• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Hyperlipotropy

LucySW

LucySW

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,974
Location
Denmark
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm a new T 1/1.5 LADA and I've only been doing full basal/bolus for a couple of months. But I've just read about hyperlipotrophy. Does this mean that using insulin just gives you a wodge of fatty tissue where you inject? Does everyone get this? I knew I was glad to be on low doses, but this is gross.

How long does it take? High doses, or any doses? Does it look awful?

Freaking out.
 
It takes different amounts of time in different people. You also get lipoatrophy, which is the breakdown of fats and causes variable insulin absorption. This shows itself as feeling lumpy under the skin.

The best way to reduce both is rotating injection sites and using fresh needles.
 
Don't freak out Lucy, provided you rotate your injection sites you should be fine for now.
 
Hi @LucySW

i have been doing this for 42+ years and have not had any sites develop this.

starting at a point 1 hand width above the knee and moving up 1 inch at a time should give 1 row of 7 injections
then moving back to the above knee starting point but moving sideways 1 inch gives another 7
this can usually be repeated to a total of 4 inches of width giving 28 injections per leg

the stomach is good as well and using the above technique produces 20 injection sites per side of stomach.\

if these are rotated once in 96 is how often i see a similar point being used.

hope this helps:)
 
LucySW said:
But do you all have it?
Click to expand...
I have a couple of spots of lipoatrophy (dents) on my left leg. I can't see them but can find them by pressing my fingers around where they are, so I just avoid them. They are probably between 1-1.5cm round. This after 43 years of T1 and I only noticed them about 5 years ago. Otherwise, if you keep rotating you should avoid or minimise any injection site problems. Obviously there are no guarantees.
 
No, don't have any :)
I have always rotated injection sites, but I can't remember if we were advised to do this initially. My cousin who was diagnosed in the same year did have a lump on her arm by the time she was 20, but she didn't ever rotate because it freaked her out to inject anywhere else . So in her case, it's not surprising..I don't think the chuffing great needles back then helped either :eek:

Worry not, Lucy, you will not end up with lumps and look like the Michelin Man where you inject :D

Signy
 
LucySW said:
But do you all have it?
Click to expand...


Yes I do, the hypertrophy started a few years after I was diagnosed and was mainly due to over-injecting in the same area (stomach in my case) and reusing needles, back then the needles were nothing like the micro-fine needles we use now and supplies were limited, so we were encouraged to reuse them unfortunately, but tbh it was my mainly my own fault as I should have heeded the advice to rotate injection sites.

Provided you rotate your sites and use a new needle every-time you inject you will reduce your chances of it ever occurring, try not to worry about it too much as it may never happen.
 
I've got two areas of it either side of my tummy button. Like noblehead I re-used the none too fine needles of the 70's and 80's trying to get good value from the boxes of needles I used to buy. They are lumpy, no go areas for insulin absorption.

My problems were caused years back. With the tiny gauge needles of today I'm sure the chances of it happening are pretty low. No panic :).
 
I had bad hyperlipotrophy around my waist. I'm 2 days post op from a tummy tuck to get rid of it at a cost of £6000. I'm fit - always have been - but 30+ years of injections into my stomach took their toll (been diabetic for 38 years).

Doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen. And it's an f-ing nightmare, not to be too blunt. People think my op was a cosmetic thing - I actually consider it reconstructive surgery...
 
Back
Top