Identifying a Bad Pump Site or Occlusion

Pump site failures—often called occlusions—are an inevitable part of using an insulin pump. They happen when the tiny plastic tube (cannula) under your skin gets kinked, blocked by tissue, or starts leaking insulin back out onto the surface of your skin rather than absorbing it.

The golden rule of pumping is: Never let a high blood sugar go uncorrected for too long if your pump isn't bringing it down. If you have given a correction bolus through your pump and your blood sugar has not budged (or is continuing to rise) after an hour or two, you must assume the pump site is compromised. Do not keep pumping insulin into a "black hole."

At this point, you should take a correction dose with a standard syringe or insulin pen. This does two things: it safely brings your blood sugar down, and it confirms that your insulin hasn't gone bad.

Once you've taken the manual injection, completely remove the old pump site and insert a brand new one in a different location. When you pull the old one out, you might even see that the little plastic cannula is bent! Also, if you have been running high for several hours due to a failed site, be sure to check for ketones, as your body has essentially been without insulin during that time.