I’ve been using a pump for about 2 years now. I rotate my port site every 3 days, so no problems there, but recently, I put a port in the front of my thigh. It didn’t feel too comfortable, so I removed it after 1 day. However, since then, I have a rather large and raised lump from where I had inserted the port. Has anyone else ever encountered this? Is this something that can be drained or reduced in size somehow? Its been this way for over 3 months! Thanks!
Kevin, are you talking about an infusion set that you took out 3 months ago is still sore? Has a professional looked at for you?
Hi thanks for the replies – yes, it was an infusion set and it’s about 2-3 months. It originally bled a bit, then was sore like an ingrown hair or pimple. Now it is brownish, not sore, but definitely has a lump. I’ve got a doc appointment set up and will have it looked at. I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen. I’ve had a few excessive bleeds before, but no lump afterward. I’m wondering since I don’t have a lot of body fat on my thigh that it somehow was scarred underneath the skin’s surface…lots of ideas here I guess. Thanks!
I haven’t ever experienced this. I have a lot of scar tissue that I can “feel” when I insert a new infusion set too close to a previous favorite place.
Glad that you will go to the doctor. Let us know what (s)he says.
As for the other marks from infusion sets – do you find that they often go away over time – these are the more blemish/freckle type of marks. Just curious…
I use neosporin after I change the site plus mederma
No my friend, the “pump tattoos” are pretty much there for good. The marks and scars bug me but what are you going to do, right?
I find that if the mark doesn’t go away in a week, then it doesn’t ever really go away.
I have a lot of marks from my “youth” when I wore infusion sets for 6 days. Now that I change after 3 days, it’s less often than I get all marked up.
Kevin:
I had one of these and you can be very thankful you removed it when you did. The had welt stayed with me for over two years. the doc said no big deal, it is likely a swollen hair folical. the good news is the swelling went down eventually the bad news, a little scare remained. Good luck wiht the doctor today.
rick phillips
Thanks Jason – that’s what I figured, but thought maybe they’d go away over time. That brings up another question I have. I remember my pump educator telling me about folks that sometimes will take a “holiday” from their pump. I’ve not thought about that, but wondered if anyone else has or does…
Thanks again Jason!
That’s good – glad to hear that. I find that I get the most marks on my butt and legs. Maybe there’s something to do with how the infusion set sits there. I don’t have any marks on my stomach now that I think about it (and take a peak!).
Thanks Rick – doctor visit is on the 18th. I report in so everyone can have a bit more information on the subject. I realized today while I was running with the dog that it does actually hurt a bit and is sometimes itchy. I’ve been putting some various creams on it, etc. I may just be irritating the skin.
Aren’t you all glad to hear my intimate stories about the mark on my leg!!! :+)
Like everyone else has said, I find the worst marks are the sets I left in longer than 3 days.
I have a permanent “bump” like what you describe. And your itching makes me think infected site, for sure. I left a set in for 5 or 6 days in the fall of 2007. It started out as a painful itchy red welt with a hardened hole where the set was and then the staph reared its head a few days later. I went on a course of antibiotics and thought all was well, but the bump never went away. Then five months later, the same area (though avoided by infusion sets all that time) broke out again with staph for no reason. I still have the big red welt on my lower left abdominal area, though it seems to be healthy and disease free. But I don’t use infusion sets in my lower abdomen anymore. Now it’s all legs, lovehandles, butt, hips, lower back, and occasionally high upper abdomen.
Also, it’s worth noting that I pumped using only my lower abdomen for the first 7-8 years I was on the pump and began to develop what I’ve heard around the web called “pump belly” or “insulin belly” - tissue that don’t really absorb insulin but also stays kind of puffy. A CDE told me that it was part of why abdominal workouts weren’t really building my abs. She suggested I leave the area set-free for at least six months. I think it’s been over a year now since I pumped there.
Rotation = GOOD.
I’m not on the pump yet. Could it be a piece of canula (needle) imbedded in your skin like a splinter?