Depigmentation at injection sites

[Westley]

Have any of you ever experienced loss of skin pigmentation at injection sites?
If so, did it revert to normal colour after leaving those sites alone long enough?

I'm on Lantus and Humalog and have been for over 10 years. I always do the Lantus in my upper thigh/butt, and the Humalog mostly in my stomach. It's only in the last year or 2 that I've started to notice this patchy whitening of the skin on the most used areas of my stomach. It becomes more visible if I get a bit of a tan.
I showed it to the nurse at my last checkup, and she didn't seem overly concerned and just recommended the usual about site rotation and using alternate sites. There doesn't seem to be any accompanying lipoatrophy or hypertrophy thankfully.
I've long tended to do quite a lot of small boluses to maintain tight control, and maybe slightly more since getting the Libre.
Obviously I'm trying to rotate sites as well as possible, always change needles, and using upper arms/thighs more often.

I'm just curious to find out if these white patches are now permanent.

 

[therower]

Hi @Westley . Sounds very much like vitiligo. Vitiligo affects a very small amount of the population but does seem a bit more common with T1 diabetics ( apparently it's an auto immune condition like diabetes)
Over my years of diabetes I've developed various areas of discolouration mainly on my hands, shoulders and face. Granted not injection sites but still areas that just stay pale/ white when ever I go out in the sun. Never had any problems with these areas other than the cosmetic appearance they create.
Strange you have these areas where you inject. Obviously I'm no expert and as such would suggest if you are still concerned then raise it with your GP.
There's lots of information on the web if you search vitiligo.
Sorry can't be more help.

 

[HasanG]

I only inject in my stomach area and also notice this. I didn't realise it was happening but I don't really care tbh.

 

[gavin86]

Could it be scarring? My abdomen is covered in scars - very smooth and even, but light/pale (not from needles though).

As far as returning to normal... I don't know about less than usual pigmentation. I got hyperpigmentation on my thighs from a rash and the dark patches are still there 5 years later. Quite embarassing...

 

[hynes48]

Hi @Westley . As @therower said it could be Vitiligo. I have it on my fingers (spreading into my hands) and toes. I spoke to my specialist about it sometime ago and he advised it was Vitiligo but it was harmless and nothing to worry about. My sister has it as well (hands, feet and around the lips) but she is not diabetic.

 

[isjoberg]

@Westley do you have this anywhere else (arm pits etc) ? I've had vitiligo for years and it does fade, although remember to put on more sunscreen if you're out in the sun as it will burn faster!

 

[Westley]

@Westley do you have this anywhere else (arm pits etc) ? I've had vitiligo for years and it does fade, although remember to put on more sunscreen if you're out in the sun as it will burn faster!

Thanks, good point about sunscreen.
No - I don't have this anywhere else, just very localised at the most used injection sites, which is why I didn't think it quite fit the usual descriptions of vitiligo, which I saw as something more spontaneous. So as @gavin86 suggests I did think it could be a kind of scarring, although there is no difference in the skin texture.
At the end of the day it doesn't bother me too much as it's only an aesthetic issue (and living in the UK climate I don't have my shirt off in public that often!), but it would be nice if it could revert to normal skin tone eventually.

 

[isjoberg]

Thanks, good point about sunscreen.
No - I don't have this anywhere else, just very localised at the most used injection sites, which is why I didn't think it quite fit the usual descriptions of vitiligo, which I saw as something more spontaneous. So as @gavin86 suggests I did think it could be a kind of scarring, although there is no difference in the skin texture.
At the end of the day it doesn't bother me too much as it's only an aesthetic issue (and living in the UK climate I don't have my shirt off in public that often!), but it would be nice if it could revert to normal skin tone eventually.

As a vain teen I did target tan my vitiligo away (putting sunscreen everywhere else apart from on it) and it seems to have held out.. but ofc that won't work if there is 0 pigmentation!