Infusion Set Pain?

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 20, 2008 at 1:20pm

Hi Jackie!

I mostly use thigh sites... and I try to avoid sleeping on the side where my infusion set is because i also get this pain. (Of course sometimes I do lay on it).

I just pushed on my site now and realized that mine hurts too. So I will definitely not sleep on that side tonight (one way that I try to prevent myself from sleeping on that side is to wear pajama pants with pockets and put the pump in the pocket. Then I tend to avoid it...)

One thing that may help is putting it in at a smaller angle (i.e. not going as deep). If you are hitting muscle, that hurts!

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 20, 2008 at 2:51pm

I forgot to add that I also use Silhoutte / Comfort infusion sets.

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Permalink Reply by Dave   _ on September 20, 2008 at 2:47pm

Order some Sure-T samples. SILS hurt a lot of users.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on September 20, 2008 at 3:25pm

I don't know about the Silhouettes, but I use the MM SoftSets that go in at 90 degree angle. I have had these pains too and my endo said that I likely hit a nerve. Hope it gets better for you.

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Permalink Reply by Cody Turner on September 20, 2008 at 7:00pm

I get red bumps from my infusion set in thighs. My trainer thinks I am hitting muscle with the insertion needle but the cannula isn't setting in muscle. I know insert them by hand and don't put them all the way in.

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Permalink Reply by Dave   _ on September 22, 2008 at 1:35pm

I use only the abdomen area (all the way from 3" from the navel, around to the love handles. Not had any need to change to other portions of my body and I've been on insulin since 1978. You don't NEED to rotate away from your abdomen if you don't find suitable alternative sites, Jackie. My legs are all muscle so there's no way I could put a set in them.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Keelan on September 22, 2008 at 2:09pm

You're going to get a painful site once in awhile. It's bound to happen when you stick foreign objects into your skin. I could be you hit a nerve, you hit some muscle, you picked a funky site. Since it only happens when you press on it, I wouldn't worry about it.

Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this.
Doctor: Then don't do that.

Terry

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on September 22, 2008 at 3:34pm

That's exactly what I was thinking... just don't press on it. I've since moved to a new site and that old one still kinda hurts, even without a site in it. I guess its just a crappy spot. Oh well, I'll avoid that area in the future.

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Permalink Reply by Anna on September 22, 2008 at 6:56pm

I use my love-handles and my rear end. sometimes the love-handle ones will hurt like that. I think it's because in some places there's not enough fatty tissue so it may be hitting some muscle at some points when I bend over or push on it too hard (not on purpose, but just lying down or leaning back on it), but I'm not sure. If they're in a place that I can't see I'll have my husband see if it's red or anything. It never is so I just leave it in until I need to change sites.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah S. on September 23, 2008 at 11:53am

It's just like injections - sometimes they don't hurt really at all and sometimes they hurt like the dickens. I tend to have more pain with the slanted infusion sets myself and I've always wondered if it has something to do with how your nerve cells are distributed under your skin. If nerves are straight up and down through your epidermal layer, then it should be easy to avoid them with a straight-in set, but if they're angled or twisted or some other "not straight-in" configuration, then it probably varies. Darn - now I want to go find this out ;)

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