I was curious to see if anyone used any other sensor site besides the abdomen. The nurse that help me do my first insertion site tonight has said some people do use their thighs. Does any else use their thighs?
I use a Dexcom sensor and have only placed it in my back of my upper arm. Works great.
The abdomen and the back of the upper arm are the most common places. Lower back and thigh are also used.
I use my lower back and upper tush area…
My husband always puts my sensors in my arms. I use my abdomen and my thighs for my pump sites. And my arms work great for my sensors.
Lower back, upper bum. Saying that though, I wasted 3 sensors last week because the wouldn’t go in. I’m using the Sof-serter device to insert, because I’m too much of a wuss to just push that needle in!
Thanks for the feedback! I just did my first change, it went smoother! The tape is bugging me a bit today, might change that out though.
Do you use tape with it to hold it in place? I have a Seven Plus and was wondering about other spots besides my abdomen as well… Thanks in advance! =)
my son is 3, today we used the back of his upper arm. we rotate arms and his upper butt area.
he won’t let me do a sensor or a pump site in his belly, unless i’ve bribed him with something serious 
i find that the sensor goes in much smoother in the backs of his arms…and he likes it there too…out of sight out of mind.
Ooooo, I’ve used lower back and upper tush along with abdomen and upper outer thigh for both pump site and sensor. I LOVE my abdomen for everything and especially when I did MDI. It has the least amount of pain!!! I want to try the back of the upper arm now though. Does it hurt anymore than the others and get irritated much?
I always use my upper thighs even though that’s off label for the Navigator. It seems to be just as accurate as abdomen but some sleeping positions seem to block off the interstitial fluid movement and I can get false low alarms in the middle of the night. I just have to roll over to the other side and it will correct itself. The reason I use the upper thigh is I can keep it stuck in place much longer, usually 30 days.
EMLA creme is a 2.5%$ lidocaine/2.5% prilocaine that comes in a tube generic is available… kids ( i’m 55) use it, and it numbs the area, can’t even feel the insertion. it was the only way I could put the Dex sensor on. /now I have the new Navigator, and it self inserts with the press of a button… so much less stress for me
Upper thighs work good for me. Occasionally, on insertion I have a lot of bleeding but overall the thigh works best for me. in the summer there is less sweating on my thigh and as a result I never have to worry about the sensor coming off. When I used my abdomen sweating caused many of my sensors to come off.
Are the alternate (non-abdomen) sites viable for really skinny folks? I’m about to go pump/cgm (still looking into which–but am thinking untethered so it’d have to be Omnipod/Dex I think), and I’m 6’2" and 160lbs. I don’t have a lot of flesh to put these suckers on!
I’m type 1.5 and have been able to just do once a day basal Levemir along with strict diet control to keep in range up till now but my pancreas is finally winning.
I’m just concerned with having so little options for placement and irritation etc.
Thanks!
Chris
I’m ot on the Omniod so not sure on angle of insertion, but I use the Medtronic silhouette infusion sets, which insert on an angle. The Sensors of the CGMS also go in at a steeper angle of about 45 degree. I use both on my side/back areas, and top of my bum, and stomach abdomen.
The Insulet Omnipod System pod’s cannula is inserted at a 45-degree angle.
I have been using the sides of my thighs almost exclusively for the past few months - I find that it is extremely painful in the stomach as I have very listt fat and I have plenty of extra fat in my thighs - it seems to be just as accurate (is that saying much?) and basically I have no pain and no bleeding when I do it there. Each person is different so just try different areas and see what works!
I also use my upper arms exclusively for my DexCom sensors, and usually around day 6 or 7 I have to put another piece of tegaderm or hypafix over the original tape to keep it on. but i also restart my sensors and use them as long as they will continue to read accurately…