Diabetic Recipes
People have favourite locations to put their pump sites. Olivia is partial to her belly. I know dLife's very own newlywed, Kerri, loves to put sites in her thighs.
Over the weekend, while we were at the beach, Olivia decided to try a thigh site, even though she hasn't had much luck with them in the past. Most of the time, she rips them out because she forgets they're there when she takes off her jeans. But it's summer, she's in shorts and she thought she'd give it another try.
Sunday morning, we put a site in. Sunday was OK. She had a couple of highs, but they were in the low 200s and, of course, she'd forgotten to put her blood sugar in her pump once or twice, which is her ongoing issue.
By Monday, she was running consistently in the high 100s, but thought she'd be OK. Tuesday, all hell broke loose. She was 455 around 4 a.m. and got sick during the night. She took out her site and changed it, but she's not coming down. She's still 422 right now and has moderate ketones. I had her give an injection of 5 units and if that doesn't bring her down in an hour, I'm going to have her change her site again.
We may go back to her arms for a little bit. She has really good luck there, but the endo said to stay away from them for a while as she was getting hypertrophy there. It's been at least six months since she's used her arms, though, so I'm hoping that it will be OK to use them again.
She's so miserable when she's high. She throws up, she's exhausted, she has a headache. I don't know if she's getting sick or if this is from her thigh site, but I know we are definitely not trying that again.
My son pumps, and is partial to the belly and the buttocks. He particularly likes the butt when he is swimming as the site is less likely to come out. He hates to have to change ahead of schedule! Matthew rotates left-right on the belly, then the same on the buttocks, so he hits the same area only every 4th change. Seems to be working ok so far...Sue
I suggest using Silhouette infusion sets or any other brand infusion sets that go into the body at a 45 degree angle. I am currently experimenting with these sets on my leg also. So far so good. It can be awkward and I have to be careful with how and where I place the canula. I thought that since I have never used my legs before, no scar tissues, and great blood sugar levels. Well, unfortunately, that wasn't always the case.
Based on my personal experience, I wouldn't recommend using the Quick infusion sets or any other brand sets that go into the body at a 90 degree angle on the legs. You might get "No Delivery" alarms. I was told by a certified diabetes educator that a canula that goes in at a 90 degree angle might get kinked when injected into the muscles. Who knows...maybe others will have better luck than I did. Test frequently when experimenting.
Make sure your using the smallest available cathater like the Cleo90. I recomment the back of your upper arm. Also, I recomment a little larger patch of plastic going over the site. If you dont use the rubbery plastic band aid type stuff it works awesome when you might have pulled the site out, it pulls on you as if to say "Hey, I'm attached here... Good Luck... Barbara - San Diego 22 yrs type 1 age 34
Wow! I am amazed at anyone being able to use the arms and thighs. I have had no luck. I have had the pump about 7 years now and must admit, after the first few attempts in my legs I just gave up. Since then I've stuck to my mid-section and it SHOWS! My mid-section has never been so big. I use the paradigm silhouette insertion sets. Any suggestions? Like someone else mentioned, for me I usually forget it's there and go to the restroom and end up getting caught up in the tubing and ripping it off. After a few attempts in my thighs, I just stuck to my middle. Never even tried my arms b/c I thought that would even worse. If I'm wrong, someone tell me....I look 3 months pregnant after all these injections in the stomach!!!! ; )
My son has been pumping for five years now, and has gone from a Cozmo to the Omnipod. He wouldn't even consider using his legs before the Omnipod, but he has been on it for a month now, and has used both his arms and legs and has had very good results. You can put the pod any place you can pinch up, just like you do for an injection. Since there is no tubing, he isn't snagging it on anything or forgetting to take the pump out of his pocket before removing his trousers. I can't believe how quickly his belly has healed now that he doesn't have to use it so often. Good luck, dear.
THANK YOU, connorsmom and all others who have joined this conversation!!! You have seriously, legitimately changed my life. I've been pumping for about 6 or 7 years (injecting for ten years prior to that) and have never used any site other than my abdomen. My genetics are such that I always have at least somewhat of a roll around the middle no matter how fit and active I am and have pretty much nothing but muscle on my legs no matter how out-of-shape I may get. In the last few years, I've really started to notice problems with insulin absorption in my gut. After I changed an infusion set, it was not uncommon for there to be a lag of up to 12 hours or more before my sugars would match up to my expectations based on units, food, activity, etc. I figured I had just exhausted my sites (scar tissue, hypertrophy, whatever!!) so started reaching further and further back 'til I felt like a contortionist anytime I changed a set! The results were often an improvement but I had always been good about rotating up, down, all around the abdomen so there wasn't too much new territory for me to expand to. The erratic insulin responses were starting to impact my big picture: A few months ago I got an A1C reading of 6.5 ... not too bad for some, perhaps, but in 18 years as a Type 1 I had NEVER had an A1C above 6.0 and have taken a lot of pride in that! But something about connorsmom's phrasing of "any place you can pinch up" motivated me to give my thigh a try. I don't know if it's merely age (turning 40 this year) or the fact that I haven't been training for any long-distance cycling events for the last while, but there was just enough to pinch up and get my silhouette in at an easy angle. Well, the bolus I took immediately after changing the set was showing up in my sugar reading within 15 minutes!! Hallelujah!!!! Not only have virtual acres of new turf been opened unto me, but I've been able to reduce both my basal and bolus amounts! Sometimes someone says just the right thing in just the way you needed to open your eyes and your mind. I'm already on a pinching tour of my own body to see where I can venture to next! :P