I wear an insulin pump. Had diabetes for 47 of my 57 years. Had the pump on my belt, went down and destroyed the pump. They are EXPENSIVE! Even with insurance. Now I wear a lanyard attached to the pump and put the pump in an inner chest pocket of my jacket. Tubing runs down to thigh or belly where the infusion set attaches. Anyone have better or alternative ideas on where to wear a pump or other similar devices? TIA
I travel with a CPAP machine -- not at all the same, I realize, but I also worry about destroying it on the bike. Perhaps you could find a pelican micro case that can "armor" the pump, and carry it in an outside pocket of your riding gear, or perhaps a backpack.
I have a buddy who's now over 50 and has been wearing a pump since there were pumps. One thing he's told me is that whatever waterproofing/ruggedizing solution you use, be very careful not to crimp the tubing. He had a rather nasty incident where his tubing was crimped and he didn't know it. Also be careful of anything that will trap too much heat.
A pelican case could be set up with a QD bulkhead fitting of some sort, that would solve the tube issue. Heat buildup, I dunno - how hot do they get and is there a recommended max operating temperature?
I like the pelican case idea. The pump is waterproof and the tubing is very small diameter so it wouldn't be difficult to set that up. Heat? Pump is OK, insulin, though, degrades with heat. I use an evaporative crystal cooler which probably wouldn't work with the pelican case. (See Frio for the cooler--terrific product I've used traveling throughout the world. Good ideas: more!
IMHO Use a small pelican case as a tank bag. It will totally protect the unit, and you can insulate it to keep the insulin cool. A qucks disconnect can be used to make it totally portable with a shoulder sling. Jim
Jim--tank bag might work but adds a layer of nervousness for me. If I don't remember it's there--something well within my level of, shall we say, stupidity--I'm getting off the bike and probably yanking the infusion set out of my body. Not a good thing. Might work, Though. I'll ponder that idea too. Thanks!
I assume there is no break-away valve kind of thing for this? How big is the unit? Based on impact zones for crashing, high chest or center lower back are the two locations that get the least impact. A proper vest with a sewn in pocket could do the trick. There are a few companies that will custom make the vest you might use. Jim
No breakaway valve. Right now with a small camera soft case on a neck lanyard holding the pump which then fits in an inside jacket pocket about mid-upper chest-level is what I've got. It's a hassle--but the whole pump is a hassle. Hell--diabetes is one colossal PITA all by itself. Glucose monitoring, highs and lows. Man! Not something good let me tell you! But I'm not a diabetic; I'm a person with diabetes. There's a difference. I think where I have it is relatively safe I case of a get-off. But its hassle coefficient is quite high. I'm hoping someone has THE solution, something I haven't thought of?
Google "technical kidney belt" or "kidney belt with pocket" - that should get you some interesting stuff. Then add some kind of hard casing to put the pump in. Doesn't need to be fancy, a sturdy plastic food container will probably do the trick.
I feel for you, my mom died from complications from diabetes. It is not a fun situation. I hope you find a reasonable solution. Jim
You could lock one of those gel ice packs inside a larger pelican case -- with the foam, it should stay cool half a day. Or maybe since the pump is waterproof, you just toss in a few ice cubes every time you fill up with gas.
You might ponder this with the sewing guy "Brady" under vendors. He is a wiz at sewing custom stuff up, crash bar bags, tool bags, document bags, custom gear bags, etc. If you could find the proper armored container, small pelican, etc., Brady could dream you up a shoulder holster for it or something, thigh pack like the SWAT guys wear, something. He is very affordable and has totally anal attention to detail. Consider that you are plowing ground here for others potentially with the same concern. I have the CPAP issue, and have helped other guys find or rig 12 volt equipment and alternate battery rigs on a budget for motorcycle camping. It never occurred to me to profit from it, I was always happy enough just helping out another rider or pointing them to the right sources. Heck, a guy on a Harley forum gave me some great ideas that I still use and share. Turns out that there are lots of Harley types with the sleep disorder, go figger. Link to Brady the sewing guy: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=487221 I would also have a look at Aerostich and Twisted Throttle, something container-wise or bag-wise might give you an idea, or might really lend itself to the situation.
Yep: I'll give a hearty +1 on Brady's products and service -- he's a top notch vendor. Funny you mention him -- I have to get some luggage stuff from him, and was thinking of commissioning him to make a durable sleeping chin strap --- I really hate the flimsy elastic ones: they wear out in about a month and dont' get tight enough to keep my big yap closed, leading to seismic-grade snoring. :eek1 I also have done a 12v conversion for my CPAP. I use a small Shorai battery, and have a charging lead on my bike for longer trips. Believe it or not, TSA actually allows it on redeye flights. It's wired with an SAE connector, and charges with a wall-wart sized battery tender. Works beautifully.
I just got a wonderful custom slutty red document bag that I ordered from Brady so I had him on the brain. This will just sound baad, "I wish I could sew" I use the 79$ DEKA sealed battery for camping and ice fishing for my 12 volt CPAP. I know it goes two full nights, never tried it longer. AND, it still starts the bike after two nights, as an experiment.
I use a pelican 1010 case for insulin on longer trips. You can get a cup of ice anywhere and I just throw it in. The thing doesn't leak. Goes in the luggage. Use a regular insulin cooler on day trips. it's good for almost 24 hours.. but the pelican case is bulky. Putting it on your body is asking for a severe injury in a crash. On your back it can break your spine, on the chest it can break sternum or ribs. These can be fatal injuries in an otherwise non-fatal crash. For protection on the unit you can't beat a pelican in the tankbag with a bright reminder lanyard alligator clipped to your jacket. In a crash, the pulled out infusion set is the least of your worries. Carry a spare. On the body, I would go for the unit in a neoprene sleeve on the front of the thigh. Wear body armor. I have some of these: http://www.actionstation.com/catalog/proddetail.php?prod=BGK Very comfortable. Add a pocket to the front of the thigh for an additional piece of armor (cut out of a thigh pad) and the pump.. You could even go for a pelican here worn over the clothing if you had the armor under it and the pelican on an elastic band so it can tear away if things get really nasty. The front of the thigh tends to take scraping blows more than direct impacts (going over the bars hitting a deer for instance). in a bad accident you want it to scrape off. Also you are wearing the thing over the most massive bone in your body and the most massive muscles. Again, losing the infusion set is the least of your worries. The inside of the upper arm is another possible. You want one of those neoprene armbands joggers use to hold a walkman. But wear the unit on the inside of the arm, the outside is an impact zone. Off the bike swivel it to the outside for comfort, in a riding position the arms are out and it should be fine on the inside. BTW, The Pelican 1010 will fit inside a LowePro Z20 camera case (snugly). The camera case in turn has a neck lanyard ,belt loop and outside pocket for goodies. Plenty of mounting points for a front of thigh or top of tankbag rig. The 1010 alone (and the longer 1030) has single mounting point for a strap and/or lanyard. .
