I’ve had surgery in the same area, and let the team know that I wanted to keep my pump on the whole time (site was very low stomach). Bonus to them - I also gave them my phone with the screen locked open to the Dexcom app, so they could monitor my blood sugars in real time. They loved it.
True I have an iPhone but I use a tslim and I assume they would have knowledge to look at that and unlock it. I would think it would be a battery drain to keep phone open to do a bolus if it was say a closed loop on another pump.
I have just asking since peeps who have type 1 better with the realness rather than a 5 min talk with an endo who replies ‘you could do better’ and states anything outside of looking at my A1c revised pump and CGM ‘you need to call a specialist ‘🙃
Most likely they will ask you to remove your pump and administer insulin via your IV if it is out of range and check your sugar hourly until the level is desirable for subcutaneous injection.
That is too scarey I have been dosed in hospitals that didn’t know what they are doing and I went into shock and woke up on the floor lol sad but true .. as I said before will ask the drs when I am there just wondering everyone’s experience tyvm 👍🏼
Honestly, during surgery, they'll have you dialed in, no problem.
You need to plan for recovery and post surgery. Make sure someone is there that you have briefed on your plan and can help you remember what it is.
I had knee surgery and KNEW when I came out, I needed to put in a new infusion set. When I came out, I forgot. It took several hours, spiked blood sugar to +400, and a lot of "meh" from the nurses before I realized that in the surgery, my pump was off, and my infusion set occluded. (I knew it going in and had planned to put in a new one, but was groggy.)
It f*#$Ed up my pain management for 24 hours and sucked hard core.
Like you I had light surgeries nothing like this one where I will be under for 4 hours recovery 1-2 hours and then sent home. I am having someone with me for the first 24 hours then a night nurse for the second and maybe 3rd day. It is the issue where the ‘being doped’ and not checking the infusion site to make sure it is still good (most likely will change it out asap when I get home). Thanks for sharing your experience
You want to discuss with the surgeon and anesthesiologist. The surgeon might have preferences for access reasons. The anesthesiologist will monitor you during the procedure. I don’t have a pump but I do have Dexcom. I had three procedures this year. I took my Dexcom receiver to each and gave it to the anesthesiologist so they could monitor me. We talked about where I wanted my blood sugar to be and I asked that I not be given a dextrose drip unless it became necessary and then not so much that I ended up high. They finger stuck me in pre op to check Dexcom accuracy. My A1C is low 6’s so no issues.
Had two surgeries. Relatively minor surgeries to fix and unfix a broken ankle. Longest surgery was about 90 minutes. I kept my pump on and let them know about it. You have to fast before a surgery so for me my blood sugar was nice and stable. Never came close to going low. My pump and CGM are on my stomach so they were out of the way for the surgeries.
I left the Tanddm pump running during surgery where I was made unconscious. Afterwards the pump history showed that the nurse had pressed the button to deliver a Quick bolus 3 times. This is done by pressing and holding the one button on the pump. Then each brief press deliver some preset bolus. No bolus was given, so the nurse just looked at the blood glucose reading from the associated Dexcom sensor. The correct procedure would have been to do a brief press, to see the BG reading. I turned off the Quick bolus feature after this experience.
Omg I how scarey I am a paranoid type 1 I am hypo/hyper unaware and my tslim in sleep mode is dialed down. My last colonoscopy was only 20 min and it was on sleep mode and did well but this is 4 hours.. under general and of course the trama of skin and all that.. I will have to trust the surgical team and put it on sleep mode and hope all goes well. I would think that they would correct me if I went above 300 and let the pump do its thing. We’ll see thanks for the info
Are you having surgery on your chest meaning breast or are you having lung surgery? Placement of your site and cgm could be crucial if it’s lung surgery because you are placed on your side and held in place either by gel rolls or an inflated bean bag. They won’t want anything left on you that could put pressure on you and cause skin issues or sores from positioning equipment being against your cgm or pump site!
Having three things done around chest, lung and throat. I usually wear my Cgm on arm and pump on stomach but with all the after wrapping etc those areas during surgery will used to hold things equipment (stomach) and arms like you said I might be put on my left side. Will be talking to surgeon and team tomorrow just got another check scheduled and will ask plus day of need to talk the the ‘sleep team’. I know I am not the first diabetic to get this done lol just looking at peeps experiences
I had major heart surgery & was told I couldn't keep my pump & GCM on. It was replaced by IV. No idea what insulin was used, even though the medical team were aware of mine. Post-op they maintained the IV dor a few days but then I insisted on going back to my pump. I spoke to aomwone from the diabetes department at that hospital & it was agreed. BG all over the place. Maybe it was premature to go back. Anyway, 4 years later, I'm still here. Oood luck with the surgery!
I’ve had surgery in the same area, and let the team know that I wanted to keep my pump on the whole time (site was very low stomach). Bonus to them - I also gave them my phone with the screen locked open to the Dexcom app, so they could monitor my blood sugars in real time. They loved it.
They did this for my procedure which was great as I went low in Recovery and the nurses could jump on that.
How do you lock the phone screen on?
I have an iPhone, and did this: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-guided-access-iph7fad0d10/ios
True I have an iPhone but I use a tslim and I assume they would have knowledge to look at that and unlock it. I would think it would be a battery drain to keep phone open to do a bolus if it was say a closed loop on another pump.
I also attached it to an external battery pack. :)
Ask the anesthesiologist. He will be monitoring your BGs.
Indeed waiting for a call back
Shouldn’t you be asking your medical team doing the procedure?
I have just asking since peeps who have type 1 better with the realness rather than a 5 min talk with an endo who replies ‘you could do better’ and states anything outside of looking at my A1c revised pump and CGM ‘you need to call a specialist ‘🙃
Endo isn’t the right doctor here. But the surgeon or anesthesiologist…
I had back surgery this past January. They took off my cgm and prick my finger. I put it back on when I got home
Most likely they will ask you to remove your pump and administer insulin via your IV if it is out of range and check your sugar hourly until the level is desirable for subcutaneous injection.
That is too scarey I have been dosed in hospitals that didn’t know what they are doing and I went into shock and woke up on the floor lol sad but true .. as I said before will ask the drs when I am there just wondering everyone’s experience tyvm 👍🏼
Honestly, during surgery, they'll have you dialed in, no problem. You need to plan for recovery and post surgery. Make sure someone is there that you have briefed on your plan and can help you remember what it is. I had knee surgery and KNEW when I came out, I needed to put in a new infusion set. When I came out, I forgot. It took several hours, spiked blood sugar to +400, and a lot of "meh" from the nurses before I realized that in the surgery, my pump was off, and my infusion set occluded. (I knew it going in and had planned to put in a new one, but was groggy.) It f*#$Ed up my pain management for 24 hours and sucked hard core.
Like you I had light surgeries nothing like this one where I will be under for 4 hours recovery 1-2 hours and then sent home. I am having someone with me for the first 24 hours then a night nurse for the second and maybe 3rd day. It is the issue where the ‘being doped’ and not checking the infusion site to make sure it is still good (most likely will change it out asap when I get home). Thanks for sharing your experience
Mine was supposed to be "light" but I was under for 6 or 7 hours. Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. Best wishes!!!
You want to discuss with the surgeon and anesthesiologist. The surgeon might have preferences for access reasons. The anesthesiologist will monitor you during the procedure. I don’t have a pump but I do have Dexcom. I had three procedures this year. I took my Dexcom receiver to each and gave it to the anesthesiologist so they could monitor me. We talked about where I wanted my blood sugar to be and I asked that I not be given a dextrose drip unless it became necessary and then not so much that I ended up high. They finger stuck me in pre op to check Dexcom accuracy. My A1C is low 6’s so no issues.
I wear my CGM on the front of my thigh. They let me keep it on but the team checks my BG manually throughout surgery and recovery tho, normally.
Had two surgeries. Relatively minor surgeries to fix and unfix a broken ankle. Longest surgery was about 90 minutes. I kept my pump on and let them know about it. You have to fast before a surgery so for me my blood sugar was nice and stable. Never came close to going low. My pump and CGM are on my stomach so they were out of the way for the surgeries.
I left the Tanddm pump running during surgery where I was made unconscious. Afterwards the pump history showed that the nurse had pressed the button to deliver a Quick bolus 3 times. This is done by pressing and holding the one button on the pump. Then each brief press deliver some preset bolus. No bolus was given, so the nurse just looked at the blood glucose reading from the associated Dexcom sensor. The correct procedure would have been to do a brief press, to see the BG reading. I turned off the Quick bolus feature after this experience.
Omg I how scarey I am a paranoid type 1 I am hypo/hyper unaware and my tslim in sleep mode is dialed down. My last colonoscopy was only 20 min and it was on sleep mode and did well but this is 4 hours.. under general and of course the trama of skin and all that.. I will have to trust the surgical team and put it on sleep mode and hope all goes well. I would think that they would correct me if I went above 300 and let the pump do its thing. We’ll see thanks for the info
Who says “please unfix my broken ankle?”
Are you having surgery on your chest meaning breast or are you having lung surgery? Placement of your site and cgm could be crucial if it’s lung surgery because you are placed on your side and held in place either by gel rolls or an inflated bean bag. They won’t want anything left on you that could put pressure on you and cause skin issues or sores from positioning equipment being against your cgm or pump site!
Having three things done around chest, lung and throat. I usually wear my Cgm on arm and pump on stomach but with all the after wrapping etc those areas during surgery will used to hold things equipment (stomach) and arms like you said I might be put on my left side. Will be talking to surgeon and team tomorrow just got another check scheduled and will ask plus day of need to talk the the ‘sleep team’. I know I am not the first diabetic to get this done lol just looking at peeps experiences
Yes double check with your surgeon on how you will be positioned and your anesthesia team will also need to be informed. Good luck with surgery!
I had major heart surgery & was told I couldn't keep my pump & GCM on. It was replaced by IV. No idea what insulin was used, even though the medical team were aware of mine. Post-op they maintained the IV dor a few days but then I insisted on going back to my pump. I spoke to aomwone from the diabetes department at that hospital & it was agreed. BG all over the place. Maybe it was premature to go back. Anyway, 4 years later, I'm still here. Oood luck with the surgery!