What is your favourite canula for different sites?

[tigger]

Basically that. I have mainly used my abdomen so far and after some trial and error and bad sets have decided i like the silhouette (30° insert ) without the inserter. The issue i have is i need to see what i'm doing to be sure i have the angle right and can deal with the rather large needle.

My thighs are where i have mainly injected for 32 years. I tried steel needles there but i don't find them comfy and seem to have absorption issues.

I tried my bottom twice. The first time with a quickset which kinked and really hurt. The 2nd time with a steel canula which was amazing and painless but dislodged in my sleep and led to a reading of 21. The next time i tried with a steel canula and tape it really hurt.

So what do people use for different sites and how do you manage insertions and checking insertions you can't see?

I need to get my head round this as i really want to continue pumping.

 

[himtoo]

hi tigger
i have only had my 1 pump so far and it is an omnipod -- no choice of cannula -- but for me it seems amazing - absorption has been good everywhere ( except the one time i tried in my thigh )
but i have only done lantus in my thighs for the past 15 years -- so my data is slightly skewed

i would try not to give up on pumping -- the subtlety in dosing compared to MDI is unbelievable.
it is much harder work but does pay control dividends

 

[Snapsy]

I have an Insight and use the Flex cannulas using the inserter. I use the sides of my spare tyre, round the back, well above my waistband. Comfiest spot to date, and as I'd never injected there there are no absorption issues for me - unlike my tummy and thighs with their nearly 3 decades' worth of injection experience.

Even though my spare tyre isn't all that spare, there is enough padding despite being slim.

 

[tigger]

Thanks @Snapsy . How far round your back are you going? Above your bottom or just stopping on the far edge of your body if that makes sense

 

[Snapsy]

Above my bottom @tigger - quite a long way above, so well above trousers etc. And round the back but not near spine. If I put it on the side side of that bit of my body though I find it uncomfortable sleeping on that side, so round the back works really well.

In my first post I mentioned 'sides' but I mean the back, but not near my spine, ie between spine and edge of body, round the back - either of the two sides of the bottom of my back.

Lawks, I'm not sure any of this makes any sense now - it I weren't shy I'd post a pic!

 

[tim2000s]

Around the front of my belly I use the Inset II 6mm or FlexLink 6mm sets as they are the most comfortable in this zone. As I'm using a Luer lock on the pump, both work.

Around my sides and on to my lower back, where I have a little more fat I've used 6mm and 8mm Rapid-D, and I prefer the 6mm option. I've also used the Contact detach 8mm in this area and I've found the Rapid-D to be more comfortable.

My least favourites are the Inset 30s as wherever I put them, I get an irritation around the entry point that means I can't wear them for more than two days. I suspected this was teflon related, but the 90 degree teflon cannulas have no such issues for me.

If I was putting this on my back side, I'd probably use the Inset 30s due to the amount of movement that part of my body gets.

My Upper arms and thighs are no go areas due to 26 years of overuse.

 

[azure]

I prefer manually inserted sets. I use steel needles 6mm length in my bum. I find placement there is crucial for me. There's a sweet spot - well, strip actually - just above my knicker line. I can squeeze up the flesh there and absorption is good (but not if I put the needle lower or in the 'wrong' area) and I don't feel the needle.

In my thighs I prefer Teflon cannulas. I use 13mm ones and insert at an angle of between 30 to 45 degrees roughly.

@tigger Keep trying. When I first swapped to my bum, I couldn't get my blood sugars below 13 because I thought the set had to be low down. I kept trying and it didn't seem to be working. Then I tried a completely different area as detailed above and the difference was amazing. Getting the right cannula is crucial too.

 

[tigger]

@tim2000s do you find that there's a lot of difference between the different makes of sets? Also how do you manage the ordering? I have a medtronic 640g and order direct from the supplier. How do you order from other pump suppliers? The inset ii and flexlink both look like the medtronic quickset or the mio. The issues I had with the quickset was it often failed to deliver but would only announce this after a big bolus so I'd then have to do another set change, was sometimes painful (more often than with the 30 angle one) and I had trouble checking whether I'd correctly reconnected after showers etc.

@azure I'm definitely not giving up but I'm only comfy doing my abdomen at the moment and it's suffered quite a lot from insertions so would really like to give it a longish rest. I will see if I can identify that part when I try again. Do you put tape over the sets? i found I frequently had sticking issues with the steel canulas.

 

[azure]

I've used two different steel cannulas - the Accu Chek one's and the Animas ones. I found the Accu Chek ones stuck slightly better, but the Animas ones are fine. I don't use tape unless I've managed to somehow mess up the adhesive circle putting it on, or on the rare occasions the side gets pulled or rubbed up a little. I am careful dressing though, and have got used to kind of lifting my trousers or skirt over my site.

 

[tigger]

@azure What about tights?

 

[tim2000s]

@tigger I'm funding myself so I order them from wherever is cheapest. Have had a good supply via the US at less than half EU prices.

I'm fairly sure the inset II and Medtronic Mio are identical as are the Inset 30 and Mio 30. All are made by Unomedical.

The Roche own brand ones are interesting. I prefer their steel to the Unomedical ones.

 

[tigger]

@tim2000s what is your view on the mio type sets?

 

[tim2000s]

@tim2000s what is your view on the mio type sets?

I don't have any problems with them. They work well for me. The only slight annoyance is having to unravel the tube before deploying them, but I've not had issues with kinking.

 

[azure]

@azure What about tights?

I've never had a problem with tights

No problem when my site is in my thigh, and no problem when it's in my bum. The tights come over the site

Sorry - I only just saw this. The tag alert didn't work : (