Hi there, Does anyone else here have trouble with limited sites/ suggestions on what to do?
I've had the omnipod since November and I seem to only be able to wear it on my stomach and lower back. I'm pretty lean. When i wear it closer around the front of my stomach near my abdomen, it hurts a lot or bleeds. Whenever I wear it on my butt the canula falls leaks or I get occlusions. I haven't tried wearing it on my arms because I exercise a lot and i imagine it would be very uncomfortable.
Suggestions? I'm not sure what to do because i'm getting marks all over my midsection from wearing it. I'm not sure if i should go back to injections or what.
Hi Tom, I have the same issues. I'm lean and I work out a lot. Most of my sites are around my abdomen and lower back as well.
Couple of things I find that help:
My trainer told me that when I rotate my sites, I should be making sure that the next site is not within an inch of the last site. That actually opens up a lot more real estate. I keep track of where the canula inserted on one side of my abs, rotate to the opposite side, keep track of cannula placement there too, then rotae back to the other side, moving the next site an inch or so a way from the last. Rinse, repeat, moce to the lower back, rinse, repeat.
I have a couple of sites on my arms too and, surprisingly, they are not uncomfortable for working out at all. In fact, since I do a lot of flatbench and incline bench work where I might be laying on my back or my stomach, the arms can be a much more convenient place to put a pod. The trick for me was not actually trying to find places where there is enough of a fat cushion. I looked for places where the skin was a bit thicker over the muscle, where the cannula won't be rubbing against muscle. I found a couple of sites up near my shoulders, between muscles actually, that work well enough to take the load off my abs and back.
Oh, and, I found that pod orientation doesn't matter as much for me anyway. Whether it's pointing up, down, to the side, doesn't seem to matter as much as if it's actually gonna be contacting any muscle at all. That also allows a little more leeway and crativitity when it comes to finding sites.
My son has never worn his pod on his abdomen out of preference (major reason we went with omnipod), he rotates his pod and cgm sensor around the back of arms and top of his thighs (where the bottom of his front pants pocket lies, looks like he just has something in there!) Rare occlusions, rare discomfort, good absorption. He does a cardio/resistance circuit workout with me and some days when the pod may be on its last day his might wear a mesh sleeve over it, to help with shaking while doing jumping jacks or the like. Doesn't bother him most days, though the smaller pods will be so much better in this regard, whenever they decide to surface. He has tried the side, lower back for pod and sensor but he says it interferes with his backpack. Hope this helps, try it out. :)
I was scared to try my arms as they are relatively lean and when I used my arms for shots, I got more bleeding and insulin seemed to come back out of the hole. I just started using them the last 2 pods and I like it better than the abdomen...I could frequently feel/notice the pod on my abdomen or flank, but I forget about it on my arms. No sensation at all a few minutes after I put it on. Absorbtion seems just as good as the abdomen. So far so good. This way I can give my abdomen some rest.
I posted a similar question earlier. The only part of my body that didn't have issues was my upper left abdomen. Everywhere else leaked or didn't absorb. The omni nurse that trained my endo on the pod said she'd never heard of such a thing, and my endo said if that's where it absorbed well then just keep rotating it. I am currently exploring alternative sites such as my calf and my back shoulder. So far my calf has absorbed well but left a huge bruise from my knee to my ankle. I've made sure to tape it on really well though to prevent any movement that would take out the canula. For some reason my canula comes out very easily. They have a post discussing different body sites people use and how successful they've been, so you might want to check that out as well. Thats where I got the calf and shoulder idea. I had really good success with my outer thighs when I first started but since I over used that area it doesn't absorb very well anymore. Also make sure you are pinching up your skin when you change your pod. I didnt know that for over a year , and find its a handy trick.
Yeah, generally, that's the spot. There are about an inch and a half worth of spots around the cut between the delt insertion and tris that I can work with. Doesn't hurt at all. The cannula seems to slide nicely between the muscle groups.
Tom, I suggest that you give your arms another try but secure the pod with 2 crisscross pieces of Nexcare tape. I am an advid jogger& runner and the tape keeps the pod secure without any problems.
I wear mine on my arms just above my elbow between the muscles and facing down. This is on the outside of my arm, not the back of it. I can rotate between 2 sites on each arm here. And absorption for me has been great! marty
I'll give my arms a try sometime i'm just worried because i'm pretty lean and muscular and there is no fat on my arms. If this doesn't work I'm not sure if I should look into another pump or just go back to injections (because of the lack of sites I can use)
Hi again Tom. I saw you posted the same question in the general forum and someone suggested that you might need to switch pumps.
At this point, I would strongly suggest you try any of the alternatives posted in these threads before you switch pumps. Just give them a shot and see what happens. No doubt, you are going to have to go "off the menu" so to speak.
I tried a lot of different sites. I tried different orientations for the pod. If I couldn't fit it in a location, I rotated the pod until I could.
Sure, it might not work, but you won't know until you give it a try!!
Hi tom, i wound't abandon ship just yet if you are otherwise happy with the omnipod, my son is 13 and hesitant to try new sites he basically just uses belly near his "love handles" and arms, legs were an issue with discomfort and some occlusions but we will try again in the summer. he has been on the omnipod for almost a year, i worry about absorption problems we get highs after pod changes, but we try to rotate as much as we can. right now the benefits outweight the negatives, hang in there! Amy
hy tom, I'm german so sorry for my english at first. don't hesitate to ask if you don't understand probably.
I had/have the same issues like you with the pod sites. (I'm podding since november last year)
I'm volunteering in a diabetes ambulance for kids and teens and asked them about their experiences. there are many teenage boys with not much fat and more muscles and they gave me the hint to put it under the rib or costa. I don't no the exactly definition. You can fancy it like the site where the bra by a women ends. So right under your chest. You can go on this height from your abdomen till your back so you have lots of possible spots there. I tried it yesterday during workout and didn't have any problems or pain. I know you have more muscles and less fat than me but some of the teenage guys only wear it that way and it works very well.
You should put the pod like the window points to 2 till 4 or 5 till 7 o' clock, fanciing your body is a watch.
maybe this helps.
sorry for the late answer. I'm actually having my finals :( and feel stressed all the time. Hm I mean right under my chest maybe 1,5 inch under my chest...where the ribs end and where the area is a little "fatty". Then I often use my lower back but it I annoying me while work out...
so I hope the smaller pods will come soon.
I just wore mine on my chest just above my nipple and facing down. This was the 1st time placing it there. Worked great. Numbers were great and I got all 80 hours out of the pod. good luck Tom
marty
