Fatty lumps

Hi Catherine,

Firstly, sorry to hear that your son has just been diagnosed. Good news is that it isn't half as scary as it first sounds!

The fatty lumps are not inevitable, but if he is repeatedly injecting into his stomach they may start to build up over time and can be hard to shift.

I found a few things helped when I was literally skin and bone...
1) rotate the injection sites as much as possible. From the sounds of it you are already doing this which is great. Might also be worth him trying to do some injections into his bottom to take the pressure off the tummy. Not ideal if he is out, but might be an option if he is at home.
2) ask your doctor for the smallest needles possible. This really helps when there isn't much fat!
3) I was told to inject at an angle, especially when injecting into my arms. I did notice that the fatty lumps issue improved after that and it was less painful. As he puts weight on he will need to adjust this so that he is eventually injecting at a 90 degree angle again.

Hope this all makes sense and that you and your son are both coping well with the recent diagnosis.

Take care

hello

it may be if hes just using his tummy that it could be an issue, how many injections a day is he having and could he try his arms and bum, dylan like ur son has no meat on him but had no problem with these areas in fact he preferred them to his tummy and very rarely used it as he would say it stung.

anna marie

another useful place, especially for night-time injection when slow release is a good thing, is the bum.
Some people find it difficult to twist round but I've got quite good at it over the years. I'm sure having an enormous bum helps... :wink:

I don't know much about lymphoedema so forgive me if this is not a useful option. I don't know whether buttocks are affected.

~oops anna marie has already suggested the bum ~

Another thing to remember is that if you are considering AST (Alternative site testing) you should always discuss it with your HCP's first. It has a time lag and is not considered as accurate especially if the Bg levels are changing rapidly.........

ahh yes best to avoid there then arms may be an option tho, 4 injections a day doesnt leave u alot of options to rest any of the stomach u really could do with somewhere else as an option. hope all goes well this afternoon let us know how u get on.

anna marie

I was going to start a topic about this.We've just noticed that our daughter's got a huge lump on her thigh where she does her lantus.She is now going to do it in her bum.Will this lump go in time her injection sites were checked 2 months ago while wearing leggings so not sure how long it's been there, it is quite large and can be seen though her jeans.

Some injection tips from BD........and some solutions to help stop Lipohypertrophy (Fatty lumps)

To avoid developing hard lumps and fat deposits, it is important to inject in different spots within a general part of the body.

Change sides within an area. For example, if you inject your evening insulin in the thigh, try using the right thigh one evening, and the left thigh the next evening.

You might find it useful to picture the face of a clock on your abdomen. That helps you to keep each of your injections at least one finger’s width from the last injection.

Let’s say that you inject four times a day, and all of the injections are in your abdomen. Look down at your abdomen and picture “Noon” below your belly button. Place your first injection at Noon, your second injection at 1 o’clock, the third injection at 2 o’clock, and the fourth injection at 3 o’clock. You will not come back to the “Noon” spot again until day 4, which gives that spot a chance to rest.

Click to expand...

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx ... 01&id=7282

As to will they go ..........Repeated injections into the same area can result in fatty lumps (lypohypertrophy). Insulin may not be absorbed properly from sites where lumps have developed and this can affect your blood sugar control. It may be convenient but sites should always be rotated.

If lipohypertrophy is confirmed, patients should be advised to stop injecting into the affected area for at least 2–3 months, move their injections to a different site with immediate effect and start rotating between and within sites – follow up with a review in 3 months, referring to the diabetes service if problems persist.

Click to expand...

http://www.plymouthdiabetes.org.uk/inde ... ion_id=856