Good morning everyone! It is 8:13 a.m. here, so it may not be morning for you.
I alternate my pod sites from my arms to my stomach. They all seem to work fine, but here lately when I put it on my stomach, it burns throughout the day. Fortunately, it gives me my insulin, so I donāt worry about it that much. Has anyone else experienced this? I havenāt reached out and tried anywhere new because Iām scared it wonāt work. Every month or once every two months, I seem to have an underlying problem where pod is unable to deliver all my insulin. I use the Omnipod Dash and a FreeStyle Libre. To be honest, Iām surprised it even works on my stomach now because it used to create blood clots (bloody bruises under the skin) and would damper my insulin flow.
I have once put it on my leg, but Iām too chicken to do it again. My back doesnāt really work for me except on my left side, but Iām scared again to put it anywhere different than the arms or stomach. I tend to turn the pod around from where the needle was last in order to use all these sites again. My buttock are a no go because anytime Iāve put it there, it has been a painful mess up.
Regardless, does anyone experience intense pain after placing your pod or when itās delivering insulin? It is working on the stomach now, but man it burns just a bit. I will tolerate it though because itās working! On certain parts of my arms, it has that same painful burning when delivering insulin, but I guess itās good because then you know itās working?
I hope everyone is staying in and staying safe from this coronavirus!! It is harmful for us all and for many who deal with chronic illnesses and/or conditions, are elderly, and are pregnant!
Hi Hannah @hanstan, yes it is still morning here and I do not use the OmniPod; Iāve used various Medtronic insertion-sets and currently Iāve used Tandem sets and Iāve occasionally felt some āburningā or āitchingā from sets or insulin. Iām never been able to figure out is the slight discomfort is the set or the insulin.
From what you wrote, it appears as if you know the many places on your body where the OmniPod MAY be placed, so now it will need to be trial & error to find which of those locations the device is most comfortable. Iāve been infusing and injecting insulin for more than six decades and have found some places that ābotherā me and other places that no longer absorb insulin effectively; if I find a place where the insulin burns or itches, I mark that location [I have letters and numbers assigned to many areas of my body] on my chart and skip over that spot for a couple of rotations.
Currently using the older pods and yes, sometimes it does hurt when activating a pod. BUT, I wouldnāt wear it if it continued to hurt.
Burning during delivery is sometimes related to the insulin you are using. If I was you, I would contact my endo, cde or whoever you have for a doctor. They should be able to advise on possibly changing insulin or even systems to get a new infusion set. It doesnāt sound like your body likes this one.
Yāall are both definitely right. I was 104 before bed last night and an hour later it went down to 88. Well with a snack, I woke up to 187, so obviously new pod site was working right?
I counted correctly for my breakfast and just checked CGM to see 307. This makes me think my āburning insulinā this time did not work at all for my breakfast. Crazy how sometimes the burning pod sites work and some do not. Maybe I will do a trial and error and put it on my back this time. Iām just chicken because Iām a skinny person with lean tissue, so it hurts in places where I no fat, which is basically nowhere.
Hannah, your glucose reader looks just as mine looked the night after I began using Control IQ. That is, until I changed the insertion-set about 3 AM and took a correction dose. The site where I had placed that insertion, #2, has ābeen retiredā ever since.
One fault that I have, is Iām kind-of-slow in giving in to a bad site, always thinking that my āhighā is due to something else.
Whenever I am having highs, especially after a meal when I counted correctly, Iāll take action by changing it. Now Iāll wait the whole three to four hours though after mealtime bolus because of course it always goes up before it comes back down. How does Control IQ work?
For me Hannah @hanstan, Control IQ has been working really well; I like āthe freedomā it gives me and based on the reports Iāve produced and shared with the prescribing endocrinologist, it appears as if my diabetes is finally managed properly.
My time-in-range [TIR], my standard deviation [SD], and my coefficient of variation [CV] have greatly improved.
I use the Omnipod too, but have never had the burning you describe. Sounds like maybe Grumpy Kevin has a good thought about changing insulins. Might be worth a shot (no pun intended!). I install the pods on my thighsāan approved Omnipod siteāas well as the backs of my arms. I do sometimes get a bad bleed upon removal. Sigh. Nothing is
perfect. Hope you find a solution.
throwing in my $0.02 Iāve been using the same insulin (Lilly Humalog) since it was inventedā¦ sometimes it burnsā¦most times it doesnāt. my infusion sites hurt when they are too close to muscleā¦ sometimes itās okay, sometimes I rip them out. good luck @hanstan
I have had the omnipod for over two years, and I can say that its really hit or miss. Some times for me it will burn really bad going in my arm but throughout the three days, it seems to work better when it does burn. I noticed that it tends to burn more when I place it on my arm because I donāt have nearly enough fat there then I do on my stomach. But yes it will burn delivering insulin for me and also when the needle is inserted. So I try and stay away from muscly parts and also blood vessels. Because I donāt know if this has happened to you but more than once when I insert either my pod or Dexcom on my stomach I will hit a blood vessel and my insertion site will bleed really bad. Hope this helps!
Hi! I have never used my Libre on my stomach simply because when I had the Dexcom it would burn on my stomach! I used the Libre on my arms and alternate arms whenever I change them. Try cleaning them with the wipes before & after!
