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Injection sites

BeccyB

BeccyB

Well-Known Member
Messages
465
Location
Birmingham, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I decided to have a look at where I can inject as I realised I was still basing it on what I was told age 8/9 yet my body is quite a different shape now(!) But there are diagrams saying different things - eg. front&side of thigh vs. side only, top of buttocks vs. anywhere on them (that would certainly increase the area I could use ;-) )

I suppose the safest way is to go for the smallest suggestions but if the wider areas are ok that would help with rotation but it seems ridiculous that there is so much variety. If the HCPs can't even agree on this what hope do we have with anything else?!
 
I use front thighs only occasionally because I tend to bruise and bleed.
Other than that I do belly, back(ish) side of thigh, buttocks upper arms round side and back.

Something to bear in mind is you may get different absorption rates at different sites, I know that my legs are slower than my arms which are slower than my belly. I just bear this in mind for bolusing depending on how I expect the food to hit my system.
 
my original education taught me the following for thighs
1 hand width above the kneecap for lowest point on thigh and 1 handwidth from very top of thigh at inner thigh for top of injection site , space injections approx 1 inch apart and alternate thighs between injections
each thigh should give approx 28 injection sites in 4 rows
( same for me with bruising though -- more there than anywhere else)

backside is always a bit tougher cuz we can't really see exactly what we are doing and we have to be a bit of a contortionist to really rotate properly - i just start close to the middle of my back and work outwards
 
I only use the front thighs for basal and belly area for bolus and rotate these area's. I can't bring myself to inject into my backside or arms :-(
 
I just got told to use my stomach to inject. So I tend to use my left side for bolus and right side for basal. I have a bad left leg since I had shingles in it so wouldn't touch that. My arms often ache a bit so not keen on injecting those. It seems to work using my stomach.... been doing that for over 6 years now.
 
On MDI I would inject my bolus in my stomach or arms and basal in my bum or thighs, recently I was told by my consultant to use my lower back more to avoid lipo issues.
 
noblehead said:
On MDI I would inject my bolus in my stomach or arms and basal in my bum or thighs, recently I was told by my consultant to use my lower back more to avoid lipo issues.
Click to expand...
Snap, except for being told to use my lower back :)
 
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