Hi, I’m Type 1 diabetic and I’m 13 and I bumped my Dexcom while sleeping and it hurts so much like it’s only been 3 days since I got it in( on my thigh), and every time I change it always has a long cut even my port doesn’t do that!! I don’t know what to do!! every time I run I feel pain
Hi @Emma.type1 welcome to TypeOneNation. Maybe don’t use your leg? What about back of your arm? There are places I can’t use because it hurts too much.
hello @joe my dad likes it on my leg but he doesn’t get how it feels, I’ve tried other places but it doesn’t feel right and I’m getting my pump tomorrow and I change my Dexcom the 30 like I don’t feel like using the Dexcom anymore ive tried using numbing cream and all but it still feels worse
i can try the back of the arm but i did my port there and my port yanked out
Hi @Emma.type1. There are tapes you can get to help keep your Dexcom sensor in place. - Dexcom might she you some, or you could ask your rep/trainer. Congratulations on getting your pump tomorrow - if you mention the issues in training they might be able to help you.
Do you get a rash or anything? It might be an allergy or skin sensitivity. Some people have found certain skin preps help - I would ask about that too. So sorry to hear about your troubles - I hope you’re able to find a solution soon.
hello @wadawabbit i dont get any rashes and i have tape for it to keep it in place im acually not alergic to anything i just feel so much pain
@Emma.type1 Hi Emma, and Welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation Forum! I hope you can use some of the very good tips and suggestions you read here, and we’d like to hear your “diabetes wisdom”.
I’ve only inserted my Dexcom G6 in my thigh two times; the first time in my right thigh which was good, the second time in my left - I won’t do that again very soon. Like you, I must have banged the one in my left, the pain woke me, and that sensor needed replacement on the 7th day.
You will need to have your G6 sensor inserted a couple of inches from your NEW pump infusion site [just like you do with your port], so placement will require you to plan ahead. I use a blank calendar [only sensor sites and infusion set sites] to keep track of placements, and now only use only my abdomen for both.
Years ago [I’ve had diabetes for 64 years], I created a mental of my body giving different areas a number or letter which I write on the calendar. My abdomen has 8 areas - 4 on each side of my navel and I’m able to fairly easily manage both my pump sites an my CGM sites.
I did successfully use my arms for pump sites with 6 mm cannula; just need to be careful when putting on and taking off something like a t-shirt. When working out at the gym in a tank-top, I would slide a tube-bandage up over the infusion site to keep the tubing from getting caught. Good luck, and success with your new pump; I use the Tandem t-Slim x2 with Control IQ [CIQ] activated - awesome results.
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Hi again @Emma.type1. Can you describe what you mean when you say it doesn’t feel right? Having some detail might help us and your doctor/trainer with ideas. Thanks!
Emma, Welcome to the forum. I have used earlier versions of Dexcom CGMs. Now using G6 for close to 1.5 years. Tried my thighs but constantly bumped the sensor. I have a knack for knocking off attachments so never considered my arms. My abdomen has turned out to be best place for me & safest & most secure for sensor. I usually feel nothing upon insertion of sensor. On occasion it may sting or hurt a little but that goes away. Best wishes.
Hi, in your age group, the upper buttock (sometimes called upper hip) is identified as a location for sensor and / or infusion sets. Of course, you would want to check with your doctor ; and you likely will need a helper to do the installation. Just a suggestion of something you might like to ask about.
And … that reply on upper hip / buttock was directed for Emma’s question (age 13). Sorry for any confusion.
also i use tape for my dexcom but it always peels off after a few days
I use a Stickypatch shield with a Simpatch - it holds nicely although the edges might start to curl a bit near day 10.
The patch comes with our without a strap, and the colors are pink, blue and tan as I recall from Amazon.
Hi Emma. I have been using the Dexcom for only a few months and my stomach area was recommended because I can no longer use that prime real estate for my infusion set. That is my least lean area, which of course may not be true for you. But it has the benefit of never getting bumped, as an arm or leg would. I used the Libre on my arm before switching to Dexcom and it was always getting knocked off. As far as pain goes, you are might be hitting muscle on your leg, or just be too lean there. Dexcom def shouldn’t hurt though, so I would try a different site! Good luck! I hope you don’t give up on the Dexcom. It is such a wonderful tool.
Hi @Emma.type1! Welcome to TypeOneNation; we’re so glad to have you here!
I wear my Dexcom on my thigh sometimes and I have noticed that it hurts more there than other sites. I recommend wearing it on your abdomen if you can! That’s my personal favorite site. If you don’t want to do that, some other folks here have recommended different sites that you can try. Best of luck!
Hi Dennis. I’m Cathy, very newly diagnosed type 1 and am having many days where I am VERY discouraged. I see in your post you have been living with this for many decades. How do you do it??
I have been so diligent with my diet and there are many times I want a bite - just a bite! - of candy or a teaspoon of sugar in my tea. I read somewhere even that may interrupt the job of the insulin and potentially cause damage. I wonder how you have been with your diet over the years.
Thanks,
Cathy
Hi Emma , my daughter is 15 and a slim athletic build T1D for 5 years now. We rotate her dexcom and T slim pump sites around her abdomen and upper buttocks . She rarely ever has pain with the dexcom site and if she does it is because it’s hitting the muscle as someone else already mentioned .I would change your site to the abdomen and upper buttocks . Hope this helps.
@HopeFloats2020 Hi Cathy, and welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation forum! - and welcome to the topsy-turvy world of diabetes. Thank you for the compliment.
Living with diabetes requires work and thought, but you will find as your life goes on, that what initially appears to be heavy work and overly restrictive living will become almost automatic. Just don’t do what I did during my lte teens and well through my 20s - I totally ignored diabetes and messed up my body.
Looking retrospectively, the most important suggestion I can give you is develop a positive attitude - look on the positive side and no matter what obstacle comes along, tell yourself “L can do this”. That I can do, applies to every thing in life. Personally, I’ve lived a very active life, worked hard at everything and lived fully.
I eat a full diet, very few foods do I pass by; my daily diet has more than 200 grams of carbohydrate - mostly “healthy” foods thanks to my wife; when eating out on burger night [except for the last 10 months] I skip the fries. Tonight for desert, I had a slice of cranberry, apple, raisin pie that my wife makes - delicious. With experience, you will soon learn that you can eat almost anything, reasonable amounts, and be able to calculate insulin to match the carbs in those foods. Reasonable is the key. I’m assuming that you are managing your diabetes with MDI [Multiple Daily Injection] protocol where you use a background basal insulin once every day, and inject a Fast-Acting or a Rapid-Acting insulin with meals; I further assume that your meal-time insulin is calculated on your counting carbohydrates in that meal.
Sure you can have an occasional bite of candy and it will not interrupt the job of insulin; to much candy, or any high glycemic food, will through off the insulin to carbohydrate ratio balance. Has anyone helped you develop your I:C ratio [insulin to carbohydrate ratio] for various times of the day? This is important so you can know how much insulin to take for meals.
My diet over the years has varied - I like food. During my years in business, including business and pleasure travel, I ate many meals in restaurants. This required me to wait to see [and taste] a meal, take a wild guess as to how many carbs are on the plate and then divide that carb total by my I"C ratio and take that amount of insulin. I’m pretty good at that now.
Bottom line, there really isn’t anything in life that you may want to do that diabetes will prevent. In the olden days, diabetes prevented me from joining the Navy, and piloting a commercial airplane - but those restrictions have been lifted. Live your live as fully as you want, and figure how to “fit” diabetes so you can be a full person.
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Hi @HopeFloats2020. I just wanted to give you a few thoughts to help with your discouragement. You are newly diagnosed and it takes some time to determine the dosage of insulins - basal (background) and bolus (mealtime) that works best for you; and those may vary with time of day, time of the month, stress and other factors. There is no “one size fits all” solution and we all have to see how our body responds. Keep a careful journal of your foods, insulin doses, and times for both - they will help you and your medical team (endo/diabetes nurse educator/nutritionist) detect patterns so you can determine how things are working. For a while that “you” will frequently be a team effort but in time and with practice you will learn to recognize and analyze your body’s responses so you become more comfortable adjusting things on your own.
There is all sorts of information available for reading on the internet so be sure to check your sources and verify that they are reputable and current. JDRF has a number of resources you can use. There is also a book titled Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - the most recent edition was published this summer. The author is a medical professional with diabetes so his first-hand experience is particularly valuable. While medical in nature I found it an enjoyable read. Take your time and jot down questions to discuss at your medical visits to help you further understand your diabetes and your options. Also do a search for “Newly diagnosed” - you will find responses from many who have lived with diabetes for a long time.
Wishing you the best.
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Hi again @Emma.type1. I thought I would check in and see how you’re doing. I hope things went well with getting started on your pump, and that they may have been able to help with your Dexcom issues during your training.
I a thought about the cuts you get when removing your sensor: there is a wide end and a narrow one. I always remove pulling from the wide end towards the narrow, so the cannula pulls out along the path it went in.
I don’t know that it actually makes a difference but pulling this way has never hurt or injured me.
PS - the G5 inserted at an angle. I’m not sure about the G6 - wasn’t able to find pics online and didn’t want to remove my current one to check first hand😉 (I’ll try to do that when it’s time for a change). So it may go in straight rather than at an angle as I suggested (@Dennis do you know?), but in any case do check it out.