Hi there everybody, I've had omnipod for a little over a year now. And I can only wear the pump around the sides of my abdomen- does anyone else have this problem? I'm worried about scarring and what not.
I'm rather lean and muscular- every time i wear the pod on one of the other sites such as my arms, the site just bruises, bleeds, and hurts a ton. I sometimes wear it on the side of my butt, however I usually don't get good absorption there. I saw a omnipod rep once and she examined my body and said "yep, only abdomen".
I don't know if a tubed pump with manual insertion would be better for me or what (omnipod is my fist pump).
You’re definitely going to have the most freedom of placement with the pod - so for someone with your body type, sticking with this is probably the way to go. I’m pretty lean too and if I put it in the wrong spot on my arms I get bleeding as well, but if you put it on the back of your arm above where your tricep ends - you can feel it, pretty close to your armpit and shoulder and pointing up - I’ve gotten great absorption there and pretty consistently.
Every once in a while I have problems, but I have been using mostly arms and hip/abdomen for a while and been pretty successful.
It is often frustratingly hit-or-miss, but once you get it right it is awesome! I’ve also gotten great advice from other people on here about placement so I’m sure others will chime in.
I wish I had your problem :) Actually, I am finding only certain areas work best for me too, with others not being so great. One place it does work for me is on my legs, though I hate the location as the pods tend to "get in the way" when worn there. I guess it's a trial and error thing.
One thing I've tried with success is that Insulet recommend to me that pointing the canula end of the pod "towards the center of your abdomen". I too was worried about scarring, healing, etc so I tried pointing the canula side outward to give more skin areas chances to get poked. It seemed to work OK for me. YMMV of course.
My son has been on the Omnipod since he was 18 months old. He is also a very very skinny kid. There's always more sites than you think - anywhere there is any fat - but it takes some experimentation. We are able to do top of thigh and top of butt. I find on his butt and thigh there are better absorption places than others - like I can't do outside butt, but more "inner" butt. I also have to do higher thigh, but can move it a little down to get more sites. I can't do abdomen or arms - he's too skinny.
Hey there, Tom! I have had similar problems and, like Scott, have finally settled on sites like my arms, legs, and butt. My favorite site is on my calf (depending on how lean it is....I do alot of running so it is faily lean and the fact that I exercise (sounds like you do too) so the absorption is really not a problem! Good luck and PEACE!
Hi Tom, I’ve been using omnipod for about 6 months and have found the best place for me is on my back just above my waist band. A bit of a strange feeling at first but now I don’t even notice it. No problem at all with absorption. Good luck with it.
You guys don't have issues with bent canulas? Whenever I put it on the top of my arm, between the delta and triceps, the canula always bends quickly. And the legs and calfs are painful to even think about!
are you putting it on the "side" of your arm under the delt and tri, or are you putting on the "back" of your arm?
I am fairly lean too, but the arms is one of my favorite spots. On the back side though. There is no "motion" of the arm then to bend the canula, other than if you sleep on it and push it "into" your arm (which could then hit muscle, and cause bruising/bloody canula, which happens to me from time to time, so I will change that those if they start bothering me).
I also agree that the flank (back side, love handle area, even if you're skinny) is a great place. I get some of my best absorption there (and/or fewest "issues"). I'm a stomach sleeper or a side-sleeper, and it's far enough to the back that I don't notice it when on my side, and it's far enough down (inferior) on my back that it's in the lordotic curvature so when sitting at my desk I don't notice it in my chair either.
And one of my newest sites I use in every rotation is my pec. You'd think it has even less fat there...saw a picture of Kris Freeman (the Olympic skier) w/ it there, and I had to try it. Works GREAT. Point the canula up. Flex your pec. Make a mental note of where the top "edge" of your muscle is. Relax your chest, and place the canula insertion point about 3/8" above that "line" on your chest. Perfect location. I always bend over and roll my shoulders forward (and pinch up the pod) when inserting there, just to make sure I don't hit muscle on insertion. Haven't had any major issues there--it's lean enough I occasionally get the same soreness/bloody canula, so I will just change it then. But otherwise, works great!
Hi! We started the pod about the same time and I work out a lot and am lean as well and I was getting bleeding and bruises too. Now, I ice the area for a few minutes before applying the pod and that helps a lot to prevent bleeding! I like my low back, arms (both in the back by my triceps, but also on the side pointing down towards my elbow), and I have recently been brave and started using the upper mid to outer thigh and get great results! I actually have a problem with my stomach because I sweat so much when running, cycling, lifting, etc that it doesn't stick and I get irritation! It is always something :/
