Hi. I have been reading with interest your blogs about being allergic to insulin. I am a type 1 diabetic...diagnosed at 35. I have been on a pump (most recently MiniMed REvel) for close to 10 years. I first started having problems with the CGM...getting irritation and the occasional boil at the insertion site. My endo would relentlessly urge me to use the CGM so that I could better control my overnight GB's. I told him that I would often get irritation at the site and that I was not willing to change more than every 3 days.
About 3 years ago, i was frequently getting boils when I would change out my infusion sets for the pump. (Using Sof-Sensor at the time). I switched to the Sure-T, thinking that perhaps I was sensitive to the plastic cannula. The metal cannulas worked for atime. When I started developing boils again, I went to a dermatologist who recommended I pretreat the insertion sites wit Chlorhexadine Gluconate. That seemed to smooth things out for about a year.
Recently, I started getting boils again on a regular basis. It reinforced my thinking that this was an allergic reaction and perhaps an allergy to the insulin I was taking (Novolog). An allergist diagnosed me with a whole slew of allergies and put me on a routine which involves taking an antihistamine. He also consulted my endo. I got off the pump, switched to Humolog and Lantus. I find my fasting BG's are edging up again. The swelling and irritation at the injection sites has reduced, but not gone away entirely. I read on one of your posts about both having success and not having success with newer insulins. What about older insulins? I'd go back to a short-acting insulin if that made a difference. Ultimately, i'd like to go back on the pump, but can't now, obviously.
Does anyone know if this issue (allergies to insulins) is being studied anywhere and is there reliable info to be read somewhere? I have empathy for all you who are going through this. And look forward to hearing from you.
Barbara