Hi everyone, as some of you know I just started the ping two weeks ago today. while the first week went smoothly, the past 5 days have been very frustrating!! I have had to change the infusion set everyday because it gets so uncomfortable due to pain. I don't think I am doing anything different than the first week, so I don't know why it is happening. I am using the inset 30s in my stomach area, and I'm too chicken right now to try anywhere else but I may have to soon because I am getting so fed up with this! it is making me very sad because although I love the pump so far, this is making things extremely negative and I'm getting frustrated to the point where I almost want to give up. so does anybody have any tips or suggestions for me? anyone else go through this and know how to fix it?? I really want things to get better and work out so I don't have to go back to mdi =(
I have heard that some people ice the area where they will be inserting the set for a few minutes, in order to numb it. This would alleviate the pain from insertion. I usually feel a little bit of pain for aboout an hour after I change a site, but after that, nothing. I suspect you might be doing something wrong, but I can't say what - sorry. I hope someone else can be of more help to you!
Hi Vered,I saw a post-Less pain for shots any ideas-Joe gave a link for numbing cream-can that used for pump users ? Hope you find your answer.
I use the 30s too. CVS makes alcohol swabs that contain benzocaine for pain relief. I think they help a bit. Also, it might be how you hold the inserter. Make sure that you are pressing the buttons with your thumb on the top and forefinger on the bottom. If you hold it with your thumb on the buttom button, it could rock the inserter back accidentally and the needle won't go in at the right angle. That's what hurts me the most. Try those 2 tips and hopefully it won't hurt! Good luck!
I think you guys misunderstood what I meant...I am having pain a few hours after insertion. the actual insertion doesn't hurt at all, but after a few hours it will start to sting and hurt really bad if I touch it at all.
but Carrie, you may be on to something. I will try to remember to put my thumb on top next time. I'm not sure how I am doing it now, but if this is the problem that would be awesome! thanks for the tip, I'll let you know how it works out.
Hello! My son has been on the ping for about a month now and they started us on the inset 30's as well. He is only 21 months old so he can't fully communicate to us if the site is hurting after insertion but we did run into issues with the sites not taking and the whole process of inserting them was a nightmare because of having to make sure you are at the right angle. We ended up trying the normal circular insets and he has done great. You insert it straight down, no more angles to mess with and it seems like there is less risk of the needle getting caught up or just not properly threading the tubing in right. They are so much better for us. His doctors have advised us to do his insert in his upper butt cheek so I don't have any experince with tummy insertions but I would check and see if you could get a sample or two of the circular insets just to see if they make a difference! Good luck!!
Hi Starr, I actually have one of those 90 degree angle insets. my starter kit came with one of each kind, but I am really scared to go anywhere but my stomach!! when I was on injections I did it in my stomach and I did my lantus shot in my outer thigh. but my cde has advised me not to use my legs yet becasue the absorbtion is different so it would mess up the testing we are doing now. I may have to just suck it up and try the 90 degree one in my love handle, but I am really really chicken because I have a TON of veins there. tomorrow I am going to have a quick meeting with my cde and show her what I have been doing and have her show me the correct way to do it again. hopefully this will fix the problem if I am just inserting it wrong.
oh and carrie- I was inserting it with my thumb on the bottom!! does it really make that big of a difference??
[quote user="Vered"]oh and carrie- I was inserting it with my thumb on the bottom!! does it really make that big of a difference??[/quote]
you'll have to see if it makes a difference for you. When my thumb is on the bottom, I have a tendency to push up and rock the set. That makes the angle less than 30 degrees and really hurts me. With the thumb on the top, I don't rock back as much and can keep the angle.
so I went to my cde's office today to try and straighten things out..I put in an inset 30 with her watching/helping me and it still went in too shallow and this one actually hurt a lot going in, so she had me take it out and it bleed a lot so I must have knicked a vein. I did it with my thumb on top too. so she said it just takes a lot of practice to get the angle right and it will get better with time. but I was asking her about the inset 90 degree angle one, and she had some samples so she let me try one. I put it on my love handle cause she said I don't have enough padding on my stomach, and it went it fine and didn't hurt at all. now I'm hooked up to that and plan on keeping it in for three days if all goes well. and she gave me a couple to try after this one to make sure I like it. I still have a ton of inset 30s though, so I guess I will keep trying to make them work too so I can use my stomach and love handles.