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Cannula/infusion site - chest

Applenerd81

Applenerd81

Well-Known Member
Messages
205
Location
North East
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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Carbs
Previously posted in wrong area of forum, sorry!

Hi, I've recently started pump therapy, currently using Cellnovo.

Have had t1 for 20 years so belly has had plenty of pen use, other sites have had little use, mainly due to what feels like poor/unpredictable sensitivity.

I have a lot of scar tissue on my tummy from various ops and with pump use I felt I was running out of options for rotation until recently reading about T1 Olympic Skier Kris Freeman who uses an omnipod worn sometimes on his chest.

I tried a Cellnovo cannula and it has worked tremendously - no pain, high and predictable sensitivity, great adhesion during sport, comfort during sleeping and most importantly no unsightly marks after removal. I informed my DSN today and was advised that they had no guidance for using cannula on areas other than the usual places ( arms, thighs, abdomen, bum etc).

Am I doing something risky??? The site just seems to work so well! Do any of you use your chest? I've found little guidance on the subject...
 
Uggh no, but there was another post a while back about cannulas in chest.. Can't find it though.
 
Not much info, it's working very well for me, especially with the whole patch pump setup; getting a full three days - no soreness or bruising.

I might just stick with this insulin pump malarkey!
 
I had sensitive skin on my stomach for injections so never used it, I just bruised insanely if I did, but with a pump it's fine, doctors can only really tell you what their textbooks say half the time, if it works it works, everybody is different with each thing, what ever your doing works healthily then keep up with it, you have courage to try something in the hope it might help, especially if it's not common or recommended, so congrats. Your findings can help other people's struggles iv seen on here
 
There was a discussion about using breasts for cannulas but this is not advised for women as if any lumps form doctors can't tell if they are cancer related easily. However as you are male I guess that doesn't apply.
 
ealingr said:
I don't think you're doing anything to be worried about. At least one of the manufacturers suggests the chest as a site - see p15 of this document from Roche (Accu Chek):

https://www.accu-chekinsulinpumps.com/documents/ProfessionalsPocketGuidetoInfusionSiteManagement.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks, I did see this, similarly I believe Omnipod claim you can wear their pump practically anywhere - which suggests to me as long as you can safely fit a cannula you can use (almost) any site with a little fat...
 
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