It’s possible, but not necessarily a problem if it is. If anything you’ll see much faster insulin action. If the pain is too much and you need to pull it, Tandem will replace infusion sets that didn’t last the full 3 days. It’s actually how I first got to try the Autosoft XC sets, my favorite. I called in because I was running short on Autosoft 90s after a few bad sites, and the support person asked what I wanted a box of.
Some infusion sets just hurt, though. I think it has more to do with nerve endings than muscle and whatnot. I also use my thighs, and those ones are always more tender, even though I put them in a fleshy place.
Sometimes the pain goes away, too. The one I’m currently wearing in my abdomen hurt a freakish amount the first few hours. I was wincing in pain with every bolus and even the tiny basal doses. I thought for sure I was going to yank it, but went to bed with it as was, and it never hurt again come the morning.
Also, I’ve got some really strong opinions on cannula type/length and scar tissue. Scar tissue is the end of the road for pumpers. If you can’t find anymore viable flesh free of scar tissue, you can’t keep pumping. The scar tissue comes from your body building a cyst around the foreign invader after a few days when it can’t destroy it. If your blood sugar is creeping up before you change the site, you’ve waited too long. That cyst is already being formed, hence why you can’t absorb the insulin there anymore. Scar tissue will happen, no matter how good our habits are. I highly recommend starting with the short 6mm sets, or whatever the shortest option is for the set you choose. That way you can move up into the 9mm ones later, when/if you start having absorbency issues. The longer length will poke right past the scar tissue and find fresh flesh. The steel sets also cause more scar tissue because of more trauma around the needle, that’s the entire reason why the soft Teflon sets were developed. Many people prefer steel because it can be moved/reused, or just because they can’t kink so they’re more reliable. Kinking is entirely not an issue, though, so long as you made sure the set is fully seated on it’s introducer needle before insertion. (Pulling up on it at any point, like when removing the blue needle cover or pulling off the paper spiral can pull the whole set up, so that the cannula extends beyond the introducer needle. TWIST the blue needle cover first to avoid this.). So long as you can get the soft sets to work for you, please don’t resort to steel just because it’s easier. I really feel like steel should be a last resort, not the first one. Your body will thank you later!
The doctors, reps, trainers don’t think like that, though. They’re thinking about the NOW experience, not really trying to get ahead of problems in the future. It’s also why I’m TERRIFIED of the new long-life sets Medtronic got approved and Tandem has said they’re working on, too. Not one single mention of preventing scar tissue, other than they say less from fewer insertions… But it’s not the tiny punctures that cause the problem. The new technology is solely focused on not degrading the insulin and occluding the cannulas.
One last thing, Autosoft XC sets are universally preferred to the Autosoft 90 sets. I’ve not heard of one single person who has tried both and prefers the 90s over the XCs. Unfortunately, not many people have tried both. The inserter is identical, but the connection between set and tubing is easier to work. All the reps will tell you the Autosoft 90s are the most popular set, so thats what people order. They’re creating the disparity. It’s not a measure of how good the product actually is
