Can anyone give me some infusion site ideas. I have been using my stomach since I got the pump about five weeks ago. It’s getting tuff using the same area. I wear a uniform so I bought the waist pump holder and I put it under my zipper. Thanks for your help, Vince.
Hi Vince,
Not great but here’s a picture:
I wouldn’t worry so much about just using one area for 5 weeks. I’ve been using my upper abdomen for 18 months with no problems at all. As long as you rotate the sites properly, you shouldn’t have a problem.
They say that basically anywhere you can “pinch an inch” you can use that area for a pump site. I’m sure there are exceptions and areas it’s just not practical.
Besides my belly, I put them at the bottom of my sides or better known as love handle area and it works great. You can also try putting them at the top of your butt. Some people put them in their thighs but I’ve never done that.
I use my upper arms and thighs a lot. These are my favorite sites, actually. I recommend, if you use the shorter tubing, buy a box of the infusion sets with the longer tubing for arm sites so after running the tube through your shirt and to your pocket, or wherever you keep it, you still have extra tubing at the waist to move it around. Just be warned that you will notice that the insulin will react a little differently at each site - I get much faster absorption with thigh sites (because I have less fat there and I walk a lot) so I don’t bolus as far in advance as I would with an arm or stomach site. Good luck finding new sites!
Hi Vince. Rotation of sites is the key. Thighs (back and sides), tummy (2 inches away from navel), upper abdomen (below breasts and in area of upper ribs), top back of uppers arm in fleshy areas, hip/buttocks where comfortable and within reach. This strategy gives me 8 body spots to use with planning. Personally, I strategize each of these sites within an imagined circle. Doing this for the last 16 years has proved helpful expecially in avoiding scar tissue antd lipoatrophy. Good luck!
A. K. Buckroth
www.mydiabeticsou.com
How do arm sites work? I can’t disconnect my site without using two hands (I use Inset IIs) I’d like to use my arms, but I don’t know how to make it work. In what direction do you point the tubing, and how do you thread it through your clothes?
If you can’t disconnect one-handed, you might have a hard time with an arm site. However, I also use Insets and I disconnect by squeezing the sides with one hand and pulling. It works fine for me. You might also have another person help you disconnect as needed?
I always point the tubing up, toward my shoulder. This way it runs up my sleeve and down the back of my shirt. It’s easiest to connect the pump, put it in your pocket/holster, then put on your shirt. I actually wear the tube under my bra too which stops the tube from tugging on the site when I move the pump around and also prevents the tubing from getting too loose and being exposed from under my shirt sleeve.
I hear ya on the sites question, Vince. I have tried love handles and top of buttocks and found it takes FOREVER for the insulin to do it’s job from those locations… I’m wondering if I am doing something wrong or if that is normal…
I’m going to try this too… How are your levels from that site? I have noticed that love handles and backside tend to take longer for the insulin to circulate where as my stomach is fine. Have you noticed things like that too?
My son is super skinny. Any suggestions? He doesn’t have an inch to pinch. Currently we are using his backside. Should an infusion site be where there is fat? Is there an affect if the site is in muscle?
Insulin is absorbed in the fat, not the muscle. So the site needs to be in a fatty area. It doesn’t have to have a lot of fat, just enough for the cannula to reach. If he’s too skinny, you can talk to the doctor about shorter cannulas or angled ones and maybe find something that works better.
Aside from not absorbing the insulin properly, if you stick the infusion site too close to muscle, it will hurt a lot more since the muscles have more nerves than fatty tissues.
I learned that insulin is also absorbed in muscle, but that it’s much faster. And what of getting an insulin drip in an IV line? So it’s absorbed via blood too.
But yes, the most ideal and preferred site is in fat.
I inserted in my back hip for the first time. Problem… when I pull my jeans up I ripped it out. Just glad that I realized it. It did not hurt.