Rotating sites
Use a simple repeating pattern and keep each injection at least an inch from the last. A four-quadrant abdominal rotation, one quadrant per week moving clockwise, means no spot is used twice in a month. Repeating the same spot is what causes hard lumps.
What happens when you do not rotate
Repeatedly injecting the same square inch causes the fatty tissue there to change: it thickens and becomes firm, sometimes visibly lumpy. Beyond looking odd, thickened tissue absorbs unevenly, so doses into it become less predictable.
It builds up gradually and it takes months to settle once it has. Prevention is trivial; correction is slow.
A pattern that works
Split the abdomen into four quadrants
Upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right, all keeping two inches clear of the navel.
Use one quadrant per week
Move clockwise each week. Simple enough to remember without writing anything down.
Move an inch within the quadrant each time
Work across the quadrant in a line rather than returning to the middle of it.
Note where you finished
The printable schedule from the dosing planner has room to jot the quadrant beside each date.
One quadrant a week with an inch of movement between injections means you will not return to the same square inch for at least a month, which is comfortably enough.
If you already have a hard patch
Stop using it and give it time. Do not inject into thickened tissue in the hope of breaking it up. If a lump is painful, hot, spreading or does not improve over weeks, see a doctor rather than working around it.
Questions
- How far apart should consecutive injections be?
- At least an inch, and ideally in a different quadrant if you are injecting daily.
- Can I use thigh and abdomen in the same rotation?
- Yes, and it gives you more room. Be consistent about the order rather than picking at random.
Pen Needles 31G × 6mm, 10 pack
Ten 31G × 6mm pen needles.