Minimed/Novolog Skin Reaction

[JoieSimmons]

Has anyone out there gotten any skin reactions with using the Minimed pump or Novolog insulin? My wife has started getting awful welts on her stomach and even her leg and we were wondering if anyone else has had this problem. The welt is terrible swelling at the injection site and I've done some research and it looks like the Novolog is the problem, but it could also be the pump. Anyone else had this happen?
Thanks.

[JDRF-Team-JW]

Hello JoieSimmons and thank you for visiting MedHelp.org.  Your wife's welts could be caused by many different things.  What leads you to think that Novolog is the problem?  

I am not saying that Novolog isnt the issue, just that people can be allergic to many different things.  The first thing you want to do is talk to your doctor about this problem. A more common problem is the infusion sets though.  From what I know if your wife were allergic to the insulin then her numbers would be all over the place.  If the issue is her skin I would lean more towards the infusion sets being the problem.  I am no doctor though, so again, please talk to your doctor about this.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hi Joie,
I'm a long time diabetic & also a pumper.  I'm not a physician, tho', so be sure to run these ideas past your wife's doc.

Some folks have an allergic reaction to the adhesive in infusion sets.  I've heard about that much more ofen than an allergy to the insulin itself, but that's certainly a possibility.  To evaluate what's what, if I was in your wife's situation, I would take a few shots of insulin by syringe to see if there is a similar reaction.

On another board, I've read in the past, and again recently about some skin protection that folks use regularly as a barrier layer between their sensitive skin and the infusion set.  Some folks use Tegaderm or Polyskin.  They cut a small hole where the infusion set will be inserted thru.  They place the Tegaderm directly on their skin & then insert the infusion set thru it.  Someone else reported using a product called Bard Barrier.  

If you're interested in the other discussion board, visit http://chat.joslin.harvard.edu  You can read without registering (registration is free), but I think folks have to register in order to post, even if they want to post as "anonymous"

It's great that you & she are looking to resolve this issue.  If it is an allergy, our reactions to them sometimes escalate, so it's very important to start to get a handle on the cause and to eliminate it.

How is your wife's blood sugar running these days?  Allergies can wreak havoc, and of course, if the insulin isn't being absorbed she'd be running quite high.  Has it always been this way for your wife & pumping or did this suddenly start or escalate?

[JDRF-Team-BL]

Joie,
i've been a pump user for a for quite a few yers now. Please have your wife check with her doctor about this problem. especially because i'm no doctor and don't even play one on TV. But there are many possible things that could be at fault. Allergies to the insulin or to the infusion sets and the adhesive that holds it in place. An allergy to the insulin is rare now that they can make insulins identicle to human insulin but that doesn't entirely stop allergies.

[JDRF-Team-BL]

i had wanted to add this but due to technical problems i couldn't and this was mostly my computer illiteracy. But another cause of welts and such in type 1 diabetes is poor rotation of sites on the skin for adminitering the insulin. They recommend with a pump insertion sets that they be set no less than an inch apart each time it is done. This type of thing also happens with those who take insulin by syringes. But either way ask a doctor about it at her next appointment. Good luck, bret