I've been pumping for about a year now (omnipod). I find that I get the best results when I use my stomach and backs of my arms. However, I know I should be rotating, but in the summer I don't like to use my arms because I wear a lot of tank tops and shirts that show the pod. So, my stomach is really where I wear it most... I have used my lower back/upper buttocks and sides of thighs, but I seem to run higher everytime I use those areas, so I avoid them in general. My question is for those of you long time pumpers--do you think it is bad to stick to mostly using my stomach? I do rotate sides and areas, but I feel like I'm already getting scar tissue...
You definitely need to rotate sites. I've been pumping for seven years (and taking injections for 15 years before that), and I rotate between my stomach, arms, hips, and legs (in that order of frequency).
I have been pumping for over a year and have never used anything but around my waist. I cannot reach behind to use my lower back and upper buttocks due to having shoulder surgeries on both shoulders which limited my movements. Before my pump, I used to take 4 shots a day and used my stomach all the time which led to alot of scar tissue. That is gone now. So will i get the same thing by just using my waist area?
I've recently started using my legs more. A lot of times, I'll give my stomach a break but I have run into a few spots that seem to be a bit blown out and seem to work more hit or missy. Unfortunately, I am sort of stubborn and will keep pounding on it but the legs seem to work well and it's pretty handy and there's lots of spots to go for.
Have you tried different infusion sets? I've had lots of problems with pump sites due to allergies, so sets not sticking, sites bleeding and hurting, etc. so I can definitely relate! I think sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right infusion set and tape/adhesive combination.
Poor/inconsistent site absorption is one of the downsides of using a pump. It doesn't effect everybody but site rotation makes sense as a good system to help avoid it. I don't use site rotation very effectively as I have also found that I much prefer to use my stomach over other sites. I've tried the backs of my arms but the sites become painful after 24 hours or so. Now I just rotate from the left abdominal to the right abdominal while I try to use my sides around towards my back as well.
I had to stop using the Omnipod a year ago due to inconsistent absorption and a number of occlusions/pump failures. The Omnipod injects the cannula at an angle and therefore to a certain depth. Before the Omnipod, I used an Inset 30 infusion set, also an angled insertion. I had been having troubles with that set up and that led me to trying the Omnipod.
Once I abandoned the Omnipod, I experimented with various infusion sets including the steel Contact Detach (both 6mm and 8mm) as well as the Inset (90 degree insertion with both the 6mm and 8mm depths). I also adopted using a loofa sponge on my stomach when I shower as a way to restore tired abdominal sites. I had good luck with these changes.
I settled on using the Inset 6mm sets and have had very good absorption performance. For me, there was something that just didn't work well with the Omnipod setup. I may be in a decided minority on this as many here use the Omnipod with excellent results.
