Hi all,
My daughter is 7 and has been on the Omnipod for about 6 months now. She's thin and wears it on her legs and arms. Lately she's been complaining that it hurts when the insulin is being delivered - usually only when it's a large dose (large for her being > 1.0 units).
Has anyone experienced pain during bolusing with the omnipod? Any ideas what causes it? And what does it feel like?
Thanks,
Krissy
Occasionally I get a feeling similar to a bruise or muscular pain, never associated it with the actual bolus, but I'll try to pay attention next time I have that feeling.
What kind of insulin does she use? I have heard that humalog makes it burn worse… Because that’s what I use and I notice it hurting…
Hi Krissy, jacob notices this also, probably with a larger bolus for him larger can be up to 12 units! he is 14 and eating more carbs. i dont think there is anything to do about it as it is the insulin going in, he wears his pod on his belly more than not and probably notices it more if it is on his arm. he uses novolog. do you use a barrier wipe when you put her pod on, we use skin-prep by smith and nephew not sure if this would help but it might. i hope she is not to upset about it, another pain to go along with having D but trying to minimize the impact. if other moms had an inkling of an idea of what our kids go through! best of luck, amy
She uses Novolog. You will laugh when you hear what we have to prep her skin with prior to a new pod: alcohol wipe, hibacleanse, cortaid spray, cavilon barrier wipe, & finally skin tac.
This is the magic formula to make the pod stick on for 3 days without developing a rash. I envy those that just use an alcohol wipe and slap a new one on!
Hi. I did notice that whenever I wear the pod on my arm I feel a pain whe. I bolus. Now I wear it on my tummy and lower back. I don’t feel it there ever. My arms are pretty skinny so there might be a relationship there
Hi Krissy,
My daughter will be 4 in a couple of weeks and we just started on the pump 4 weeks ago. She's never complained of pain with a bolus, but I was just curious what Ella's experience has been with the pod so far. We have had no luck with it on Liz's legs - the cannula comes out every time, usually after swimming. She wears it on her arms and tummy. Have you had any issues with the cannula coming out? How long did it take you to find the basal rates and factors that leveled out Ella's blood sugar?
Sorry to hear what you have to go through to prevent a rash and get the pod to stick. That's quite the combination you got going on there!
-- Aimee
We had issues with the cannula coming out when she wore it on her bootie. Since we’ve gone to the legs/arms, we hardly have any issues. But like I said above, we have to glue the pod on her with an arsenal of wipes & adhesives. Then once the pod is on, I cover it with tegaderm (use an old pod as a template to cut a hole out of the middle of the tegaderm) and then a piece of hypafix tape (2" x 5") across the whole thing. Ontop of THAT we cover it with either an arm or a legband. This is the ONLY WAY I get 3 days out of it. Even with all of this, yesterday her day-old pod literally fell off when she was swimming into the pool (granted she was jumping & diving). She has yet to wear it on her tummie.
As far as basal rates and factors - they’re constantly changing!! I’d say it took us about a month to settle into the pod. She’s newly diagnosed (Jan of this year), so it seems like her basal/bolus rates change on a monthly basis. I am always reviewing/adjusting. She seems to do OK for spurts of time (like she was pretty much on the same rates all summer) and now that we’re back in school she’s all over the place.
I recognized that. I don't what it causes. But it's not always. Let's just say when I feel it, it feels like a 'sharp pain'. But when I feel it, then I have it for the rest of the pod. O and I'm using NovoRapid.
So do you do all that to prevent a rash, keep the pod sticking to her, or both? I haven't used anything between her skin and the adhesive, but I'm using tape or a bandage, plus an arm band over the pod to keep it on. Nexcare waterproof tape is great, but I just ordered tegaderm to use instead and cover the whole pod. Why do you cut a hole in it? I've also tried Mefix tape, but it is not at all waterproof.
Liz is so lean and doesn't even have any fat on her tummy that it's not my favorite spot, but we need another site and she's willing to put it there, so I go with it. She doesn't like the bum.
Wow, so you only did MDI for like 3 months post-diagnosis? Liz was diagnosed last February, so we did MDI for 6 months. I'm sure Ella is still honeymooning, as I think Liz is, so I'm sure that makes it harder to level out her BGs. It's so frustrating. I'm fully expecting her A1C to go up next time instead of down like I was hoping.
Let me say first how much I rate you guys dealing with kids having T1. I thank my lucky stars I only came down with D when I was 27yrs old - I have three boys who are a handful without any complications !! I work alot with JDRF for that reason. Just on the bolus pain - I do get it - I use my arms along with a CGM, tape the lot up together. Its only when I have got too close to muscle and I have to normally switch it out, or it starts having issues as well and alarms. So i would say that its trail and error but that its worth changing out a pod that "hurts" since I am not sure I am getting the correct amounts over the 3 days. Just a thought, it might drop the number of swings she is having. Good luck. Gos