azure, the Omnipod is really small. its much easier to hide than a pump and tubing. I had asbsorption problems when I was on the accu check and the medtronic. I was limited to areas where I could wear the canula and as a result had these hard lumpy areas - that cause the absorbtion to slow down.
I mainly use the top of my thighs or triceps.
Are you doing any excercise? Excercise does help. Your body becomes more sensitive to insulin.
Perhaps you need to increase your basal by 25% for a couple of hours when changing the canula? Diabetes is just one of those conditions where you constantly need to keep adjusting your insulin doses.
I dont think your issues are about the pump itself. No matter what treatment we are on, these issues are all the same for everyone and it does get harder to control the longer we have the condition.
Everyday is different. Just keep testing and try stay on top. Whats your carb intake like? Are you low carbing?
Thank you - that's interesting that you had problems on your previous pumps too.
My experiment with putting the cannula in my back was a total failure. My blood sugar in the night was 14, which is unheard of for me. It's now down to 10.4 after some Humalog from my pen but obviously that's not good either (although it's a hell of a lot better than how I felt at 14)..
I think what's so frustrating is when sites 'run out'. I'd been using my leg fine for a few months, rotating sites carefully, and my blood sugars were lovely. Not a moment's trouble. Then they started to go higher so I changed to my bum but I just can't seem to find any area there where the insulin's absorbed. I've had similar problems in the past swapping areas but it's only taken me a few days to discover where the cannula works best, and then I've been fine.
I've had diabetes for 20yrs and it's only in recent years I've realised that control is never sorted. When I first got diabetes, I had no idea at all about absorption problems. I naively assumed that if you did everything right, you just kept on going doing what you were doing.
What you said about being able to put the Omnipod in more places does make it sound good. I think that's what I need - more sites I can use. That's why I was thinking about going back on MDI - I thought I'd be able to inject in places where I couldn't put a pump cannula.
Yes, I do exercise - or rather, I keep active all the time. I do a lot of walking, and I always stay active after meals. I don't do any formal exercise, just walking and rushing about. It's interesting that you mentioned low carbing. I've been interested in that and reading stuff online. Ironically, I just ordered a LCHF recipe book last week. This last week I've been low carbing simply because my blood sugars have been so bad. But before this latest mess-up with absorption, I ate approx 150g of carbs a day. I'm quite slim so I worry about losing weight if my carbs go too low.
Do you low carb? Do you think it helps because you're having less insulin so your sites don't get so bad? Was it poor absorption that made you swap to the Omnipod? And are you in the UK? I've never seen anyone with an Omnipod here. My clinic seems to use Accuchek for everyone.
Sorry for all the questions. I hate not being in control of my diabetes. It's beyond frustrating.
