why this is, but suspect much of it is associated with the squeamish
factor associated with the needle.
David
September 22nd, 2003 at 7:38 pm
Hi:
Infusion - same as infusing an IV….you have something going in
continuously, in this instance insulin is "infused" via a plastic cannula
(Tender/Comfort) or via a needle infusion set such as the Bent or Straight
needles or Rapids (90* needle) that stays in…hope that answers your
questions….Joan
September 23rd, 2003 at 3:45 am
Frank:
I use some velcro computer cable ties to loop up the extra tubing so it
doesn’t dangle. Got them at a computer show, but I’m sure you can find them
at any computer supply store. I cut them in half because they were too long.
There’s a nice slot so that the tubing can be secured sort of like a lasso
(all us old cowboy people) and it works quite well. Try it, you might like
it. And thanks for the infor on the Micron, I haven’t been able to find it
here in the states yet….Joan
September 23rd, 2003 at 3:13 pm
The Micron is just a tiny bit smaller then the Soft set, When I was given a
few samples by Minimed I passed a few on to a friend and it was such a light
difference in needle size it was hard to see.
The reason I do not use the soft set is that I had a lot of problems with
clogs and also would leave huge welts on my stomach. Also my skin hated the
tape.
Infusion sets is a very individual thing.. what works for one patient may
not work for others. I think it is great that David loves the bent needles
and it works for him. I have tried the bent needle and it left me very sore
and irritated my skin. If the rapids had a disconnect feature I would try to
use it in different areas of my body besides my stomach. It worked okay for
me but when I had to disconnect I just pulled it out and reinserted it ( not
advised ). Then I had tried one in my arm and was getting lows like crazy
and sometimes when I get low I need to be separated from the pump and it
caused some problems for me.
Disetronic was trying to get a QR. on the comfort, Maybe John can tell me if
it is available outside of the United States ?
September 23rd, 2003 at 6:37 pm
Haven’t been able to locate ‘em here in Canada, can’t even get a rise out of
Denmark yet.
fp
September 25th, 2003 at 2:29 pm
I thought you were in Georgia??
Jan
September 26th, 2003 at 12:02 pm
—– Original Message —–
September 27th, 2003 at 12:30 am
thank David.. yes u are correct. Just checked one.
Sof-set Micro QR Infusion Set Ref MMT 320
September 27th, 2003 at 3:54 am
who are they made by, Frank? Maersk??
fp
September 27th, 2003 at 12:01 pm
Used to be, wish I still was.
fp
September 28th, 2003 at 4:17 am
will do, thanks Frank
fp
September 28th, 2003 at 10:35 am
Hi David.
You’re certainly not alone in liking bent needles. I have a friend in
Belgium who loves them too. He takes the needle out each morning and sticks
it in a new spot - reusing the needle. Not recommended practice, but it
works very well for him, and it means he’s always using a "fresh" site. He
changes the needle once a week at the same time he refills his pump with
insulin.
In the 2 years I’ve been pumping (just passed my 2nd anniversary - yippee!)
I found the bent needle seemed to carve a hole in me… the SofSet hit my
muscle layer whenever I lay on my stomach… the Rapid (8mm) simply felt
like I was being constantly stabbed. The only one I like is the
Tender/Silhouette.
I always feel it’s important to try all the different infusion sets. Only
then can you work out which is your favourite.
John
–
September 28th, 2003 at 6:43 pm
>Disetronic was trying to get a QR. on the comfort, Maybe John can tell me if
>it is available outside of the United States ?
Hi Frank - Yes, in Europe Disetronic sell a version of the Rapid (a short
needle that goes directly into the skin - like MiniMed’s Contact) with a
disconnection device like the QR.
But when I tried to get some more last month, I was told they were out of
That may explain why it is not available yet in the
stock. I heard unofficially from a chap who works for MiniMed that there
was in fact a problem with ownership of the patent for it, and they’ve had
to suspend sales until this matter has been legally resolved. Sounds fairly
stupid, doesn’t it!
US.
Since then I’ve gone back to using Tenders, so it’s no longer a real issue
for me.
John
–
September 29th, 2003 at 4:30 pm
Thank you David!!!! Joan :))))))
September 30th, 2003 at 7:50 am
John,
I find that there are sites that the bent needle does similar things
that you report, but not too often. I am glad to hear that there are
others that change the site using the same needle. I know that this is
not recommended, but I find it often is very effective.
David