Here is a gal with a low threshold of pain and a person with not much patience ( ask my hubby ) , 70 years of age , just returned from a trip to the Netherlands by myself ( from the West coast of Canada ) , type 1 for over 27 years , who has been using MM CGMS for over 4 years. I have felt very, very comfortable being away from my best supporter : Hubby and going into an environment , where possibly the folks may not understand everything about my diabetes , thanks to wearing the MM GCMS.
As I have posted previously in similar posts : I prepare the sensor by injecting the night before ( I put some tape over it , so everything will stay in place ) attaching it to the transmitter the following morning …45 degrees ?? …I use the serter . I pull the skin " taught " ( opposite to pulling skin up , when I do give a needle correction ) . I use my legs , abdomen , backside towards the waist ( if I feel nimble enough to reach ) . If there is blood visible , I press down on it with a tissue and it stops bleeding .
I calibrate when my pump asks , unless I know , I can expect a higher reading . I use 2 Bayer meters , one the Link ( for calibrating ) the other Bayer( not Link ) for random testing . I am very sensitive to insulin , delivering NOT enough or TOO much …my reason for the finger pokes .
When the first 3 days have expired , I re-start the sensor and will have to calibrate almost immediately . The next 3 days I disconnect and attach it to the Charger , till the charging is completed and resume as in " starting the process" .
To answer your question : no pain from the actual sensor within , neither the IV3000 tape .
Be well .
I just inserted one without the inserter and there was no pain. I really recommend trying manual insertion. With the inserter, I think it anyway needs to be pushed in further.
This time, a USEFUL reply:
(I was already among the ‘switched to Dexcom, instead’ talkers, and that probably didn’t help much.) As some others have already advised, pain which you’re having long after Insertion needs to be addressed by using a different site, if you can find one which works.
But for the actual Insert process, you can also use a Lidocaine gel (for example, “Topicaine 4%” frm ESBA laboratories). Be sure to give it plenty of time – 45 minutes, with just a tiny bit of 4% strength on the spot where you will target the actual needle and wire. Extra time with less anesthetic deadens nerves FAR better than using vast quantities of prescription-only strength left on for only 15-30 minutes. Clean the location thoroughly before doing the insertion, of course.
BTW, I strongly agree with JohnG, in the preceding post: FlexiFix does a vastly batter job than IV3K does, with a smaller amount of glue. It stays put really well, and in CGMS (where many of us achieve multiple weeks of wear, with every single Sensor) you don’t want a tape which gets all skanky at the edges and then begins to slide all over the place… ruining the Sensor.
A couple of years ago, FDA gave a warning against multi-ingredient painkiller formulations. That was mostly in response to deaths caused by massive overdoses at hair removal salons, and your use of a dime-sized dot won’t have any overdose risk. BUT, using a multi-active-ingredient formulation over and over again does have a risk of provoking allergy against BOTH ingredients… and then, your Dentist, and your ER Docs, are left without a viable local topical anesthetic to use. Stick with Lidocaine-only, so that Prilocaine will remain available even if you do develop an allergy.