Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jon on April 16, 2010 at 12:41pm

Ok Bradford......is this really inserted? I checked my legs out and I have no fat, like you in my calfs. Aren't you in muscle? This is interesting. I do my arm's most of the time and sometimes the stomach.

Permalink Reply by Bradford on April 16, 2010 at 2:28pm

I thought I'd be in muscle too (I had quite a bit of discomfort and pain when I tried putting it in a few spots on my thighs, so I did not have high hopes for the calf...but had to at least try it). I just made sure to flex while I was trying to get the pod stuck on me, so that I knew where the window and the canula were going to lay. Then I made sure to really relax and pull the skin up as much as I could while the canula was inserting...and so far, so good.
I don't know that I'd wear it here every day, but it's nice to know I've got a new spot that I can fall back to if I need to :-)

Permalink Reply by Bradford on April 19, 2010 at 4:12pm

Update to pod on the calf: I didn't have any issues w/ basal stuff (numbers were where I wanted them to be). However, on the 3rd day (24-30 hrs left of pod-ish) I started having some trouble w/ boluses. It just didn't seem like the amount of insulin I was bolusing was sufficient to cover the food well. I had a few post-prandial highs, and I'd bolus again to bring the number down. So I decided to remove the pod and go back to a place I knew was golden. Numbers came down instantly. The canula on the one I took off of the calf was pink-ish (not totally blood filled, but definitely a little in there), but otherwise, the site was fine. It didn't hurt at any point, and up until that last day, I had good numbers. So not sure what went wrong...I'm going to keep experimenting though, so I don't have to rely on the same few spots all the time :-)

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on April 16, 2010 at 12:51pm

I tried this last night with mixed results. It feels fine and is working now, but I've had two issues with it.

Issue #1: I put it on around 10pm and bolused half a unit (with a stable blood sugar under 150), but woke up at 3am feeling awful. My BG was 393 mg/dL!!! So either it was just one of those random crappy post-insertion highs that the half unit did nothing for or I was having absorption issues there. Either way, after a bolus and an injection (I do both for good measure), I've been fine ever since.

Issue #2: I ripped it half off this morning and had to add extra tape. So here's the photo.

All in all, something I'd try again, but not a great success for me.

Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on April 16, 2010 at 1:54pm

I'm not quite sure why you also give yourself injections. Do you always do that or just when your BG is way too high. Since I've been on the pod I haven't given myself one injection. If my BG is too high I take a correction with the OmniPod. Just curious.

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on April 16, 2010 at 2:15pm

I assume a pump isn't functioning correctly when I'm that high and I use an injection + bolus as a first step before putting on a new pod. There was no reason I should have been near 400. My control is tight, my basals are decent, my A1c is 6.0, and I'm breastfeeding. I had to blame the pod. I wanted to correct the high (injection), put more insulin into the area for better absorption (bolus), return to bed, and then watch my cgm through the day before discarding the pod and replacing it. Since my numbers are good today, I assume it was a post-insertion absorption issue and that the pod is fine now. I didn't even have any syringes for nearly a decade until recently with my pregnancy. Now that I've got them on hand, it's just a new tool in my arsenal. :)

Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on April 16, 2010 at 2:20pm

Oh, ok... I was just curious and also since you're breast feeding you have to be extremely careful and keep those numbers as normal as possible.

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on April 21, 2010 at 8:32am

Update. By the end of Day 2 and my third BG over 300 for no good reason, I ripped the sucker off and threw it. My friend with Omnipod reminded me that it's not one of the "approved" sites. I laughed and said I can see why. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try it again any time soon.

Permalink Reply by Bradford on April 16, 2010 at 2:18pm

If my number is high, I want it down (the sooner I inject a bolus of insulin, the sooner I come down from the high), so I will bolus and inject both--mostly if I'm really high, like 393 for example...
The pod delivers at .05 units per click, so it's going to take several minutes to get the bolus in...and it always seems to take a long time to get into my system and bring me down. If I do both, I come down much quicker. Also it could be an issue that the site is bad (either poor absorption or the pod is kinked or otherwise not delivering properly). I don't want to hang out that high for several hours while I check to see if that's correct or not. So the shot helps me come down quickly and then the bolus helps me decide if the pod is working or not. So while I can't speak to why Melissa does it, I know that doing both works well for me. Do I have to watch for a low later? Yes. But I'd much rather manage a low than feel like crap being high. But again, that's just me and my management 'plan' :-)

Permalink Reply by Janet Ballone on April 16, 2010 at 2:23pm

Not a bad idea. I never thought of doing that and just keeping a close check on my BG levels afterward.

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on April 16, 2010 at 2:31pm

You're like my brother from another mother, B.

Permalink Reply by Jon on April 16, 2010 at 2:13pm

Melissa...you give injections as well?

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