Insulin pumps and other diabetes technology equipment can break or stop working, so it’s important to have an emergency plan in place. This plan may include ordering a backup device or temporarily using insulin injections until you get a new pump.
Although insulin pumps are the most advanced treatment method of choice for many people with diabetes, they don’t always work perfectly. These technical gadgets are just machines. They sometimes have glitches or malfunction completely.
These malfunctions can manifest in many ways, from buttons not responding to touch or the pump not holding a battery charge. You may also hear shrieking alarms or a “critical error” alert letting you know something is wrong.
Of course, according to Murphy’s Law, an insulin pump will usually stop working at the most inconvenient moment. That could be just before bedtime or in the middle of the night, while you’re on vacation, or during a busy work conference where you just don’t have time to manage device woes.
Here are some tips to help you manage situations when an insulin pump stops working properly.
The first rule of diabetes if something doesn’t go as planned: Don’t panic.
Yes, it may feel as though we can’t function without a particular device that we’ve been using. But know that it is certainly possible to continue managing blood sugar levels effectively without that technology. Remember that before this tech existed, people with diabetes managed without it for decades.
You can do this.
Make sure to closely watch and manage your blood sugar levels, tracking any higher glucose levels that may need attention with rapid-acting insulin.
To avoid falling into the trap of overreliance on diabetes technology, it’s important that you have a backup plan in place. Being prepared will help you avoid panic if and when something goes wrong with your pump.
Be sure to always have a vial and syringe, or an insulin pen, as a backup. If you’ve been using a pump for many years, it might be easy to forget that.
Insulin pump failures aren’t always easy to diagnose, and can take some time to figure out what’s happening. This is why medical professionals and diabetes care guidelines encourage everyone with diabetes to have a backup plan, in case their insulin pump stops working.
Know your first steps and go through a checklist to make sure you’re touching all the bases.
Many common insulin pump problems, including those related to integrated continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), may be issues you can address on your own.
This might include snagged or kinked tubing or “occlusion errors” in the cannula, when a blockage prevents the insulin from entering the body through the infusion set.
Other possible issues might be a low battery, an empty insulin cartridge, or blood sugar readings not appearing if your integrated CGM does not work with the insulin pump.
You can try mana these concerns on your own. A device manufacturer or representative, and your healthcare team, can help you best understand and manage these potential problems if and when they materialize.
Of course, not all pump problems are manageable on your own.
If a pump malfunction doesn’t appear to be something you can troubleshoot and resolve on your own, you may consider contacting the pump manufacturer directly.
This may include many different scenarios:
- a broken or shattered display or cracked casing
- buttons are not working as they’re supposed to
- a “critical” alert notification that requires a device replacement
Be aware: Not every diabetes device company has 24/7 customer service, and they may only operate during regular weekday business hours or limited hours on weekends and holidays.
All of the companies have fairly straightforward recommendations for what to do if your insulin pump suddenly becomes a very expensive paperweight (meaning the pump doesn’t work).
This usually involves contacting a call center, where a representative will take down your product and customer information for their database. They will then provide a step-by-step troubleshooting process to see if they can fix the problem first, without needing to send a new device.
- If it’s determined that you do need a replacement, the units are generally sent by overnight shipment or second-day delivery, meaning you’ll be up and running again very soon.
- If you worked with a local rep to get set up on your pump initially and still have that person’s contact information, feel free to reach out. Regional reps can sometimes help out even more immediately by dropping off a new unit in case of emergency.
- Some insulin pump makers offer a travel loaner option, which allows you to borrow an extra pump for a modest fee for a limited time. Depending on the manufacturer and your pump contract, this may be part of your device warranty.
As mentioned, it’s critical to be prepared to rely on insulin injections in case of a non-tech emergency.
This means you should always have a variety of medications and supplies on hand, just in case:
- rapid-acting insulin you use in your pump (eg, Humalog, Insulin Lispro, Novolog)
- a long-acting basal insulin (eg, Basaglar, Lantus, Tresiba) to serve as your background insulin, which you’d typically get continuously from the pump throughout the day and night
- insulin syringes
- insulin pen needle caps, if you’re using an insulin pen
Each of these may require a new, separate prescription from your doctor. Some people choose to have a valid prescription on hand in case of an emergency without diabetes tech, while others prefer to keep these supplies and different insulins unopened and stored properly in the refrigerator.
Remember that before switching from your insulin pump’s constant drip to long-acting insulin injections, you’ll need to check with your healthcare team. They can best calculate how much and when you might need to take different types of insulin and injections, based on your own diabetes care plan.
Document your settings ahead of time
Whether you already have a backup pump or you receive a new or refurbished device from the manufacturer, you will likely need to re-enter all of your settings and programs into the new insulin pump.
Anyone using an insulin pump should keep handy a list of their programmed settings, including:
- insulin basal rates
- insulin sensitivity factor (aka correction factor)
- food-to-insulin ratio
- glucose ranges pre-programmed in the device.
Your doctor’s office and healthcare team may have a list of those settings, but it’s best to keep one in your own records so you have quick and easy access to the most current information.
When UPS or FedEx arrives with your brand-new insulin pump, try not to rush in excitement to immediately connect it to your device.
Take some time to get acquainted with the new pump, program it, and ensure that all your settings are correct.
Importantly, remember that long-acting insulin stays in your system for many hours after you have taken it. This means that basal insulin may not have worn off by the time you’re ready to start using a new pump.
Long-acting insulin can last in your system for 12 to 14 hours or longer after you have injected it. Make sure to wait until you’re sure that insulin is not going to drop low before starting up the insulin pump’s basal amounts every hour.
Diabetes technology and insulin pumps aren’t perfect and can malfunction. This can lead to high blood sugars and changes in diabetes management until a device replacement arrives.
You might try managing pump problems on your own, or you may consider contacting the device maker or your doctor for more guidance on how to fix the issue. They may need to send a pump replacement.
Consult your healthcare team about having a backup plan in place, including how to switch to insulin injections and what different types of insulin or supplies you might need a prescription for.