Injection site rotation for weekly GLP-1 shots: why it matters and how to keep track
Every weekly GLP-1 pen comes with the same quiet instruction: do not use the same spot every time. Here is why, and a simple way to keep track without a notebook.
Why rotate
Injecting into the same small patch of skin week after week can leave it sore, hardened or bruised, and medicine absorbs less predictably from irritated tissue. Moving between sites, and moving around within a site, gives each spot time to recover. It is the same advice given to people who inject insulin.
The usual sites
The patient leaflets for the weekly GLP-1 medications name three areas: the belly (keeping a couple of inches clear of the navel), the front of the thigh, and the back of the upper arm. Which ones you use, and how you were shown to inject, is between you and the person who trained you. Follow your medication's own instructions; never inject based on an app.
Keeping track
Most people rotate in a loop: left belly, right belly, left thigh, right thigh, and so on. The hard part is not the loop, it is remembering where last week's went when you are standing in the bathroom on shot day. That is what a tracker is for.
What GLP Gone does
- Next site, suggested. When you log a shot, the app records the site and tells you the next one in your rotation. Cross out any site you would rather not use and the rotation skips it.
- A shot-day reminder with the next site in the notification.
- A site history that goes into the doctor report, so a sore spot has a date and a place attached.
Related
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GLP Gone tracks doses, weight, meals, protein and symptoms for people on GLP-1 medication, with no account to create.
Free to download · Android only · More about the app