But there is a little problem I has discovered as the years roll on: serious lack of 'landscape'.
By this I mean that once you remove your two or three day-old cannula, you need to move at least an inch away and allow that space time to heal for two weeks (ideally). That may sound easy, but after four years I am discovering that fleshy real estate on a diabetic is a valuable commodity.
This weekend, as I prepare to join my cousin at her beautiful outdoorsy country wedding, and having reached a bit of a stale mate on the diet front, I decided to purchase some of those hideous monstrosity pants (Bridget Jones-esque) that suck you in and lift you up. You know the sort of thing like nickers with a girdle in. Smokin'.
As I 'hoiked' them up (actual term for the process of giving oneself a full-body lift while squeezing metres of your body into millimetres of garment), I realised that my usual stomach cannula site wasn't going to work. There was no room for anything else in this pant-horror.
But where to re-site it? My right arm currently rocks the Dexcom sensor, my giant pants rule out my midriff (I kid you not, they are THAT big) and I don't really want medical devices on both sides of my body when I sleep. They are a little 'lumpy' sometimes.
So that leaves me with two options: my thighs or my face. You ever see anyone wearing a face-cannula? No, me either.
So tonight I am trying out a thigh site. So far it feels awkward and obvious, like I am insanely aware of it being there. But that's how I felt about arm sites, stomach sites and love handle sites, too. And I have no doubt a face site would do the same.
Perhaps I am about to discover my new favourite site, perhaps not. Time will tell.
Do you use thigh sites? Or better still, a face-cannula?
I use thigh sites, arm, belly, love handle and butt sites! If I rotate around them I find it gives plenty of time for each area to recover before I go back to it. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember once reading about a woman who used her breasts as a site... Just the thought freaks me out!
Breasts? Yowzer!! Even the thought of that scares me!
DeleteI am impressed at all the sites you used. Sadly my thigh failed; I got some weird results and ended up feeling a bit irritated by it after only a few hours, so have reverted to love handles (finally, use for them!!)
When you use butt, where do you do it?
AP
Blogger has kindly just informed me that I have a reply to my comment - not that's it's a month late or anything...!
DeleteAnyways, the best guide I was given to using my butt was to aim for the top of where your jeans pocket is, so I use that and go maybe an inch above and below. I wasn't sure the first time, but it's surprisingly comfortable, and I like that it's out of the way - it does require you to be able to do a set one handed, or have help though! :)
On a rare occasion, I will venture off my abdomen and round to my love handles/hips. I can't bring myself to go as far as my thighs because that was my least favourite injection site when on pens. As for arms...in 7 years on pens I only ever injected in to my arm once...never again.
ReplyDeleteWill be interested to hear how it goes having the cannula in your thigh.
Angie - your butt?? I take my hat off to you.
Louise, it sounds like we're very similar in preferences. I do use arms (although not since CGM as that's now my CGM area. But definitely hated injecting in legs. The cannula was a similar story.
DeleteSticking with love handles and tummy for now.
And maybe face? :)
Think I'd try some of places Angie listed before resorting to my face....sorry you've not gained a convert for that idea yet!
DeleteHaha, agreed!
Delete:)