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Hairy Pumper

C

Capt-Slog

Well-Known Member
I am a guy who is blessed/cursed with rather a lot of body hair...... all over!

I am hoping to have my first pump soon and wanted to find out if anyone else has experience of infusion sets/sensors and body hair.

I regularly shave my upper arms before attaching a Libre every 14 days. By about day 10, the area around my Libre is itching so bad I feel like I could scratch my skin off.

I am looking to change to a Medtronic G6 soon.
I believe that the G6 sensor only lasts 10 days, so maybe that will be better.

I tried having my upper arms waxed once.
Not something I am terribly keen to repeat unless you guys (or girls) can convince me that it gets easier over time.

I HAVE shaved my belly once. I guess I shall have to do it more often if I get a pump.
It only stayed smooth (ish) for about 5 days then it started to itch.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
I do shave the area. I then try to let the skin "settle down" for a while before inserting a G6 or cannula, perhaps even doing it the day before. Also use an alcohol wipe & only occasionally suffer from any itching even after 18 days or more with the G6.
 
Capt-Slog said:
I am a guy who is blessed/cursed with rather a lot of body hair...... all over!

I am hoping to have my first pump soon and wanted to find out if anyone else has experience of infusion sets/sensors and body hair.

I regularly shave my upper arms before attaching a Libre every 14 days. By about day 10, the area around my Libre is itching so bad I feel like I could scratch my skin off.

I am looking to change to a Medtronic G6 soon.
I believe that the G6 sensor only lasts 10 days, so maybe that will be better.

I tried having my upper arms waxed once.
Not something I am terribly keen to repeat unless you guys (or girls) can convince me that it gets easier over time.

I HAVE shaved my belly once. I guess I shall have to do it more often if I get a pump.
It only stayed smooth (ish) for about 5 days then it started to itch.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Sorry I have little knowledge regarding your question.
Just stopping to wish you good luck with new pump .
 
DunePlodder said:
I do shave the area. I then try to let the skin "settle down" for a while before inserting a G6 or cannula, perhaps even doing it the day before. Also use an alcohol wipe & only occasionally suffer from any itching even after 18 days or more with the G6.
Click to expand...

18 days?
I thought that they had to be changed every 10 days?
 
@Capt-Slog are you sure your hair is the cause of your itchiness?
I am not what one would describe as hirsute but find my cannula and Libre become itchy towards the end of their life.
I currently use SkinTac as a barrier which reduces the itch.
Others use Cavolin (please check the spelling).

One thing to consider with the pump is that the cannula needs to be replaced about every 3 days so it will not be in one place for as long. So, if you shave the area before application, new hair should not come through in the life of a cannula. Although you may be shaving every 3 days or so.
 
DunePlodder said:
There are ways of restarting sensors, particularly easy with xDrip+.
You do so at your own risk but it makes a big difference to cost.
- as mentioned in my pms to you @Capt-Slog !
Click to expand...

Oops, so you did, sorry.
I guess the thought of extending the sensor when I itch so bad at the moment put me off. However I take on board the affect on costs too.

Perhaps I need to experiment with more barriers to see what works best for me.

Approx how much do you think you spend per month (on average) by extending sensors and transmitters?
I take it that the saving over the £159/month must be significant.
 
helensaramay said:
@Capt-Slog are you sure your hair is the cause of your itchiness?
I am not what one would describe as hirsute but find my cannula and Libre become itchy towards the end of their life.
I currently use SkinTac as a barrier which reduces the itch.
Others use Cavolin (please check the spelling).

One thing to consider with the pump is that the cannula needs to be replaced about every 3 days so it will not be in one place for as long. So, if you shave the area before application, new hair should not come through in the life of a cannula. Although you may be shaving every 3 days or so.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I THINK it is the hair, because it itches under my MiaoMiao too, and I dont use any adhesive with that. However it is also true to say that the rest of my upper arm doesn't itch anywhere near as much.
The hot weather isn't helping much either.

I shall give the Skin Tac a go.
Thanks
 
@Capt-Slog I'd estimate about £120/month. It very much depends on how much you can extend the sensors. That figure also includes transmitters which are more expensive than with the G4 because they only last 3 months. Again I can extend them to around 5 months. I used to get the batteries replaced in the G4 transmitter but the G6 has proved difficult.
I forgot to mention that like @helensaramay I use SkinTac with the Dexcom sensors though not cannulas.

I don't know if you had any luck re the Tandem T:Slim X2? New pumps are now being distributed with G6 connectivity & Basal-IQ included. I will have to wait for the upgrade.
 
DunePlodder said:
@Capt-Slog I'd estimate about £120/month. It very much depends on how much you can extend the sensors. That figure also includes transmitters which are more expensive than with the G4 because they only last 3 months. Again I can extend them to around 5 months. I used to get the batteries replaced in the G4 transmitter but the G6 has proved difficult.
I forgot to mention that like @helensaramay I use SkinTac with the Dexcom sensors though not cannulas.

I don't know if you had any luck re the Tandem T:Slim X2? New pumps are now being distributed with G6 connectivity & Basal-IQ included. I will have to wait for the upgrade.
Click to expand...
I am still waiting to hear from my Diabetes team if I can have the X2. It isn't doing my nerves much good waiting to hear.
I don't want to pressure the team too much, but on the other hand, it would be nice to have some sort of timetable to how long I need to wait to get an answer.

If I don't get the X2 then I might have to accept a Roche pump and use it with AndroidAPS, which was my original plan before I discovered the X2.

I honestly haven't heard a single person complain online about the X2.

A few people said that they took a few days to get used to the Dexcom G6, but that is understandable.
Using the G6 with xDrip+ will mean that my transition from Libre / MiaoMiao may be pretty easy as I am pretty confident about navigating xDrip+ now.
 
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