Trying to figure this out.

[Diane12855]

After being on tx for almost 12 weeks, I am seeing a huge variation of sx from week to week and wondering if it has anything to do with where I give myself the shot. I take my shot of Friday evening at about 6:00, and usually feel OK till Sat. evening, then things get worse till Monday and level out for Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. Some weeks I feel pretty good on Thursday and Friday, but some weeks I feel horrible those days. I notice the fat in the center of my stomach seems to be a different consistency than the fat more to the side, and I'm wondering if that causes it to take longer to get into my blood stream.

Anybody else notice a difference?

[GSDgirl]

There are so very many on here that treated so much longer than my measly 24 weeks, to those I salute you!!!  I did 24 weeks and that was hard enough and I can't imagine (but would have done it) treating longer.

My bad days were always different.  If you don't mind me asking where in the world did you get the idea that belly fat made any difference?  Just curious

Denise

[justme53]

About 6 months into tx, I thought I had my week down to a predictable schedule - shot Friday night, a couple of good days followed by a couple of not-so-good ones. After that, it was pretty much a craap shoot and I stopped planning things more than a day in advance. I really hated canceling out on people. I think just learning to roll with the punches is important, much as I'm relearning now during post-tx.

I did my shots in the stomach for the most part, the thighs always seemed to show more, but it didn't seem to affect my sx.

[GSDgirl]

I hated making plans for about a year post.  I had some wierd stuff going on and never knew when I would be sick.  Thankfully 2 years post that seems resolved.

[portann]

Hey Diane,

I was wondering why you thought to ask that question in your OP, so I just had a quick look-see in google.  I can almost see how your thinking and educational background led you to ask the question!

Given your background in laboratory work, it might tweak your interest to read the following, although this concerns insulin and presumably IM shots, not SC ones.  

The info for the IM ones may be applicable or not but of course I have no idea. It's just interesting that you're the only one I've seen ask this and the only one I know who also trained in this.

The sentence that stands out is:

"Does skinfold thickness affect absorption?
The fatter the area, the slower the absorption. Absorption may also be delayed in areas affected by lipohypertrophy."


"How does the injection site affect absorption?
The abdomen is the fastest. Then comes arms, finally the thighs. Buttocks are up for grabs (sorry!). There are no scientific data on the rate of absorption in the buttocks. These differences may be used to prolong or speed up the effect of the injected insulin for special circumstances, but it's better to keep injecting within the same anatomical area all the time."

"Do absorption rates vary from one person to another?
Yes. Some people with diabetes get 16-20 hours out of an NPH/Lente shot, while others get 8-10 hours. Day to day variation up to 50 percent may occur in the same person, with the same dose, in the same area of injection and the same insulin. The same person, using the same technique, may see a 25-50 percent difference in the time of peak action of any insulin on a day to day basis..."

http://cgibin.rcn.com/johncm/cgi-bin/index.pl?Site=Insulin#7

Now would it impact in a significant or even measurable way where you do your injections? How the heck would I know but I see where you're coming from and want to let you know about the above, even though it concerns IM insulin.

So good night and hope tomorrow is OK, wherever you do your injection.

Susan (who hated to do it in her tummy, unlike many others who preferred it.)

[Diane12855]

I got the idea about belly fat from reading about the different ways abdominal fat effected overall health compared to regular body fat. It is more dense and harder to get rid of, and I believe it also has less blood supply. I got a lot of this info from Dr. Oz's web site and links that I followed from there. I didn't save them, so if you want specifics, you'll have to wait until I finish tx and get my brain back. Sorry about that.

Diane

[Diane12855]

I think I'll try the thigh next... I'll let you know how that goes.

(:-)