Hey,
I've been using omnipod for not quite a month now and really like it especially over MDI's but being 125 and 5'8 I don't have a lot of extra fat. When I place them on my stomach its not a problem but when I put them on the back of my arms especially my left that I use more by the second day I get a stinging sensation around the entire muscle when I put weight on that arm like when I push or pull something. This is the third pod I've put on my left arm so far and I haven't found a good spot yet should I just keep trying? I would like another two spots but all the ones shown in the little pamphlet have even less of fat than the back of my arms. What do other thin people do?
I have no comfort problems on my arms but I had a run of 5 failures with the new pods placing them on my arms so I stopped. Previously I had at least 2 successful runs with the new pods. The five that failed all failed after one or two days and the failures started when the weather got cold. I don't have much fat there, just enough to give me 1/2" of skin if I pinch it up, and I suspect the new pods may be far more sensitive to shallow sites; I never had any issues with the old ones.
Insulet have replaced the pods, but I'm unwilling to try the site again. Instead I've tried putting the pods on my breast pointing down - I haven't got any more fat there, but there's a lot less movement and more warmth from clothing. So far the new site has worked out ok and it's actually a lot more protected against accidental knocks.
Arms can be a tough spot, but pinching the skin up enough to make sure it’s going only in skin will go a long way. Also, I always, when using my arms or legs, flex all my muscles while pinching around before I try to place the pod so I can be as sure as possible I’m not hitting a muscle. It helps more than you might think. That’s the best advice I can give - flex as you’re looking in a mirror and just feel around til you can find a spot that seems to be in between two muscles or at least not too close to any muscle. That should help you out.
Also, I usually will put it closer towards my armpit and pointing up as opposed to close to the elbow.
The flexing seems like a good idea I’ll try that tonight. =) does which direction the pod faces help? I’ve had them pointed down when on my arms. Thanks for the advice.
I don't quite know enough about physiology/anatomy to know if the direction matters, but most people I've read on here also point theirs up (I think!). So I don't know if it helps, but I always do pods on my legs and my arms pointing up!
In my five failures four were down and one was up. The previous successes were all up. I was searching for more sites - up-pointing pods on my arms were leaving obvious marks which I don't want to develop into scars. I tried down-pointing because that made lower positions accessible, but I can believe that this also placed the canula in a position where the new pods are more likely to (perhaps falsely) signal errors.
I think most report better success cannula up my son was hesitant to use arms for a while, visible under the tee shirt.... however he has been switching it up a lot more lately and we place it canuala up closer to the arm pit where it is a tad bit more 'fleshy', he's getting some good pipes at 15, he prefers we help place the pod on the arms for him it seems it might be a bit precarious solo anyways best of luck! jbowler interesting site choice on the pec area, I think I heard recommendations for super skinny teens using that site, certainly a safe site for accidental bumps, is it visible under a shirt?? thanks, amy
Thanks for the advice. I'll try higher and upwards next time; the more sites the better.
I normally wear long sleeved loose, buttoned, shirts. Pods aren't really visible under those in any of the sites I use. On the other hand if I'm swimming and wearing a rash guard they're all visible (and of course they are if I'm not wearing a rash guard.) I find the arms and lower back are also prone to accidental removal or tearing when I remove something tight like a rash guard, whereas the pec site just seems less prone to this.
We need help with this issue too. For those of you who don’t use your arms as pod sites, is using just your back side and belly ok? My daughter is a lean, active 11 year old. This is her third day with the pod. She wore her first pod on her belly, no problem. She put her second pod on today and put it on her arm. It came off a few hours later. She wrapped it but the wrap bother her so she took it off. She put another pod on the other arm. It came off after a shower. Her legs do not have any fat so the nurse told us not to put pods on her thighs. We haven’t tried any adhesive products yet. We haven’t tried her back side yet. We would love to hear your thoughts, opinions and experiences.
I don't use my belly - too many years of MDI, that location is just too easy to whack a few units into with a syringe (no undressing required) and it's just too damaged as a result. I use the corresponding locations around my back and sides - the lower back. There's quite a large skin area there.
Insulet's recommended sites are pretty restricted. I suspect they just identify sites that are likely to work for everyone, but the location of our subcutaneous fat varies from person to person and I suspect that anywhere with enough fat for the canula (6mm, 1/4 inch) will work.
I have no problems with my stomach I barely notice when it is there. I tried the flexing thing last night when changing my pod and I just couldn't find a good spot. I ended up deciding to use the very top of my butt cheek since there was some fat and even after six hours of classes today. The only time I noticed it was when driving. Seems to be working out pretty well and it doesn't hurt like the arm spots were.
Jacob's fav spot at start out was his belly you can find at least 4 spots there, as a beginner and as a tween you want to find success and ease without frustration! trust me I know! I would stick with her belly for the first month or so and then try to branch out with new sites, I don't know about you but at that age my son got so bothered by every 'failure' and there were a lot we struggled with pod change post highs I think this is way better with the new pods, he was 12 when he started with omnipod now at 15 things roll so much better, his attitude is a lot better if something goes wrong he just deals with it. best of luck! amy
