Managing slow absorption sites

How do you all handle slower absorption sites? I rotate between my abdomen, upper bottom, inside thighs, and lower back in two places for a total of 17 sites. Two of the sites I reserve for dexcom. These are the only places that I don’t get bleeders that’s end up me removing and replacing. Blood never works out well for me with the accuracy. Do you give smaller doses and then do several? I am on a pump and I usually do an extended bolus for the protein and fat, but have thought maybe when using these sites do a dual wave? What do you do? FYI my arms are out. Eventually I would like to go back to putting my dexcom there but not until I get my supplies in. Limited resources now until all this insurance with Medicare gets straightened out. Thank you for your much appreciated help.

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Exercising right after giving a bolus would probably get those slow sites to use the insulin faster. Like jumping jacks or something that really gets your heart rate up but only for a few minutes so you won’t need to go take a shower afterwards :sweat_smile:.

As for sites have you tried putting a site under where your bra band goes or would go if you wear one? I have a lot of scar tissue from injections alone and now that I am on a pump I can’t seem to use any of the places I would have normally injected into because the sites just can’t handle the scarring. The sites I put under my bra band really work well for me and aren’t hard to put in especially if you stand in front of a mirror to insert them.

@yeagen - Rotation is the key, especially for us pump users.

As most of us have discovered, the body absorbs insulin at different speeds from different areas:

  • Abdomen (best): Insulin enters the bloodstream most quickly after an abdominal injection

  • Upper arms (2nd best): The body absorbs insulin with moderate speed but slower than an injection in the abdomen

  • Lower back and thighs (slowest): Insulin enters the bloodstream most slowly from these sites

For fastest results, administer insulin into the abdomen right after a meal. I’ll often bolus for meals with an injection at a different location than my pump site somewhere on my abdomen.

Realistically, all of us will likely rotate through all the different areas over the course of several months. As a kid I only used to inject into my outer thighs and had massive lipohypertrophy. I know better now, and still can find good sites on the tops of my thighs closer to the hip(s).

If I want to do intramuscular I usually use upper arms near shoulders.

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I agree with @Jimi63, abdomen works best and that is why I only use the abdomen. I used to use my upper arms but absorption suddenly just got to be nearly non existent. I rotate my pod on my abdomen as much as possible usually about an inch away from the previous spot. I have a hard time keeping the pod from falling off so now I only place it vertically, with the cannula on top, and spray Skin-Prep on the skin prior to attaching the pod. I can usually manage to rotate 6 spots on each side of the belly button. I also try to position the Dexcom G6 on the same side of the body, only on the upper arm, for easier sleeping (ie., I try not to sleep on the same side as the devices).

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Different parts of my abdomen also have variations in absorption. Keeps me watching more after a set change

Thank you for the responses. You gave me something to think about and try. I appreciate you taking the time to respond

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