Infusion Sets and Absorption

[-Artemis-]

Hi there,

So I'm on day 6 of the pump and starting to stabilise / get some sleep -- phew!!

Loving it overall.... One thing: for 5 of those days I've had the infusion sets in the top of my bum cheeks; I didn't really want them in my tum... anyway -- yesterday when I did a set change I thought I'd give my stomach a go, just to see how I felt having it there -- and suddenly my absorption seems to be significantly better! I know I used to read that about injecting so I guess it makes sense; though I never really noticed it so much with injections.... just wondered if other people found the same or if it's just a co-incidence? (I'm getting to the most insulin sensitive part of my cycle, so it could just be that...)

Thanks - and happy Summer Solstice!

 

[-Artemis-]

PS: the other thing I changed yesterday was I did a manual inserter rather than the scary device that they give you with the Silhouettes ;-) .... could that have affected absorption too...? Just intrigued cos it's quite a big difference!

 

[Riri]

As scary as the inserter seems, for me, it's not as scary as doing it manually .....that really scares me.
I use silouhettes and I was struggling a few years ago with high sugars (which turned out to be a lingering virus) so amongst a host of other things we changed I was told to use my bum to see if the stomach sites were the problem. For me it made no difference to absorption using my bum to using my stomach, but like everything with diabetes we are all different so someone may come along with a different story. PS - I went back to using my stomach soon after. I would say use the sites which are most suitable for you and the basal rates you have set up. Of course, it would be possible to set a second basal rate for when you use your stomach (using less insulin by the hand of it which is a good thing) but as everything with a pump it will take a bit of extra effort to work it our correctly through 24/7. All the best

 

[CarbsRok]

Bums need a lot more insulin normally as absorption is not good.
I have no luck what so ever in the bum area.

 

[Mrsass]

I have no luck with my bum either lol same with legs, only my stomach seems to work for me, I've tried other areas a few times but have very slow absorption

Glad you're enjoying the pump though x

 

[-Artemis-]

Really interesting!! Thank you!!

It's the speed of absorption which is most apparent... I was getting really horrible, drawn out spikes after eating up until yesterday -- it wasn't that my insulin to carb ratio was wrong cos it was coming back to pre-meal readings - just taking agggeeessssss (like almost the full 4hrs) to come back down and causing me to sit in the 12's whilst it was doing it!

I was really puzzled as to why that was happening.... seems this may be the reason?! My dinner yesterday I had the same ratio but dropped too low (not horribly; but it was a stark difference to previous dinners!) before the full 4hrs were up.... and my overnight basal seems to have kept me lower / steadier too.... I didn't change my basals yesterday so it's not that...

I'll play around with them a bit more once I know where I'm at with the pump a little more.... but if it is that it's amazing the difference....!

 

[-Artemis-]

PS @Mrsass I am LOVING the pump!! Woke up with fasting blood sugar of 5.5 this morning.... that's not happened for a loooonnngggg time!! So nice to not wake up and feel like death, and continue to feel like death all morning till my numbers come back down!! x

 

[noblehead]

Really interesting!! Thank you!!

It's the speed of absorption which is most apparent... I was getting really horrible, drawn out spikes after eating up until yesterday -- it wasn't that my insulin to carb ratio was wrong cos it was coming back to pre-meal readings - just taking agggeeessssss (like almost the full 4hrs) to come back down and causing me to sit in the 12's whilst it was doing it!

Insulin is absorbed fastest in the stomach, arms legs and bum (in this order) so its not surprising you've noticed a difference @-Artemis-, really pleased your doing well on the pump and it has helped with your DP

 

[RuthW]

Yes, sites make a difference, though I find my hip, just above my bum gives better absorption than my belly. Also absorption from your bum can vary more depending on what you are doing. Obviously if you go running or walking you use the muscles underneath, the area warms up and your insulin becomes super effective. I am not planning to only use my stomach because I just think that after fifteen years that'll be another site that becomes unusable. My thighs are wrecked from injecting as a child with thick non-disposable needles. I don't want to lose another site!

Yes, and I am six months in and still madly in love with my pump and still improving my control week by week. My insulin requirements have dropped from 40-42 units per day before pump, to 26-29 units per day now. They are still dropping because the flexibility of the pump lets me manage my exercise routine better so I am getting fitter and my insulin sensitivity is improving still. Really, I love my pump with a passion!

 

[-Artemis-]

Yes, sites make a difference, though I find my hip, just above my bum gives better absorption than my belly.

Interesting too... I was thinking that; only using the tum might cause problems long term... When you say your hip above your bum do you mean on your side...? I've wondered about there but I sleep on my side (and fidget from side to side!) so thinking I might block/damage the cannula in the night if I put them there...? Glad to see you love your pump too my basals have more than halved! My bolus has stayed the same, but might not now I realise that might be due to where I had my sites...

 

[-Artemis-]

Insulin is absorbed fastest in the stomach, arms legs and bum (in this order) so its not surprising you've noticed a difference @-Artemis-, really pleased your doing well on the pump and it has helped with your DP

Thanks @noblehead! Like lots of people, I couldn't ever get my nighttime basal right because I dont need hardly any insulin between midnight and 3am, but from 4am till about 9am my blood sugars skyrocket! Which meant either hypos in the small hrs or numbers in double figures on waking... I kept going with high numbers over hypos, but it made me feel groggy every single morning... Really really excited about not feeling like that anymore!!

 

[Fayefaye1429]

I find hip better than most but really it's arm,hip, Tum for me. My legs are no use I find but I can't with this pump use my bum but I use to find it quite good on a different pump. I always find getting it in the right direction for Omi pod the hardest bit

 

[RuthW]

I mean kind of in the small of your back below your waist but above your bum and between your spine and the side of your body/hip bone. So when you lie in your side you don't lie on it, when you lie on your back it may make contact with the bed but you're not putting much weight on it.

I did put one in my actual bum for the first time the other day, but when I lay on my side in bed, my weight was on it, and then I had a days BSs creeping high till I took it out and saw I had put a big kink in the cannula. So, places where you don't put weight on it are best, I think.

 

[-Artemis-]

I understand where you mean now, thank you!

Absorption is defo crazy better in my tum... As an experiment I had *exactly* the same meal tonight as I had on Friday... Same dose, same basals -- but on Friday my infusion set was in my backside and I spent the best part of four hours in double figures; this evening it's in my tum and I've spent the entire 4hrs in the 4's & 5's!! Crazy crazy...!