Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cindy on January 19, 2012 at 3:10pm

Thanks, Megan, for that good suggestion. I haven't gone around to my back at that level. I do wear mid-rise. I'm freaked out about the back of my arm. I have a minimed 523. Where in the world do you thread the tubing?

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly on January 20, 2012 at 3:05pm

Oh - when I used a Minimed, I had completely different sites that I used. The Omnipod has no tubing, so it opened up new spots for me. But then it also has taken away other spots because of the bulk of the pump. I don't even know how you would finagle the tubing of a Minimed onto the back of your arm.

As for love handle area - all of my pants are low-riders so I really don't have any waistband issues.

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Permalink Reply by Theresa on February 6, 2012 at 11:56am

My son wears his Animus Ping on his upper arm and threads the tubing down his shirt. He wears an undershirt so the tubing is between the undershirt and his shirt.

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Permalink Reply by TV on January 19, 2012 at 8:35pm

I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I want to know where the olympian/super athletes put their sites.I started drinking weight gain shakes so I can gain extra real estate while I start exercising more. The tubed pumps will give you more site options.I don't wear CGM because of limited sites,too, but I wish I could wear it more so maybe I'd believe in it's utility for me if only I had places to wear them. I also feel sites are painful pretty often and the tissue isn't healing fully like it did when I was younger.Glad I'm not alone! Good luck in trying some of the great ideas others have listed!

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Permalink Reply by FHS on January 20, 2012 at 7:16am

The Omnipod trainer really helped me out with this issue when I asked her about site rotations. She said to make sure the actual insertion sites are an inch to an inch and 1/2 apart and to give each site 30 days to heal. I mapped out the traditional spots on my abs and handles area and found more than enough sites in those areas alone just by wearing the pod in the orientations that Insulet recommends.

After that, I got a little more creative when I saw that I had no spots on my arms or legs, at all, that I could use without the pod occluding. The problem with having lean arms and legs, for me, is that insertions close to the muscles caused the cannula to bend with movements. So, I just found areas where the cannula could insert between muscle groups. That meant going "off the menu" and rotating the pod in ways that Insulet does not recommend.

I do have the same issue as MBP, in that those spots close to the muscle absorb a lot faster. For some reason, I tend to get pod change highs in those areas more often. I had to adjust the basal for those spots and do a bunch of other adjustments, but they work well enough to take the pressure off of all the traditional sites I use.

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Permalink Reply by Bradford on January 20, 2012 at 7:38am

I am fairly lean/muscular. I actually LOVE using the back of my arms for my pods. It doesn't look like there would be enough adipose tissue back there for canula insertion (and indeed if I point the pod towards my elbow and get too far down the arm by my elbow, I will have occlusion issues), but for the most part it works really really well.
I also use my flanks/love handle areas and like that location a lot. I run/cycle/swim regularly (I do tris and race cycling events) and these locations work pretty well. The legs/thighs/calves haven't panned out very well. I tried several times but I seem to be too lean/muscular in my legs to do that. When I was on a tubed pump I would use quickset infusion sets for the top of my butt (just below pant line) and that worked really well for both comfort (actually the most comfortable spot I had!) and for absorption. The current pods are a little too bulky for me to wear them in that location though (I apparently wear my jeans and dress pants for work too tight ;)

Regarding the rash, what are you using to prep your skin before applying the pods? Does the rash occur every time? Any other details you can think of that would lend some insight into the cause of the rash?

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Permalink Reply by Maggi on January 22, 2012 at 10:45am

Ihave the same problemI have to wear my pump on my mid sectionhave tried the butt no obsortion,arms and thigh hurt and couldnt tolerate it . My problems setin this past year after 8 years of wearing. I have to say I will always wear a pump . I was on 3 insulins and like 8 injections and had 15 er trips in 5 months. Got the pump had a rocky adjusment but w/ a new endo my A1Cs came down . It has given me freedom and better results.I wish they could make a permanent (3 to 6 months portal. &5% of my highs are bad sites.

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Permalink Reply by Bobitron5kRVA on February 1, 2012 at 12:16pm

hey. i didn't read all of what people had to say about this, but I have been on the pump for about 2 years now and have tried a few sites. I also really only wear it around my midsection, though I like it on my lower back, not on my stomach. I wear it on the back of my arm in the summer. It tends to sweat off when I run that time of year and the upper back arm sweats less so it stays on well. I also use a self adhesive wrap (only when i run and have it on my arm) to keep it in place, in case it does come off (though it never has)

do you use any sort of prep pad before you put it on? this could help your rash. i don't like regular iv prep pads, as they don't seem to work. i HIGHLY recommend smith&nephew Skin Prep pads. they really rock. do not get the "no sting" kind...they do not rock. i use them every time i put a new pod on, and they keep it on my skin a full three days, through showers and runs and all other mess.

i will say each time i have moved from pumping on my back to my arms, i have a week or two of adjustment where i have to re-learn my body and where i get occlusions and where i don't. it frustrates the crap out of me, but ultimately (once i find the right placements) it is worth it. i really love the pod, and it has changed everything about how i live as a diabetic. including drinking! haha

let me know if you have any pod placement questions! I have spent a lot of time on the phone with insulet and my dietitian and they offered a lot of advice!

B

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Permalink Reply by Kitabparast on February 4, 2012 at 4:05pm

Just wanted to throw out...blood glucose levels tend to run higher when someone transitions to an insulin pump. All has to do with figuring out the exact settings and learning the tricks and tips on how best to use/wear the pump.

I had, what I openly called, two months of hell. This involved lots of out-of-control blood glucose levels, waking up at 3 am for two months (and, thus, no good night's sleep), et cetera. But once it was all done, it was so much worth it.

That said, whilst at Joslin's DO IT program, we were in what one participant called jail. Every thing we did, every thing we ate - all had to be recorded. We felt watched at all time. So no late night dinner with fries and pies and tons of fatty food! But what I wrote down really helped the Joslin staff tell me how to fine tune my pump settings.

In other words, sometimes we need to go through inconvenient or uncomfortable periods to get better control.

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Permalink Reply by Theresa on February 6, 2012 at 11:22am

I don't have any answers for you, just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My 14 year old son is very tall and thin. He can only put his site on his upper arms and upper butt. We need to find new ground to put his sites but he is just too thin for the belly according to his doctor. She thinks maybe we could try the upper thigh for one maybe two sites but he is not going for that at all. I wish you the best of luck.

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Permalink Reply by Cabaretro- The Diabetic Dancer on February 6, 2012 at 11:35am

As I am a performer the pump would never work for me.

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