Fat Deposits From Injecting Insulin!

[Atalanta]

Hi there,
I've been injecting insulin for over 40 years. My insulin (Apidra) has recently become really slow at working, which is causing lots of problems with my control.
My Diabetic Doctor told me that insulin causes fatty deposits under the skin which, in turn, slows the absorption of the insulin but, considering how long I've had Diabetes, I have never had this problem before. Two years ago I went from having had long needles all my life to short ones - I am wondering if this is why? Any suggestions?

 

[himtoo]

Hi @Atalanta
welcome to the forum.
I think your doctor may be referring to this http://www.diabetes.co.uk/conditions/lipohypertrophy.html

when on MDI ( multiple daily injections ) it is really important to rotate sites as much as possible

for the 18 years I was on MDI ( about 5 injections per day )
I always used my bum for the long acting ( lantus ) and stomach , thighs and upper arms for fast acting ( novorapid ).

I have been Diabetic for just over 44 years so far and have managed to avoid these fatty deposits.

you could ask about longer needles if they suit you better
lengths are avail between 4mm - 12mm

 

[noblehead]

Can't say with any certainty but I doubt the needle length makes any difference, I had lipohypertrophy issues a few years after diagnosis and we used the 12mm needles back then.

That said I had lipo issues in the 2 years before moving to a pump (using 4mm needles), when you've injected insulin for decades your going to come across the problem at some point no matter how much we rotate our injection sites.

 

[therower]

@Atalanta. A few years back whilst having a check up my consultant asked about injection sites. I ran through where I injected and she examined the said areas. When she looked at my stomach she asked why I used my right side more than my left, I asked how she came to the conclusion and she said it was obvious by the area being more fatty and larger than the other side. From my viewpoint I couldn't see it but when I looked in the mirror at home it was just so obvious.
Since then I try to do a lot more visual examining in front of a full length mirror at my injection sites. I've spotted areas I wasn't aware of and have been able to avoid and give that area a rest.