Hi guys! So after a week or two, things are going pretty well so far. I’m loving being able to bolus discreetly in restaurants and social situations, and the ability to use such precise doses is awesome. I’ve had two little pod/site “issues” in the last couple days though that I thought I’d run past you all and see if you have any advice.
First, I was 2 days into a pod on my outside upper thigh last night, when i noticed a small amount of blood on the adhesive on the end near the cannula. That made me nervous, and i was getting ready for bed and wasn’t sure i wanted to let it go all night before checking on it again, so i went ahead and removed that pod. I should have done some googling first because now it sounds like it was probably no big deal since my blood sugar didn’t seem affected by it. Just wondering if you guys would have let it go? Is that unusual or something that happens sometimes? I had gone for a run earlier in the evening and am wondering if the jostling and movement with it on my leg may have caused irritation.
So like I said, I replaced that pod before bed. I put the next one on my arm (I’m only on like my 5th pod, so I am still pretty much putting it in a new spots every time). I’m noticing this one is uncomfortable. When i put pressure on it/bump it/press down on the cannula end of it, it hurts, kind of like pressing down on a bruise would feel. It’s totally tolerable, and only there when it’s pressed on, but I’m wondering if it’s not good to just leave it? I don’t want to damage the tissue or cause a problem, but at the same time, it’s working and i kinda don’t feel like swapping it out again if I don’t need to. My very first one was also on my arm, but in a different part of the arm, and felt uncomfortable at times also. My arms are pretty lean and i wonder if i need to be doing something different with insertion if I’m going to use them.
I’ll be watching others’ responses, as well, but here are my two cents since I’ve been living in this same world of “do I switch the pod now or not?” pretty squarely for the last three months (it’s a lot better in the last month, though)…
If your blood sugar is behaving as you would expect it to for the doses given, with pods leaking a bit of blood I tend to let them ride as long as I don’t have any indication of infection (warmth at site, fever, wonky blood sugar, etc).
For painful pods, again, as long as there is no sign of infection and my blood sugar is behaving, I tend to let them ride. My last pod on my arm was pretty sensitive. It probably hit a capillary at insertion b/c insertion did not feel good, and then it hard failed on Day 2 and the cannula was full of blood upon removal. About 12 hours prior to the hard fail, I had a random spike to 325 (which is fortunately really rare for me), I woke up, took a correction dose, and it came back down. All I can think is that the blood was interfering with delivery already, but the heft of a bolus got the blood out of the way temporarily, and then it hard failed on me the next afternoon due to blood again.
Pods that are in areas which experience more movement and jostling are probably going to leak more or cause a bit more bleeding on us lean types. I can’t speak for the non-lean types. I will say, though, that my pods on my butt can take a ton of abuse and haven’t leaked so far. So maybe the areas of more generous tissue just have better luck.
You’re doing such a great job acclimating to podding! Also, if my blood sugar is doing fine, I try not to change pods before bed time. I’ve had too many wonky things happen that way so I try to avoid doing that as much as possible, but YDMV!
I rarely wear dexcom or pods on my legs anymore, because they always have problems from running. The site just takes a lot of abuse. As you mentioned, the jostling around when running and stuff like that. Imagine putting a syringe needle in your skin and wiggling it for 3 days!
I can use the Dex CGM on my arms but not Pods—only tried that once, uncomfortable and not good absorption. I have worked out a rotation pattern for upper thighs and abdomen that’s working pretty well. Also, a dab of antibiotic ointment on an iffy pump bump after removal is a good idea.
I would have let it go if my numbers were normal. I occasionally see a small amount of blood on the adhesive near the cannula. I assume this is from either the cannula insertion (just like sometimes needles will make you bleed) or I’ve bumped or jarred the pod. Of course if my numbers were crazy and/or the blood was obviously still flowing, I’d remove the pod.
Sometimes a pod feels a bit tender. I might leave it or remove it, depends how much of a distraction or nuisance it is. Remember that Insulet will replace pods that you need to remove early because of discomfort or bleeding.
You guys are so helpful - thanks! I’ll know for next time I don’t need to freak over a little blood. As long as numbers are good, I’ll roll with it!
Do you think it makes any difference if the cannula is facing up vs down? For some reason it seems like facing down it would get jammed in with each step more so than facing up?
I’m intrigued by this but can’t for some reason figure out where exactly this would be. So, if you’re sitting upright in a chair, is it sorta right below the waist line (of lower rise pants I guess)? I do find that more “fleshy” areas like the backs of the love handle area have been most comfortable so far, so I’m curious about trying this!
I think I’ll let the one in my arm ride for now and ignore the occasional discomfort from it. Not worth switching it out. I’m just glad to hear a little pain isn’t totally abnormal and not a sign of something horrible.
Also thanks @CatLady for the antibiotic cream suggestion - I’m paranoid and have been neosporin-ing every one! Good idea!
If you divide your total butt into four quadrants, I put it sideways smack in the middle of each upper quadrant. It’s far enough below my belt line that I can still wear pants with them, even jeans.
I just started using the Omnipod two months ago. I am confused on when to use the EXTEND bolus. Can anyone give me so advice on how you use it? I just started using the Glycemic Index also.
We use extend most often for meals with a low GI value, such as pizza, pasta and the like. Because the body doesn’t begin to break these foods down until 1 hour or longer, if you do not use extended bolus for these foods, you’ll crash if you bolus everything up front. So for Pizza, pasta and these types of foods, we use extended bolus for our son. We usually do 25% up front and the rest over an hour, then if we see steep rises and such, we just ‘suspend’ that extended bolus, give more up front and extend it over less time.
A meal with a lot of fat in it—pizza, mac’n’cheese, rich sauces. Takes a few times to get the hang of how long to let the bolus run and what percentage to take up front.
