I change my set every other day. I almost always get into trouble if I go for a third day. I keep detailed logs about where I put it so I rotate well. I still hit scar tissue areas on a frequent basis. It sucks.
I get my husband to help me with putting it in places I can’t reach. I use Lidocaine cream so I have no feeling at all when I insert. I have been to a dermatologist, but he says there is nothing you can do about it topically. I do use CeraVe lotion all over after showering, and have noticed my skin is not as dry. I have come to realize I am definitely now one of those diabetics with slow healing. I would never get a CGMS because I don’t need another thing sticking into me making more holes and scars.
I understand about dry skin. Especially when you live in a cold,dry climate that does not help either. I do use the Dexcom cgms and have less problems with that than I do the infusion sets from Minimed. Lately when I take off the site I swear I need a chisel and a pair of pliers just to get it off. Then to top that off it leaves a red irritated round circle on my skin. I do not have this problem with the dexcom and when I do use a sensor it is on for 7 days no red irratation and you can hardly see where the needle went in unlike the infusion site. I sometimes have to change my infusion site 2 x’s daily. I have been using the dexcom for almost 2 years now no scar tissue and you can’t even tell where I have used it at. With the infusion sites I look like a target!
I started pumping with the Auto Syringe in 1979. The big key is rotate your sites that will help with any scar tissue as this has been the case for myself.
I find that the best area for absorption is my upper and lower stomach. I have tried my arms but to no avail and it causes pain and discomfort at times. Yes once in a great while I will get a site when I do not get good absorption but not very often and I am still amazed after all these years.
I have major scar tissue problems. You can feel it under the skin. Little calcified lumps. I have been pumping for 9 years. It seems interesting to me how some people who have pumped a long time have no scar tissue problems. Can human bodies really have so much differentiation? Maybe these people are using a larger number of sites than those who have scare tissues problems. Anamus has a good video about what areas are good to use as pump sites. I am planning on documenting when I eat, exercise etc again. Maybe it would be helpful to create scatter charts to see how often things jump way out of line. Anamus software does not have the BGs included. I understand it is difficult to use legs and arms because our clothing tugs at these sites and often causes the cannula to dislodge. What are your thoughts on all of this. Any success with leg or arm sites? The upper hip areas does not seem to absorb well even when free from scar tissue. I am using the angled cannula but am going to sample the others again and a metal one I have not tried.
which brings up a question Sarah, how many sites are we using. I use four in rotation, and have been pumping 7 years now, diabetic for 36 years now, soon 37. I have little issues with scar tissue, unless i have had an infected site. Those puppies (2) are scared badly and i cannot reuse them.
I was using 6 spots around my abdominal area. Now I am using new areas around my abdominal area that are farther away from the middle and my upper hip area. Do you mean 6 sites like the back of your arms, the thighs, your hips and your abdomin or like six areas in one region of say your abdomin for example? I might need to try including other regions in my regime.
Hey all ! I’ve been pumping since Dec. 1986 (24+ yrs). I took injections for roughly 24 yrs and now pumping has surpassed that amount of time. Whooo, where’d the time go!!! A cure would be the only thing to impress me more than pumping has. I’m glad I started when I did.
When I started pumping we were told you could wear the sets for 5- 7 days. Then it went to 3-5 and now the 2-3. Needless to say, I do have scar tissue in my lower abdomen from the early years but now use my upper abs and just work my way around.
Stand in line, bsc, she is my new hero too! Awesome! I went to Camp Sweeney in the 70s and worked there in the 80s. I remember a visiting nurse who came through in the early 80s with a pump. The thing was huge, but we thought it was pretty amazing.
Old post revived and still good!! Here is what I want to know. Surely with all the technology available there could be some sort of test/scan they could do to at least tell us where the scar tissue is!! Even better, I want a proceedure that breaks it up so that it can then be absorbed by my system or sucked out.
I’ve been pumping since '92. Scar tissue doesn’t seem to bad. But there are times when the pump fairies align and I am in my “sweet spot” and the sugar evens out and the insulin seems to work so much better. On second thought, maybe the scar tissue is more than a problem than I think it is.
The first ones were huge! I bet they weighed 3 or 4 times what my current pump does. Really, when I think about it, they have changed a LOT over the years. And to think, glucose monitors weren’t released that much earlier than the insulin pump. We have come a long way, for sure!
I want to preserve my “canvas” for Dexcom use. I don’t seem to get good readings with my omnipod unless I wear it on my stomach or arms. I don’t know if it would improve if I used a different type of insertion set—but that is not an option with the omnipod. I am considering going back to shots. I want my Dexcom to be as accurate as possible, but if I keep using my stomach for pumping, I may run out of room for my CGM. Any suggestions/advice? Is the CGM less invasive than the omnipod canula? Do people find it’s readings the same in different locations? Because I find absorption is different with my omnipod if I use my stomach vs my legs/lower back.
The sensor probe itself is certainly a lot smaller than the canulas I’ve used for Medtronic and Snap–I assume the Omnipod is probably the same. The probe stays in a lot longer, of course. I think it’s the thickness of the infusion sets + the material they’re made of that causes inflammation over time, which leads to scarring, at least that’s my understanding.
One downside of the late, soon-to-be-lamented Snap is that the optical non-delivery sensor is more sensitive than the pressure ones on Medtronic and other pumps. I ran into a lot of occlusion alarms after switching to a Snap earlier this year, particularly on my abdomen which–like everyone else–is a favored location for me. Hey, the ads all show people sticking 'em there. Not just people, but just about exclusively women with really attractive abdomens. I’m sure this is irrelevant. Anyway, they had me switch to angled sets and that fixed the problem quite successfully. So that may be an alternative worth investigating for those suffering from loss of real estate.
But here’s the thing with those: the needle is considerably longer, so they take up more real estate themselves, and I found it REALLY difficult to use some areas that had been old-relaibles heretofore. As in pain, blood, post-insertion kinking (a real problem if you wear jeans and use the front of your upper thighs–the cannula lies closer to the surface and the creasing of the denim from sitting and standing was making the cannulas get distorted and inflamed under the skin after a day).
I recently realized after reading around here that some of the areas I used to use all the time when I was on injections but that I’ve neglected since going on a pump, thinking they were just too hard to get at, were actually maybe not that hard to get to after all. So I’ve gone back to regular sets but using my “love handles” and backs of my upper arms, and leaving those scarred areas to recover. Which I hope they’ll do before too long. If anyone has some experience with going back after letting them “lie fallow” for a while I’d love to hear about that.
I don’t have much fat to use my hips, but I’ve tried my buttocks and sides of thighs (also not a lot of pinch there) and I end up with consistently higher numbers. I also find it hard to keep on in those places (easily rips/knocks off when on my thighs) or it hurts when I lay down (on my buttocks). For these reasons, I may go back to shots. I feel the Dexcom is probably going to be more important than a pump (for me).
