Pumping is working well for me, I'm not having absorption problems, good predictable control. I'm an omnipod user.
However, most of the time when I remove a finished pod the infusion site is a bit swollen, tender, and a little itchy. It's not infected -- seems very much like an allergic reaction. Heals up completely in 2 days or so.
This happens about half to 3/4 of the time. The other times there's just a slightly irritated puncture with no itching, seems to mostly heal up in a day.
I find this happens more consistently on the backs of my arms, thighs, and love handles. Not so much on stomach, although I loathe that locale for pods, so I don't use it.
THE QUESTION: Is this unusual, not normal? Or does this sound similar to other people's experience with infusion sites?
I've been pumping for a year and a half with the pod. It's changed my life, health -- I'm beating this disease with it. I have no other "health" concerns about my local reaction to infusion sites other than wondering if it's within the spectrum of "normal", and whether or not I should be concerned.
Yep, that's very typical. It's not unusual to have a slight allergic reaction to the Teflon cannula in your skin, and some people have extreme reactions. My sites itch for the first day or two. I try to remember to put a dab of Neosporin on it to help it heal faster, which does seem to help. Glad pumping is working well for you - you will get used to having a polka-dot tummy. :)
Thanks Angie! This was more comforting than you know, as my favorite locale (back of arms) are pretty shredded and need a break. I'm trying to leave them alone for several months, hence the move to my thighs. I'm doing well there, but I seem to get a little more of that "allergic" reaction on that skin.
Tummy? I'm hoping to die a natural death before I have to go there :-)
I tried the thighs, but kept hitting "bad spots". I have the best luck in my abdomen, and I venture up into the tummy area to spread the love. :D It takes some experimenting with different sites and infusion set types to find what works. I would be lost without my Sil-serter, although I wish they would update the spring-loaded design to be a bit less sadistic.
While I absolutely love the Omnipod, siting can be a challenge. One of the disadvantages.
I'm completely forget I'm sporting a barnacle just about anywhere but my tummy. Given the size compared to an infusion set, it's just always omnipresent sitting down and getting up :-)
I think a little irritation isn't unusual - but I think it might depend on degree. When I was using Teflon sets they would get so itchy by the end of two days that I'd take the set out and scratch, and it would stay itchy and swollen for days, sometimes have hives, reactions at sites would "set off" older sites that had been used a week earlier, etc.
If you are leaving a set in for three days, I don't think a bit of irritation is unusual (I was never able to do three days). If yours are itchy it sounds like you might be developing a bit of an allergy. As long as it's not interferring with your blood sugar, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Mine eventually got to the point where a hive would form around the cannula that would seriously interfere with absorption. I've had much better luck with metal sets, although recently I've begun developing reactions to those, too (similar to what you describe above). The big disadvantage of the OmniPod is that if you do develop a significant allergy to the sets, you are out of luck. Hopefully yours won't progress to an outright allergy that interferes with pumping. :)
How are you doing now? I was on the pump for 7 years, and about 5.5 years into it I started getting terrible reactions and boils. One time it got so bad, I had to go to urgent care and they gave me antibiotics.
I switched to a different type of infusion set (The Sure T- that has a needle stay in), and switched from love handles to thighs. That worked for a little over a year and I started getting scar tissue and "NO delivery" messages from my pump! ugh!
I've been off the pump for a little over a year now. I miss the pump when it worked, but don't miss the terrible reactions, and the frustration. I would like to go back on the pump for my second pregnancy. I tried a trial run last week, and I got the same ol reaction!
I agree with the stomach area-- I would rather die a natural death, haha! I've never tried my arms... so I guess i could try that too.
I had the MiniMed Medtronic... I was thinking of switching, but sounds like you can develop an allergy for any brand of pump! I still might look into the Tandem.
The tissue where I placed the pump used to get pretty irritated. It would hurt, for days, after removing the infusion set. I got worried about tissue damage that would lead to scar tissue. I didn't want to jeopardize the quality of the tissue that could lead to poor absorption for the rest of my life. (I wasn't getting better control on a pump, anyway.) I figured I'd save the tissue in case I ever wanted to get pregnant and needed really tight control with a pump. I try not to wear the Dex continuously, for that reason, although I've been using it straight for some weeks now and haven't had much tissue irritation. Dex causes less tissue irritation, wouldn't you say?
I should have posted about this earlier... I completely solved the problem with Cortisone 10 (1% hydrocortisone cream). 1-2 applications on the site after removal of the pod knocks the reaction down completely within 24 hours. Interestingly, it heals up faster too, something I thought would be the opposite with a steroid.
The tiny amount of steroid from this doesn't concern me, or my GP. But man, it's literally night and day!
Mohe, I agree completely about the Dexcom... the sensor wire is a complete non-issue for me. I wear mine 2 weeks, and always have one on. My G4 is a 365/7/24 device for me. And I have no reaction, and almost no injury, when the wire's removed. Seems to heal same day, similar to a finger stick check.
Funny you would mention "sympathetic" responses from older infusion sites... I noticed this too, but in a different way: Sometimes after putting a new pod on, for the next day (tapering off) the old site will respond with itching when I administer insulin at the new site. Weird.
I think the pod is more irritating maybe? The adhesive may be causing it or it could be a reaction to the cannula. Maybe you can put something under that and see if it helps?
I have reactions too depending on things like location, the stomach is worse, so far I have only used hips and stomach. I'm not sure what is causing it though. I do notice higher up or lower down on my stomach I have a weird pain reaction like pulling/sore muscles because there is less fat there. I'm getting that with dex too lately, much more irritation with dex.
I have switched to cleo inset 90 degree and I'm having less problems so far with kinks etc. and those problems. I think the insertion device is much better and the needle is smaller so there's less trauma initially. But my reaction seems to come later with this other problem and doesn't usually affect insulin absorbtion.
Interesting. I find that both infusion sets on the third day and Dexcom sensors around day six start to itch in that immune-response kind of way. When I remove them, I notice the irritation is concentrated around the insertion and, secondarily, around the outer edges of the dressing.
I can't wear Dexcom sensors for more than a week, though not because of the irritation, they just conk out on me at between six and eight days (i.e. first day of restart), start giving me a combination of wonky readings and ???. When I remove them, I notice the adhesive immediately around the wire is just gone. Thin film dressing under the sensor helps a little but not much, thin film over the sensor helps but also traps moisture which also hurts adhesion, Mastitol helps a little.
And this assumes no swimming--infusion sets can survive one swim, which is all they have to survive in their three-day lifecycle, Dexcom sensors have trouble surviving a second swim, so increasingly I'm thinking the Dexcom just won't be compatible with regular swimming.
When I tried a pod sample recently I got a similar reaction. I am very much considering the Omnipod as my current pump is out of warranty in June.
My pump infusion sites can get quite itchy at times. The little bump after you take out the pod is normal. Sometimes I have no reaction at all to the adhesive. Same is true for me with the Dexcom sites. So I am a little perplexed why sometimes I hardly notice it there and sometimes I do... Just part of the wonders of having diabetes. :)
Diabetes isn’t easy. Life isn’t easy. What is under the skin is a mystery. The needles, tapes, doses, tests, are a lot. Analysis of exercise and food is required.
I had major issue with pump infusion sets. They would start to itch after about 6-12 hours and by two days the cannula would be INCREDIBLY itchy and irritated and have a huge welt around the cannula (sometimes with hives spreading under the adhesive) and would die if I didn't remove it. The site stayed itchy and red for about a week after removal...
The metal sets are less of an issue than the plastic ones, but I change them every 24 hours (otherwise they seem to die about 50% of the time) and at that point they are often slightly itchy/painful with a little irritated lump. With both plastic and metal sets, often I get a little red/itchy ring around the tape, too.
The Dexcom sites? No issues whatsoever. I've only worn two sensors so far, but they lasted 16 days and 22 days (and I only removed it at 22 days because I had to give the loaner unit back!) and although it did get intensely itchy at times, there was no irritation whatsoever at the insertion site.
I don't know if it's made from a different material, or if it's the fact that there's nothing being delivered under the skin, but the difference is huge. So far I don't even get any irritation from the adhesive or the Hypafix tape I put over it! Really hoping that it stays a non-issue for me!
I always use a generous layer of SkinTac, dried with a blowdryer, when I apply the G4 sensor. It's the only way I can get the thing to stay down for 2 weeks.
In case anyone missed it earlier, I solved this problem beautifully with 1% hydrocortisone cream. 1-2 applications (when pod removed, and second if necessary 12-24 hours later) makes these reactions disappear completely.
I've also heard of people spraying flonase (or similar steroid spray) on their site beforehand to prevent irritation. I have yet to try this, because the bottle of flonase I have has been up my nose, so I want to get a new one that I can use exclusively on my infusion set. :)
Interesting idea... I like the prophylactic approach of this. Often I have an itchy site right at the puncture that I just "grin and bear" for a few days.
I'm due for a pod change tomorrow... I'll give it a try and report back.
