30 Comments
Has your insulin pump ever overheated while in hot temperatures or in the sun?
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Cars with sophisticated electronics and algorithms can drive around Phoenix or Death Valley at 119 degrees F all day. An insulin pump can probably do the same. It’s the fuel I’m concerned about.
In a car the fuel stays liquid. That is until it’s vaporized and ignited. The ever-unfolding long protein molecule called insulin is supposed to stay liquid from the pump, into the subcutaneous injection, through the blood stream, then ignited much later. That extreme balancing-delaying act has got to be much more of an issue than the pump itself. 🦋🦋
Yes, and the screen goes black
I don’t go out in the sun much anymore.
I keep my insulin pump in a frio bag in the hot temperatures which helps to keep it cooler.
My pump has never overheated, but both my iPhone and iPad have!
Me too, not pump but definitely iPhone.
😂😂
I do a lot of outside work in the Florida sun. Although, I don’t think Florida gets as hot during the summer as the upper 48. Anyway, I try to keep my pump covered with my shirt, untucked. I have never been aware of the pump overheating.
I take my pump off when I go running. But, that’s more because it is just too uncomfortable to wear while running, and I don’t want insulin while I’m running.
I just started on the omnipod 5 and live in TX( we’ve been having terribly hot weather) so this has been my latest T1D anxiety.
I’m in Fort Worth. The heat this year is so dangerous that I haven’t been out in it more than 5 minutes! Be safe.
My pump had a catastrophic failure while I was playing tennis about 4 years ago.
It was 94 degrees outside in the shade who knows how hot it is was on the court. I was sweating and it was under my shirt which was soaked. It could have been het or it could have been the sweat. Regardless, it failed.
Just happened two weeks ago when I was in Mexico. It killed my pump!
What a bummer! So sorry that happened to you.
Many years ago, I ruined an open vial of insulin by carrying it around in a black bag all day in the Southern California sun. The insulin in my pump seemed fine, but when I swapped in a new cartridge from that vial in the evening, it was like pumping water. I was on a trip to make arrangements for a new job when I had to find a pharmacy in the early morning and get a Massachusetts endo to phone in a prescription. Ever since, I’ve been careful to bring extra unopened backup vials and protect them from extreme heat.
Unsure, the pump has felt warm but there was no noticeable difference in insulin potency.
Don’t have
Was not in sun but my Tandem t:slim x2 became extra warm while charging a few times before it completely died. Yes, I was using Tandem charger.
Sometimes it even gets warm while charging but never to the point of mechanical failure. So, I put “unsure”.
I was in a hot car with no air conditioning, and the pump was fine but the insulin got cooked.
No. But I always put it in a cooler inside a ziplock if swimming for more than an hour. Just in case.
About 10 yrs ago I went for a summer bike ride and decided to try carrying my pump in a different place. Normally I would use my t-shirt pocket, but I was concerned what might happen if I had an accident and it fell out. I’d had a couple of close calls. So I decided to try keeping it in that little inside pocket of my biking shorts. Hot day, and I was hot from exercise, and it was in a closed pocket against my skin. I had set it to a temp basal of 0 for the ride as was my habit. When I finished the ride, I went to cancel the temp and return to normal delivery, only to discover none of the buttons worked. This was an old pager-style Paradigm, and button-freeze was a known failure mode, but I’m pretty sure it was brought on by the high temperature. MT replaced it under warranty and I had a new one about three days later (this is why you need a prescription for basal-bolus insulin in case of pump failure, which I did have). Same model pump, which I continued to use until just a couple months ago and never had a single problem. And I never carried my pump in that bike-shorts pocket again.
It was more than a decade ago, I was using a Medtronic pump and traveled to Albuquerque on business. The pump got hot and just started pumping away. I had to yank the site. When I called Medtronic they did not believe me.
Answered, unsure? Pump kept working yet could not view any data on screen, data couldn’t be seen
I said “unsure” but I should have said ‘Yes”. My husband just informed me that it happened to his pump about a week ago and he actually got an error message on the pump (T-slim) saying that it over heated. it was about 85 F out and we were sitting at an outdoor cafe, mostly under the shade of an umbrella. But as the sun moved, his right side became exposed to direct sun and he carries his pump in his front right pants pocket.
I’ve used an insulated cover for my pump when traveling to prevent overheating. Also helps for when we have subzero temperatures in winter.
I’m not sure what “overheated” means. If “the insulin gets cooked” obviously “yes”. Anyone that’s been to Disneyland/World, the beach in the US in summer or lives in tropical climates should say yes. If some other meaning, then it needs to be defined better.
Hot weather causes low blood sugar results but had that problem before the pump. Tandem pump has never given me a problem with heat. I live in a Northeast state, no real heat problems.
Yes, my Tandem x2 gave me an overheated message about 2 years ago while sitting on the patio in direct sunlight. I live in SC so it was a very warm. I learned a lesson that day!!! The pump returned to normal in a very short time after going back in to the a/c. It did not fail and I am still using this pump with no problems.
Live in TX so… On Charging my Tandem it ‘feels’ Hot but didn’t see any Warning and Insulin did not seem affected. Love my CIQ Cure!
I often use a cooling Frio-brand wallet for my pump in summertime.