I have been having a rough time with my blood sugar lately. Stubborn highs. And by lately I mean in the past few weeks. I have been more sedentary than usual; being sick twice in a span of about a month and fully recuperating from said illnesses. But I am starting to get back into more exercise. I am under a lot of stress. And I know this can and will affect my readings. Hello cortisol.
I am trying to account for these things with more insulin. Not that I like taking more insulin but if that’s what it takes to get better BG right now, that’s what it takes. However it’s not always helping. I can have 20-25% more basal running for a few hours and my 200 mg/dL won’t budge. I can add a few grams of carbs to what I’m actually eating and still see an upward trend.
There are so, so many factors that impact blood sugar that I’m trying to think of everything. Well almost everything anyway. This made me wonder if there is another underlying cause. Scar tissue. I have been pumping for a little over 6 years now. And using the OmniPod for 1. The abdomen and lower back areas are my primary real estate for infusion sets. However I rotate all over those areas as best I can. I occasionally use my arms but that area is iffy when it comes to absorption so it’s rare. I get no absorption from my legs so those are my main territory for Dexcom sensors. When I remove old pods, there is no sign of bent cannulas or blood and I am not getting no delivery alarms so there are no obvious occlusions. This may sound like an uneducated question, ya know coming from someone who has been living with diabetes for over 30 years, but how do you know when scar tissue is a problem? Obviously the insulin isn’t absorbing the way it should so high BG would be a clue. But what else should I look for? How do I know if scar tissue is the cause of my frustration? Any experience or information is welcome!
The Girl with the Portable Pancreas 
When you remove your pod do you see a little fluid leak out? Do your areas feel more spongy than the rest of your body? Are there any parts that feel like there are frozen peas under your skin? Those were all symptoms for me to stop using my abdomen.
(are you pregnant?)
I hope you get it fixed, it’s so frustrating and hard to be running high for a long period of time. I totally commiserate with you. Chin up!
Alanna, I haven’t noticed fluid leak out when I change pods and there aren’t spongy, frozen pea like parts under my skin. Thank you for pointing those things out. And I am certainly not pregnant 😉 Today seems to be a bit better so who knows!
My Sundays are all like that, I just keep checking and bolus hourly. I’d be surprised if you had scar tissue, I’ve been using my abdomen for 30 years solely, 1 year added Dexcom. Occasionally I venture into muscle territory. But the I don’t understand why this is happening is the pits!
Hi Stacey,
I have talked a little with other diabetic friends about this issue and some suggested to try (for a day) giving your bolus amount through a syringe or pen in a different area to see if skin sensitivity might be the issue. This same person also mentioned that she does a separate injection if she is sitting at a stubborn high for awhile and cannot get it down. But, I guess if you still had doubts, head to a diabetes educator or your endo. That is what I would probably do 🙂
Sorry, Stacey. This sucks. I don’t have any advice on scar tissue stuff. Could you be fighting an infection somewhere?