Injection sites

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Martin62

Martin62

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi All , I have a question for anyone on an mdi regime. Where do you inject your basal insulin? I do mine in my stomach area , but I was having a conversation with a fellow type 1 and she was told to use her thighs for basal and tummy for bolus.
 
I always used my tummy,
There have been discussions about alternative sites with different absorption rates. I know some people use their thighs and others use their buttocks. Thighs never felt like a good idea for me because I use my legs a lot (cycling, walking, running) which will speed up absorption. But for others, their thighs are slower absorbers than tummy.
It is good to have alternative sites to minimise lumps forming and absorption problems,
I never think of right or wrong place to inject (as long as you have enough fat) but worth experimenting what works for you.
 
Martin62 said:
Hi All , I have a question for anyone on an mdi regime. Where do you inject your basal insulin? I do mine in my stomach area , but I was having a conversation with a fellow type 1 and she was told to use her thighs for basal and tummy for bolus.
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I was told similar - thigh or bum for basal. I’ve been on a pump for ages but do have pump breaks. Then I usually do the basal in my thigh. I’d never use my stomach. I can’t remember the reason I was given but that advice has stuck with me.
 
I was only told to inject in my tummy, but when I joined this forum people talked about other sites and I decided that it wasn't a good idea to keep putting all my insulin into the same place, so I experimented with thighs and buttocks. I now split my morning dose of Levemir into 2x11units, one into each buttock (done as soon as I wake up whilst lying in bed) and my small evening dose (usually 2-5unis) goes into alternate thighs, which leaves my tummy for bolus insulin only. This routine works really well for me.
 
I always used to use my tummy, trying to move from one side to the other during the course of the day. However, after getting a couple of little lumps I have switched, at my DSN’s suggestion, to using outer thighs for basal and morning bolus. Other times I now tend to use the far side of my abdomen (love handle area :rofl: ) to give the middle of my tummy a rest.
 
I find injecting onto my stomach really uncomfortable, so I only tend to use it if I'm out and about and thighs aren't all that convenient. Mostly I inject into buttocks or thighs, depending on whether I'm in public or not. I have heard of people injecting onto the back of their upper arms as well, but I don't contort all that well.
 
Martin62 said:
Hi All , I have a question for anyone on an mdi regime. Where do you inject your basal insulin? I do mine in my stomach area , but I was having a conversation with a fellow type 1 and she was told to use her thighs for basal and tummy for bolus.
Click to expand...
Only thighs for basal unless out
 
@Martin62 I was injecting basal and bolus into my stomach but a couple of weeks ago I moved my basal to my thighs.

@glucoserat I was going to ask about the arms - can anyone share their experiences with injecting there? I’ve been thinking about trying it but I’m scared of accidentally injecting into a muscle (I don’t have much fat on me at the moment, although I’m making progress!). Has anyone had that happen?!
 
TwilightMidna said:
@Martin62 I was injecting basal and bolus into my stomach but a couple of weeks ago I moved my basal to my thighs.

@glucoserat I was going to ask about the arms - can anyone share their experiences with injecting there? I’ve been thinking about trying it but I’m scared of accidentally injecting into a muscle (I don’t have much fat on me at the moment, although I’m making progress!). Has anyone had that happen?!
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Apparently if you have thin arms like me , they advise not to as you are more at risk of injecting into muscle.
 
TwilightMidna said:
@Martin62 I was injecting basal and bolus into my stomach but a couple of weeks ago I moved my basal to my thighs.

@glucoserat I was going to ask about the arms - can anyone share their experiences with injecting there? I’ve been thinking about trying it but I’m scared of accidentally injecting into a muscle (I don’t have much fat on me at the moment, although I’m making progress!). Has anyone had that happen?!
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That was my trouble - I really had to try and get the needle in right round the back, and even then I'm not sure it was as advised. I might try again if I get desperate- my sites tend to get a bit too sore after a while.
 
I lazily overused my abdomen for many years for meal doses (still have a little lipohypertrophy to show for it), but it was just so convenient when out and about.

Basal doses, I was advised to use thighs or buttocks - partly to spread things about and keep the sites separate, but also because those tend to release insulin more gradually. Or so I was told!
 
Martin62 said:
I used my thigh today and boy did it sting , never had that before .
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I found the thigh can really sting compared to my stomach too. Some areas of the thigh seem to be better than others, although I haven’t been able to work out a pattern with that yet!
 
I find my stomach more painful than my thighs. However, there are a small number of hyper-sensitive dots (smaller than spots) on my legs which I inadvertently go to inject into every now and then. If I feel that unmistakeable, brings-tears-to-the-eyes sting, I withdraw the needle and move a cm away and that always works. I also pinch up.
 
I use my stomach and upper arms for Bolus. I used to use my thighs for Basal but occasionally hit a nerve. I now use my buttocks which are less sensitive
 
Tummy for bolus, front of thighs for basal - I'm not sure I was ever told to do it that way, but I was certainly told I should try my tummy having for 30-odd years done all injections in my thighs (back before MDI) or upper shoulder when out. Tummy is much easier than shoulder (both access and not going intra-muscular), no idea why I didn't try it earlier!
 
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