So, I’ve always been guilty of not rotating my pump sites enough, in fact you could call me downright resistant. I guess when I find something I like, I just want to stick with it and after all, I do ask my Endo about it occasionally and he always replies in his usual fashion “All looks good Julie”.
For years, I used to use my belly for my Omnipod and rotate through about 6-8 sites but last year, during my pregnancy, I had an enormous belly and a lot of discomfort with my pump, so I started relying on only two sites.
Since then (it’s been 13 months!), I guess I just got lazy, or caught up with putting life ahead of routine diabetes management…we’ve all been there right? Frankly, I still have 28lbs of baby weight to lose and the old sites (which were largely around my waistband) just aren’t comfortable anymore.
Well, I started noticing that it looked my insulin needs were increasing?! It didn’t make sense: I was breastfeeding, not overweight (technically), active, hadn’t changed my eating habits, other medications, etc. WTH?!
It finally dawned on me that maybe my poor old sites were just worn out. I Googled it and came across lipohypertrophy and then got scared out of my pants by doing an Image Search for it (fyi, don’t click on this Image Search unless you’re fully ready for the unsettling consequences). Enough said…site rotation here I come!
Now, I don’t have any signs of lipohypertrophy yet but when I was pregnant, my insulin needs tripled and it makes sense that my insulin absorption rates for those belly sites might have taken a toll.
I’m currently a proud wearer of a back Omnipod…day two ;) It has it’s issues and will take some getting used to (especially when I try to carry a backpack)…but my sugars have been much lower, while everything else has stayed pretty much the same (same insulin rates, same diet and activity, same morning and afternoon coffee, same evening glass of wine…you get the picture). So far this experiment is a success, Phew!
Stay tuned for more pod placement experimentation…
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I just started using Omnipod and found your blog looking for info on site rotation. I am one of those horrifying pictures of worst case scenario lipohyoertrophy and it happens very quickly on me. Unfortunately I’ve noticed that even avoiding my belly altogether (which is a total dead zone of hideous lumps) I don’t get good absorption on my arms and legs so only have my back and butt work right now. Not enough rotation…im only 4’11“! I don’t have enough surface area for diabetes! Any good location tips would be welcome!
Deb,
I’m so sorry to hear that. I also have very poor absorption on my arms and legs, so am limited to my torso. I haven’t discovered any new sites. I do try to bolus as often as possible a little bit prior to siting down to eat, while still standing and moving around, with the hopes that increasing the rate of absorption will keep insulin from pooling at the injection site…I have no basis for if this helps or not but it makes me feel like I’m actively trying to do something. To help prevent pooling If I want to take a large bolus and am/will be sitting, I often massage the injection site for a few minutes during and after the bolus (strange looking, I’m sure!).