I am curious to know if anyone has tried other sites for their child’s CGM sensor. I was thinking of trying the back of arm. What about pump infusion set sites, I know we need to rotate but have best luck on stomach. Suggestions of what other areas you use would be appreciated.
We have inserted on the back of the arm exclusively because my daughter is so little (2yo). It has worked out very well, once we got acclimated. It’s nice because it’s completely out of her way and usually covered by a shirt sleeve. We have found that there are sweet spots and not-so-sweet spots and that one arm works better than the other. We usually get about 10 days out of a sensor on these sites.
Tip: It is very important to remember to pinch an inch when inserting here. I don’t know if that’s true everywhere but we have found if we forget to do it on the arm sites, we get crummy readings or even a failed sensor.
This is a good post…I hadn’t thought to try any other CGM locations. We actually only use the upper gluts/hip area on our daughter…about six days on one side, then six days on the other. I mostly use the stomach for her pump site. I find the pump hurts when we put it in her thighs.
I was told by our CGM trainer not to use the stomach and have never heard of anyone using the arm. I’d be interested in how many others use the arm, because this would give us more skin to work with in our rotation.
Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving to all~ Jessica
At Diabetes Camp we met several children who wore their CGMs on their arms.
My niece used Minimed cgms on arm, at first, with good results. She always used EMLA. Then the arm became very painful for her sometimes after the EMLA wore off and she refused to wear it. Switched to Dexcom 7 Plus. Did not hurt, she does not even ue EMLA. But she has only used the tush area, never the arm. She has never used the abdomen for shots, pump or cgms. I would not hesitate to use the Dexcom on the arm, though.
We use the “love handle” area - even though my son has no love handles, there is at least a tiny bit of fat there. He has never accepted anything in the stomach, and his Omnipods rotate on his arms.
For my son, now almost 6, we alternate the backs of his arms for the dexcom site, and we alternate butt cheeks for his pump. We tried his abdomen once for the cgms and it didn’t work. I think we’ve used his legs (top of thigh), but that was when he was in diapers, and not pulling his pants up and down. (He’s had diabetes for 4 years, and both gadgets for almost as long). Seems to work, most of the time.