Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael on October 28, 2011 at 10:34pm

Hi Melissa just a couple things that I would like to through into your kinky world. I like you wen't through a phase of unexplained kinks but only on day two or three and they looked much like yours. Had not had any problems for months then all of a sudden. Talked to my rep and she traded me out the box I had just started. Seems all problem pods were the same batch. Have not had much problems since. My favorite site is on my upper arm and I rotate nose up and nose down. Used to occlude but found a slight push down on the oppisite end from the cannula on insertion worked well at least for me. Also I use a Cavilon skin barrier and Kinesio Tex Gold tape to keep the pod attached. I am a mechanic by trade and I have not lost a pod in over a year. Sorry to be soo windy but hope you are able to resolve your troubles. Good luck. Love the system. Michael

Permalink Reply by David on November 2, 2011 at 9:05am

They have quit replacing my pods for this they have not given you any problum about replacing them.

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on November 3, 2011 at 9:00am

UPDATE:

My endo and my local reps were all feeling stumped about my issues. Then I went in to my CDE - the evil genius - and I think she's absolutely right and figured it out.

In desperation, I rolled down my maternity pants and started pushing on fatty back tissue and butt tissue to show her that it was not...um...muscular. She reached up and felt it and then said, "That may be true, but your skin is SOOOO taut. There's no give at ALL. If that pod gets bumped at all, it's going to kink." We called my local clinical rep and he said that, come to think of it, he'd seen that on men with beer bellies with abdominal kinks and he hadn't considered that my pregnancy might be making my skin all the way around back (and the top of my butt as well) that tight.

So our next solution is to wear the pod on my inner thigh for the next few weeks and see what happens. It's the last place I've got that might have some loose skin!

Permalink Reply by Kate on November 3, 2011 at 9:11am

ooh. Inner thigh? let me know how that goes. I kind of have the heebie-jeebies thinking about inserting there. But I totally understand the need for new real estate! I'm glad that you have an idea of what is causing it and (hopefully) a new plan to fix it.

Side note: have you tried your calf? Might be a new location to add into the rotation? Good luck!

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on November 5, 2011 at 11:58am

I had an awful experience on my calf last year that ended in me physically hurling a pod at the wall across the room. It was painful and resulted in sustained highs. But I know Bradford uses his calves with no problem, so maybe it was a just a single bad experience. I haven't wanted to use that area again though.

Sadly, my first experience with the inner thigh ended badly. It didn't hurt, but it did seem floppy. After about 24 hours of wear (and a carefully carb-counted dinner with a 90 mg/dL pre-meal BG), my bedtime BG was 351. I washed my hands, retested, confirmed the BG, and then checked the pod. It had flopped so much that the adhesive around the nose was torn. The site was red and irritated and the cannula was BARELY still in the skin. Just the very tip. So I missed a few hours of insulin, I'm guessing, or didn't receive all of my dinner bolus. I ripped it off and cried for nearly 2 hours. Just so frustrated. If it's not one thing, it's another, you know?

I've ordered some Opsite Flexifix from Amazon that should arrive next week and my local Pod rep said he'd run a roll of Hypafix tape (the same tape that surrounds the pod) by my house this weekend to see if some creative adhesive tactics can help my problems. I feel like, if I can just secure the pod better, maybe my real estate options will open up again.

WTF are we supposed to do when we run out of places to pump or inject? This is probably a greater fear of mine than complications, to be honest.

Permalink Reply by Bradford on November 5, 2011 at 12:05pm

Oh no I don't use it regularly (although I am always open to finding a new spot!). I had good success w/ basal rates there, but any meal bolus seemed largely ineffective (not enough fatty tissue to absorb?). I tried a few times and I could manage it if I were swimming or cycling, but the pod became uncomfortable from all the jostling around when I went for runs (despite wearing some coban wrap around it to "stabilize" it too).
In the end, I chalked it up to a "emergency spot" (knowing that meal boluses would have to bolused well in advance of the meal, etc), but not one that I keep in my regular rotation of sites.

And Mel that's very cool (or at least hopeful?) that you and your CDE might have found a "culprit" to the kinking issue. Finding a culprit doesn't necessarily mean future success (may not be a workaround at this point) but hopefully you'll find some middle ground at least!

And YES, running out of spots (due to pain or scar tissue from repeated use) scares me almost more than complications. That is definitely much more of an immediate concern to me.

Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on November 7, 2011 at 5:21am

Melissa, sorry you are having so many troubles, i know how you feel about site issues, jacob had a kink yesterday. how about your arms this probably sounds way out there but has anyone ever tried chest i know pregnancy sensitivity and all but i'm squeezing all over for fatty tissue and how about closer to the armpit where a pacemaker would be implanted, probably going way out on a limb but it would be held in by your bra? anyways i'm thinking of you, you should be enjoying your pregnancy not dealing with the struggles of diabetes hang in there! we are all here to try to help and or at least listen. hoping for a better week for you! amy

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