Does anyone have any trouble with their pod site becoming sore and tender which causes the insulin to not absorb effectively? It seems to be getting worse and I'm having a hard time finding a place on my body to put the pod where it will not do this. My sugars are WACKO and it's extremely frustrating. I'm not sure if it's a sensitivity reaction to my insulin (Apidra) or a reaction to the pod itself. Any suggestions?? I'm getting desperate.
Onetta - I've been using insulin pumps for many years now. Like you I've also noticed that some sites just don't absorb as well as others. One of the reasons that I recently changed to the OminPod was to start using some new real estate on my body. I've had good absorption on the back of my upper arms but I did have one or two pods on those sites give me poor absorption.
Maybe the best thing to do would be to develop an organized site rotation pattern and log the location of any sites that do not absorb well. I've resisted doing this due to the extra work but I'm not sure what else will work.
I read online that Dr. Bernstein (the low carb doc and T1) does not recommend insulin pumps due to this very reason. He said that after five or six years of pumping, the pumper will develop bad sites and that will detrimentaly affect good consistent control.
One thing suggested to me by Gary Scheiner was to always change sites at 48 hours. He said a lot of people have insulin absorption issues on the third day. I've tried to adhere to this regimen but I hate to change a site that is working well at 48 hours. Gary also endorses using a consitent site rotation pattern.
Good luck. I'm curious what other ideas you might uncover with this post.
Does this happen with all sites or just some sites? You may want to try sites that you've never used before with injections or pumps/pods. That's what works best for me. I've had good luck with my lower back towards the side, my hips, and the tops of my thighs. I injected for 25 years so absorption in my abdomen has been inconsistent; for that reason, I don't use my abdomen.
I also agree with changing after 48 hours, although if the site is working really well, I sometimes leave it. My doctor had no problem writing the orders so that I could get enough pods to change more frequently.
I wish you luck in figuring this out. I've only had any type of tenderness a couple of times, and that was after bumping against the pod accidentally. Personally, if it's tender, I would change it out if you have the pods available to do it. You may also want to try calling OmniPod customer service and your trainer to see if they have any thoughts.