I have been wearing things affixed with medical tape for over a decade. It sucks. I notice around day 5 with my pump site that the edges are peeling up and I am fundamentally both cheap and lazy so it is in my best interest to keep my pump site affixed for as long as there's still insulin in the cartridge. No, I don't encourage this, it's the fastest way to get pump site scars but I don't want to change it every 3 days, damn it!
I noticed that my dexcom site starts peeling up around day 4 and by day 6 (it's a 7 day site) it's almost completely off and is hanging on by the magic of the metal sensor parts embedded in my skin. It was almost completely off this evening and I needed the site to last a few days longer because I get the best accuracy later on and these sensors cost a fortune. Tegaderm has started irritating my skin, much to my dismay, so today was an experiment in adhesive!
I started with new medical tape (the generic cloth tape from the drug store). I was super unimpressed...Monumentally unimpressed, even. As soon as I was in the shower it decided that it was no longer tape but rather slightly sticky cloth strips. Medical tape is a fail (at least that kind). If anyone knows where I can find medical tape made of the same material as the tape on my pump and dexcom site that I can layer with, please tell me because that's my preference.
On to experiment 2. Newskin "bandaids"...if you can call them that...are basically made of super glue. I decided after the tape failed that since I had none of that, super glue would make an excellent adhesive for the rest of the sensor's life and I could remove it with acetone later. I found super glue! I went to apply said super glue! Super glue was all dried up. I am not convinced that this wouldn't work...but the Fiancée didn't want to leave the house to go buy some super glue or newskin and I didn't want to go alone because I'm lazy so this experiment is now being categorized as "still a possibility." I'll let you know how that goes.
Experiment 3! Everyone knows that when you have a problem, duct tape is the answer! My mother is probably not particularly happy that this is what I concluded was the answer to my problem today because I got her out of bed to help me find it (she should put duct tape in the kitchen office supply drawers...the garage is far too inconvenient of a place for duct tape). This is what happens when you have me as a daughter and you let me come home for holidays. I wake up you to find duct tape. Currently the duct tape is affixed quite nicely to my skin but the tape on the sensor was still wet from the shower so it's failing to stick to that. I also have some clear tape holding another portion of it on. Again, sticking well to the skin and not so much to the still damp dexcom sensor tape. I'm thinking the duct tape will be a fail in the long run.
Conclusion! (I am totally not following the proper scientific method here. I'm sure some teacher who actually gives a shit is very sad right now...)
-Medical tape - this stuff blows, don't use drug store medical tape
-Super glue - jury is still out as experiment was thwarted by dried glue and my personal fear of gorilla glue
-Duct tape/clear packing tape - Might work if the existing tape hadn't been wet but it's kinda itchy.
I think the super glue/new skin is my best bet but I wont get to find out until tomorrow...or maybe sunday. Whenever I can make it to the store. The point is: medical tape blows and they should sell the adhesive tape part of bandaids in stores by the roll.
I know this is several years since your blog,but I only recently saw this. Anyway along with your pump supplies you should be able to get this extra coverage skin thing. It's like a clear tape stuff that you cut a hole in and put over your site. I'm trying to find a link for it but all I can find are I.V prep wipes (which if your not using you should. I could get my pump tube stuck on a door knob and yanked ( looked as funny as it sounds) but it rarely pulled out. That sucker was sticking to me! http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/catalog/skin-prep_69.htm I found this, they list a bunch of wipes you should be able to get from minimed. I just went off the pump a year ago. It's just really expensive to keep up. I'm test "driving" a dexcom now. Hoped this helped, even if it's late haha
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