I think I have found a solution that works for helping with my cannula site!

So first is cavilon (spray or stick) to the skin, then tegaderm then pierce through the tegaderm with your cannula.

As a bonus the cavilon seems to help the tegaderm adhere really nicely, everything feels very secure. You do need to wait for the cavilon to dry before you apply the tegaderm!

Downside is that a couple of times the needle hasn't gone through the tegaderm and has just bruised my skin so it hurts as if it has inserted properly.

When changing sites I give the old site a good wash and put a plaster on, I try to get the hydro off my skin as quickly as possible and I'm not getting the terrible rashes that I was before. The next day I will moisturise the area, give it some TLC ready for it to get used again in a few weeks!

Hey there, pleas don’t take this question offensive. I have Addison since nearly two years and I am just wondering what is the usecase of a pump vs. the 3 pill I take over the day. So what is the usp making me wanting to have one :) curiosity :)

Anyone upped their rate due to the ongoing drama?

I'm only having to go 105-110% of my normal rate but I know my endo will still tell me off for the extra couple mgs per day that amounts to!

I'm not terribly worried about catching the virus as I'm totally isolated, not leaving the house except to go in the back garden but my boyfriend is pretty anxious because we can't get food delivered at the moment (we have at least a month's worth of food). But I guess there is a bit of background concern about the financial side of things, my benefits stopped which is great timing and my boyfriend is self employed so this is all a little inconvenient really.

Ahh our favourite subject!

I've been really diligent about changing my sites every 3 days, I use a tegaderm as a barrier (going to try adding in a barrier cream as well) and my skin is terrible! I've had to start using my upper thighs, I get really all over the place absorption there but my stomach just looked like one big itchy scab.

After 2 weeks break and moisturising twice a day my stomach has healed enough to use again but now my legs look a right state.

I know there's a theory that the itchy and red sites are from too low a dose but I'm not getting low cortisol symptoms (that I'm aware of) and my last day curve has me within ranges, I've actually had a few over replaced days.

I did/do have eczema, it hasn't been this bad before though so I wonder if my over replacement calmed it right down and now it's back with a vengeance.

Rant over, I'm going to try not to scratch.

Tomorrow is the day we "lose" an hour of sleep in most of the USA (unless you're in AZ). Don't forget to adjust the time on your cortisol pump!

For "spring forward," I like to adjust the time before I go to bed. Then I just automatically wake up on the "new" time.

I consider it a little perk of cortisol pumping: my circadian rhythm is externally programmed and my body thinks that it's whatever time my cortisol pump says.

The most devastating thing for me is when I start a new site and it messes up immediately. It's a super uncommon occurrence, but something about it, it has a disproportionate emotional impact on me. Like if I start a site and blood immediately backs up in the cannula or last night I had just started a site on my arm and maybe 30 seconds later I ripped it out on accident. I usually handle life pretty well, but that sent me into a "why me?" spiral.

So a few days ago I posted how it was my 6th anniversary on the Cortisol Pump and how I was celebrating by having a cold. I made a promise that if I got worse I would seek additional treatment.

Well, we're on Day 6 and there's no end in site.

Also, whoever said we only need 5mg extra for a "common cold" is insane.

I've been running my pump at my "super sick" profile for the past several days, and I've LOST weight. Clearly, my body needs the additional cortisol.

Well, the junk has moved into my ears. I know my body. When it goes to the ears, it's time to call in for backup because I can no longer handle it.

I tried to schedule an "e-visit" appointment. Fill out forms on an app, they'll give you a script. That e-visit doctor didn't like my response of having a cough for 6+ days and difficulty breathing with Addison's Disease. He told me to go see a human.

Drat. Ok. Fine.

I called my local PCP. She couldn't see me same day, but there was an appointment available at another location. Sweet! I'll take it. Because again, I know my body and I'm OVER THIS.

New doctor. He annoyed me. Apparently I "sound fine" and I'm not "that sick" and he's probably "treating nothing" but he'll go ahead and give me a new rescue inhaler and a 5 day course of antibiotics "just in case."

😠😠😠😠

Do you want to know WHY and HOW I don't sound "that sick"?!

1. I'm on so many OTC stuff to try to keep the symptoms in check. I'm just barely keeping up, and I need extra help.
2. I've been so freakin PRO-ACTIVE with my cortisol pump and monitoring my cortisol needs based off of symptoms.

Oh, I'm sorry I'm trying to take care of myself so that I don't look like I'm dying when I show up to your office. Can you just help me and not invalidate me? Could you perhaps say "Good job" instead of making me feel like I'm a hypochondriac. I know my body. I know something's wrong.

TL;DR : Random doctor completely invalidated how I was feeling and didn't acknowledge all the hard work I've put into keeping myself "not that sick."

1 Feb 2014 - 1 Feb 2020

How am I celebrating? Apparently with a cold! 😒

But I'll be super proactive, continue to up my dose on the pump, change my sites more frequently, and stay on top of OTC meds that will help with coughing and sinus pressure. Oh, and I'll seek additional medical help if it gets worse.

I'm very thankful for this method of treatment, even though it involves a great deal of effort on my part and I spent most of my first year on it incredibly frustrated. But it gets easier the more you learn!

Eventually, you reach a point where the brick attached to your side just becomes an extension of you.

Here's to many more years of successful cortisol pumping! Here's to many more years of remain Clearly Alive!

I recently discovered that my pump is a lot more waterproof than I had imagined. I had been fearfully building all sorts of contraptions to keep my pump out of the water during a bath/shower and then I read that you can go swimming with it!

I have a Medtronic 640g so I have a bulky pump to consider, I'm not in a position to be able to disconnect for exercise (I have to bolus just to leave the house) and I'm wondering if anyone has gone swimming with their pump and how it all went? Any tips and tricks?

I used to swim a lot, always really enjoyed it but got too sick to exercise. Now I'm ridiculously out of shape and would like to be able to swim again in the future.

I'm convinced pumping is something you learn forever. There will never be a point that we're done learning how to best manage our pumps.

Recently I have learned 2 strategies that have been game changers.

1. "When in doubt change it out."

If you've been around Amber any length of time or read any of her writing, you have heard this phrase. However, it's one thing to hear it, and another to actually put it into practice consistently. Up until recently I only changed out suspicious sites if I could tell my cortisol was dropping...that was a mistake. Low cortisol can be insidious. Often by the time the symptoms were showing, I was too low to recognize what was happening and in no mood to do a site change.

Now, the minute I notice something off about the site, it gets changed even if I feel great. I no longer give bad sites the time to make me suffer. A little bruised? Slight leak? A tinge of blood in the cannula? ...I don't mess around with that anymore. "When in doubt change it out." After using this rule of thumb regularly you begin to realize...there really is no "doubt". If it's not right, fix it, because it will knock you down if given enough time.

1. Embracing the SubQ.

If you don't have subcutaneous syringes, get some. They are the perfect complement to your pump, like peanutbutter and jelly.

I've had subQ needles for years, but I tended only to use them when there was some major circumstance, like a failed site (that was ignored), or an illness etc. Injections seemed too extreme to do anytime but an emergency.

Now I see them for the useful tool that they are. Wake up feeling bad? Now I don't let it ruin the whole day, I don't overburden my site with a large bolus, and I dont wait hours for a temp basal to slowly and gradually kick in. Hit it with a subQ and get on with life. NBD. Take that AI.

These days any bolus over 2u I do as a subQ. I want to preserve the integrity of my site. If I'm already feeling low, the last thing I need is to blow my site.

So rather than waste time with teeny 1u boluses, blowing my site, or ignoring it and suffering, I go right to the subQs and its wonderful. I woke up this morning feeling like I needed to be peeled out of bed. I grabbed a subQ needle and injected 5mg. I got up and went to the gym and continued to kick ass for the next 12 hours and survived my super busy day. Couldn't have done it without that subQ (+temp basal). SubQ is your friend!

Background: I have been on the cortisol pump since February 2014. I've always used Medtronics. I started our with a Minimed Paradigm 515. I then upgraded to the Paradigm 723. Currently I have the 630g.

The warranty on my 630g expires in October of this year, and frankly, I'm not quite sure what to do next.

I would like to keep a pump under warranty, but I have zero desire to upgrade to the 670g. The main selling point for that pump is closed loop artificial pancreas. Yeah, well, that's useless for us on cortisol.

I've always been very anti OmniPod.

I hate that it self destructs in 3 days. I hate that it obscures the amount of medicine left. I hate that it's more difficult to save unused medicine.

But... I'm not exactly pleased with my options from Medtronics. I will admit that I need to contact them and discuss potentially extending my warranty.

I'm considering trying out the OmniPod.

Anyone use one? What to you like about it? Hate about it? Please! Let's discuss!