Hitting a nerve or vein

[Cyborg]

How do you know if you hit a nerve or vein during insertion? Or maybe even a bent cannula upon insertion? I was running low and had to change out my infusion set tonight. When I inserted, it hurt like heck! I just did a correction bolus and it didn't feel very pleasant. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens to the bg...

[Cyborg]

Well, maybe I got muscle. Bg is coming down slowly. Guess I'll sleep on it. Better set an alarm to wake me in 3 hrs to check again... :boring:

[spike]

Well, maybe I got muscle. Bg is coming down slowly. Guess I'll sleep on it. Better set an alarm to wake me in 3 hrs to check again... :boring:


According to MM when I asked recently, if it stung when you bolused with a MM pump, most likely you hit muscle. OTOH, the fast infusion rate of an Animas causes SOME pumpers to complain about stinging even when their set isn't in muscle. In all my years of pumping, there has been just one instance of stinging during a bolus and that happened to me a couple months ago. (Never say never--like when I claimed early this year that I'd never had a bent cannula! :) Now I've had 5 in a short time, as everyone here knows if they've been reading my posts over the last few months.)

[Cyborg]

According to MM when I asked recently, if it stung when you bolused with a MM pump, most likely you hit muscle. OTOH, the fast infusion rate of an Animas causes SOME pumpers to complain about stinging even when their set isn't in muscle. In all my years of pumping, there has been just one instance of stinging during a bolus and that happened to me a couple months ago. (Never say never--like when I claimed early this year that I'd never had a bent cannula! :) Now I've had 5 in a short time, as everyone here knows if they've been reading my posts over the last few months.)

You know, I thought I got a love handle, but I guess they are getting a little smaller. I have both the 6mm and 9mm in house now, wish I woulda grabbed a 6mm...

[Oradev]

How do you know if you hit a nerve or vein during insertion? Or maybe even a bent cannula upon insertion? I was running low and had to change out my infusion set tonight. When I inserted, it hurt like heck! I just did a correction bolus and it didn't feel very pleasant. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens to the bg...

I usually get one of those (holy **** that really HURT) one's every other month or so. I usually just take it out. I think that i'm either hitting a nerve or a bruise. Man, just thinking of that makes me want to scream.

[Cyborg]

I stuck with it as the numbers seemed to be ok. The pain subsided and I didn't bruise. I guess it was just a nerve...

[camjen1]

Cyborg you would know if you hit a vein! Most of the time if you hit a vein an instant bruise will form.

[Cyborg]

Cyborg you would know if you hit a vein! Most of the time if you hit a vein an instant bruise will form.

Based on what people are posting about shooting insulin into a vein, I would say no, I did not hit a vein. My bg acted normally and did not plummet or skyrocket. It was on a side of my abdomen where there was less fat, and from now on I will be using the shorter 6mm Insets for those less padded areas.

[Tyler]

According to MM when I asked recently, if it stung when you bolused with a MM pump, most likely you hit muscle. OTOH, the fast infusion rate of an Animas causes SOME pumpers to complain about stinging even when their set isn't in muscle. In all my years of pumping, there has been just one instance of stinging during a bolus and that happened to me a couple months ago. (Never say never--like when I claimed early this year that I'd never had a bent cannula! :) Now I've had 5 in a short time, as everyone here knows if they've been reading my posts over the last few months.)

You can always slow the bolus down too. I wonder when would be the time to switch from normal delivery to slow, in other words, what size of bolus? Anything over 10 units starts to feel less than friendly.

[Cyborg]

You can always slow the bolus down too. I wonder when would be the time to switch from normal delivery to slow, in other words, what size of bolus? Anything over 10 units starts to feel less than friendly.

To avoid insulin pooling, I always use an extended bolus for anything over 7 units.

[Tyler]

To avoid insulin pooling, I always use an extended bolus for anything over 7 units.

I was thinking more about the 30-70 for protein. I'd think bolusing for all of the carbs upfront with a regular bolus and then using a 0-100 extended bolus for the protein would work better. Protein won't convert into glucose immediately.

[JediSkipdogg]

Based on what people are posting about shooting insulin into a vein, I would say no, I did not hit a vein. My bg acted normally and did not plummet or skyrocket. It was on a side of my abdomen where there was less fat, and from now on I will be using the shorter 6mm Insets for those less padded areas.

You can always hit a vein and not have the insulin effect the BG. This is simply done by you breaking through the vein. For you to actually put an infusion set or a shot and pump insulin directly into the vein is pretty skillful. You either have to drive the needle straight down the vein or have the tip just break through the side. Most of the times if you hit a large enough vein, you will either hit the side, or poke through the other side making the insulin still pool in the fat.

The easiest way to tell is a little pain or a bruise forming. Also, it may take longer to heal that spot and you will feel it kinda hard for slightly longer.

[Cyborg]

I was thinking more about the 30-70 for protein. I'd think bolusing for all of the carbs upfront with a regular bolus and then using a 0-100 extended bolus for the protein would work better. Protein won't convert into glucose immediately.

Even a pure carb bolus, if it's over 7 units, I'll do a 6 minute extended bolus just to minimize the insulin pooling and/or stinging effect.

So in your example, if I ate enough carbs and protein to warrant separate boluses, I might do a small 6 minute extended bolus for the carbs upfront, but then do a longer extended bolus for the protein afterwords. This rarely happens for me since I usually eat more carbs or more protein.

Usually eating enough carbs to justify more than 7 units of insulin will justify Symlin which will lower the insulin and require an extended bolus anyhow...

[Cyborg]

The easiest way to tell is a little pain or a bruise forming. Also, it may take longer to heal that spot and you will feel it kinda hard for slightly longer.

I switched out this morning and it looked fine. Tonight the old site was a little itchy and I scratched it. When I looked at it, it was pretty red, but I thought it was from scratching. About a 1/2 hour later, I'm noticing I do have a circular red spot, maybe a bruise, right where the set was. First time I've had a red spot this big. It's not dark like a bruise and it's doesn't appear infected or anything like that. :hmmmm: