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Injection Sites.

5

5uemac1960

Newbie
Messages
2
Type1 Diabetic and have been injecting for 47 years. I now have a lot of lumpy sites and am finding it hard to find new areas in which to inject in, at the moment I am injecting in my stomach top of my bottom. I can't inject anymore in my arms or thighs as they are bad with mass lumps.Can anyone tell where else I can inject please.
 
Have you tried your sides? Since moving to a pump I've used the sides quite a few times as an infusion site with good result.
 
On occasions I've injected into my calf. Didn't seem to affect sugar levels/ insulin absorption times.
 
How long are your needles? I had lumps too but now switched to a 3 mm. needle and have much less issues with them. I also go way further outward then i used to in my belly region and much higher. I rotate the injection sites every day and have about 6 "main injection" sites, morning i start close to the center line of my belly and by the evening i move further outward. Next day i either move up or to the other side.
 
Rotation is key for maintaining good injection sites. But that's very easy for me to say, only having diabetes for 2.5 years - not 47...

Have you considered pump therapy or something like the needle port if remaining on MDI? Although neither options will directly help with injection site issues, you may find that having some form of infusion site (whether for a pump or MDI) may help promote better rotation and maximise the rest that each area gets.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetic-products/iport-injection-port.html
 

I have to admit to not moving sites enough in the past, or even bothering trying to remember where I injected last time. I used to get lumps and horrible bruises when I didn't change the needle for each injection, and instead let the needle go blunt. (It was a kind of denial, I think.).
My GP also changed me onto shorter needles, which has helped. On the other hand, the Practice has wholesale changed its prescriptions to a cheaper brand, they are less strong and they are too weak to be used more than once, the needle bending and/or breaking much more easily. But that works in my favour, I now change my needle for every injection!
So forgive me for asking, but do you use a new needle each time?
 
mahola said:
Wow. That iport looks amazeballs. Just shown it my daughter. She's developed a great dislike to stabbing herself with needles. She's not scared just a bit fed up with it all I think. Does anyone know if you can get them on prescription?
Click to expand...
@tim2000s has used these I think. I think I remember him saying in an old thread that he had to self fund though. I'm unsure whether they're available on prescription, but it would make a lot of sense to have them available on the NHS.
 

Just wondering @qe5rt how you remember where your last injection site was. For me, as soon as I've injected, the information has gone!
 
lizdeluz said:
Just wondering @qe5rt how you remember where your last injection site was. For me, as soon as I've injected, the information has gone!
Click to expand...

Adding numbers to the injection sites made it easier and saying them out loud in the morning made me remember. I have 6 injection sites, 3 on each side of my belly, i started one day on the left all the the way down and moved up for the next two days, then i switched sides to the bottom again on the right of my belly button and moved up the next two days. The seventh day i was back on injection site 1.

If that doesn't work you can always write them down on a calendar or add them to your smart phone. I needed some memory aids in the beginning as well but now it's such a habit that i almost feel like something is off when i inject in the wrong site.
 

Thank you! This is really helpful info, and I'm going to give it a go starting today.
 
mahola said:
Wow. That iport looks amazeballs. Just shown it my daughter. She's developed a great dislike to stabbing herself with needles. She's not scared just a bit fed up with it all I think. Does anyone know if you can get them on prescription?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tag @GrantGam1337 . I know that people have got some of these on prescription, but I don't know how easy it is to get that arranged. I had to pay myself. They are effectively cannulas without a pump connection, and actually, if you're using MDI, they are really rather good!

My experiences are in these three blog posts:

http://www.diabettech.com/diabetes/sugarsurfing-on-mdi-a-solution-to-the-down-side-injection-ports/
http://www.diabettech.com/diabetes/injection-ports-onto-the-second-type/
http://www.diabettech.com/diabetes/injection-ports-the-big-decision/
 
If you Google the web for insulin sites or similar there are endless diagrams with shaded areas for potential injection use; use common sense with these of course.
 
GrantGam1337 said:
I'm unsure whether they're available on prescription, but it would make a lot of sense to have them available on the NHS.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of things that would be sensible to have on prescription that aren't!......................
 
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