Different Insulin Types

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Tom1982

Tom1982

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Parent
Hello.
Do people respond differently to different insulin types? I think the issues we are having with the daughters pump could be the absorption sites? The first day normally starts off fine but by day two or three there seems to be a brownish weeping coming from the pods. Could a different insulin help?
Cheers
Tom
 
I certainly do @Tom1982 It would be worth a try if you’ve ruled out other causes. I’ve never had leaking pump sites. You mention brown fluid - could it be a reaction to the pump/cannula/adhesive itself?
 
I think Fiasp has a reputation for causing problems with with canula sites after a couple of days for some people. Which insulin is your daughter using?
 
Inka said:
I certainly do @Tom1982 It would be worth a try if you’ve ruled out other causes. I’ve never had leaking pump sites. You mention brown fluid - could it be a reaction to the pump/cannula/adhesive itself?
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That’s what we are trying to work out. Can you react to a pump or cannula? Tried making a barrier but it still seems to be happening. She’s also getting the lumps/dips in her skin. So I’m wondering if it’s worth swapping insulin types.
 
Tom1982 said:
That’s what we are trying to work out. Can you react to a pump or cannula? Tried making a barrier but it still seems to be happening. She’s also getting the lumps/dips in her skin. So I’m wondering if it’s worth swapping insulin types.
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It would be worth a try, I’d think (swapping insulin). Yes, you can react to the material the cannula is made out of, and to the adhesive, etc.
 
Or Lyumjev which is one of the faster insulins like Fiasp, although some insulins may not be certified for use with the Omnipod, so speak to your daughter's team about what options you have and indeed the issue you have been having. They should be familiar with the problem.
 
rebrascora said:
Or Lyumjev which is one of the faster insulins like Fiasp, although some insulins may not be certified for use with the Omnipod, so speak to your daughter's team about what options you have and indeed the issue you have been having. They should be familiar with the problem.
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No point telling them, there response to pretty much everything is “give her a jelly baby and don’t be so hard on yourself” will definitely look into changing to a different type of insulin are they all readily available?
 
Tom1982 said:
No point telling them, there response to pretty much everything is “give her a jelly baby and don’t be so hard on yourself” will definitely look into changing to a different type of insulin are they all readily available?
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Yes, as far as I know they are. If your daughter’s team has a ’favourite’ and you ask for an older insulin or something, you might have to be a bit firm, but they should all be available. I’ve found the less fast ones work better but I’m not a child and can be relied on to eat my meal so don’t need to bolus afterwards.
 
I imagine they will be interested if you are having to change a pod every 2 days instead of 3 days as there is a significant financial implication to that, or at least I imagine there is.
This is a physical issue and it is not just a question of how well you are managing her levels. You cannot afford for your daughter's sites to become damaged so early in her journey with diabetes as they may have to last her a lifetime....unless that cure really does happen in 10 years.... so if you are starting to see problems with her sites now, it is an issue that they really need to take an interest in and no Jelly Baby is going to fix that!

If you go to a standard Fast Acting insulin like Novo(not so)Rapid 🙄 or Humalog, you will possibly notice quite a difference as they will be slower than Fiasp. I really struggled going from NR to Fiasp and it took me 2x 3 months of frustration before I got the hang of it. It may be easier swapping from Fiasp to NR because the latter is not so quirky as Fiasp, but I expect you will notice a difference and it will be slightly slower. Lyumjev might be more or less a straight swap speed wise BUT I don't know if you will experience the same issues as with Fiasp. I haven't seen anyone mention it but then I doubt if many people are using Lyumjev in pumps as it is probably the newest insulin to the market and may not be approved for use in Omnipods yet. An internet search might tell you.
 
Tom1982 said:
Yeah she uses Fiasp. Might be time for a bit of Novorapid!
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I found FIASP fine for a short while but then had really skanky cannula sites, and had to change my cannulas more often (I know that is not an option on a pod) . It also stung a lot and I ended up going back to NR. Worth a try.
 
If you do try a different insulin I’d avoid Humalog vials at present. They’re not available due to global supply issues & I've just been changed to Novorapid. Be careful of the different onset & duration times of insulin if you do try something different.

I hope you can sort out the issue, I’ve had localised reactions to cannula adhesives & they can cause quite a mess on the skin but I’ve not had a reaction to an insulin that causes any weeping. Good luck
 
I have had the brown weeping issue with a few pods. It is faulty or knocked pods I have found.

I’m on fiasp now but I found novorapid was more lumpy / reactive at injection sites but that was MDI.

Maybe give another insulin ago. Could be the Omnipods themselves like allergy? But I think it would be worth trying another insulin first.

What is the alternatives if it’s the Omnipod?
 
PhoebeC said:
I have had the brown weeping issue with a few pods. It is faulty or knocked pods I have found.

I’m on fiasp now but I found novorapid was more lumpy / reactive at injection sites but that was MDI.

Maybe give another insulin ago. Could be the Omnipods themselves like allergy? But I think it would be worth trying another insulin first.

What is the alternatives if it’s the Omnipod?
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Blimey the alternative don’t bear thinking about! But obviously we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. So if it’s back to MDI then so be it, but surely it’ll not come to that? Can’t stand the thought of the poor little sod having to go through that again.
 
There are other pumps if it came to that @Tom1982 If @PhoebeC is right and the pods are being knocked (perfectly understandable in a young child), then you might even find a different pump better. Just systematically go through the options (change insulin, allergy, etc) and you’ll find a solution hopefully.
 
Inka said:
There are other pumps if it came to that @Tom1982 If @PhoebeC is right and the pods are being knocked (perfectly understandable in a young child), then you might even find a different pump better. Just systematically go through the options (change insulin, allergy, etc) and you’ll find a solution hopefully.
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There definitely not getting knocked, I think, and im often wrong, (especially with this stuff) it’s an absorption thing. She’s getting them dents and dips that have the funny name beginning with L? We rotate the site, prep the area and do everything as instructed. Bloody annoying.
 
Tom1982 said:
Yeah she uses Fiasp. Might be time for a bit of Novorapid!
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I had a reaction at sites to Fiasp. I think Ljumjev has a similar reputation.

Shame really!

Apidra is a slightly older faster acting rapid that some have success with in pumps.

I got a lot of “stability” (Ha!) back when I swapped back to NR after my fiasp experiment
 
So here’s the Dexcom 24 hour overview, pretty clear to see working pod and not working pod. Back to square one it seems.
 

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