Injecting insulin and Christmas dinner

[musicnote]

Can anyone help. I tend to find I bruise myself when using either humalog or levemir and getting fed up of it. Any suggestions cause its getting painful ??

Also any suggestions on how to space out insulin for christmas as this is my first christmas with humalog, and I'm doing the dinner and tea and to be honest its scarry.🙂

 

[novorapidboi26]

I find the Levemir will bruise pretty much all the time due to its higher PH level, but the Novorapid and in your case Humalog shouldn't have the same effect.....

Have you got a limited amount of tissue to inject into............?

My arms and legs are not fat, but they do have some meat on them, which no doubt helps........

The only advice I could give is to make sure your needles are always fresh and experiment with as many injection sites as you can..........

Where do you currently inject.........?

For me personally, Christmas is a day full of eating and drinking, and so can be difficult to pin down the BG perfectly..................so just inject for your food when you can without stacking it up to much...........

But keep in mind to just enjoy the day...........

 

[Copepod]

Bruising is basically chance - if you hit a small blood vessel (capillary) it will leak and make a bruise. However, jabbing needle in as quickly as possible and injecting fluid as slowly as possible, then pressing with finger or thumb on injection site for a minute or so after withdrawing needle can help.

Pain on injection is also chance - it hurts more if you hit a nerve, but tips above might also help.

Basically, your technique will improve and you'll get relatively fewer painful injections, although I still get some, despite over 10 years of nursing experience before getting type 1 diabetes and over 15 years of type 1 diabetes, with more nursing experience alongside personal injections.

Depending on how spread out, you might want to inject before Christmas dinner main course (assuming turkey, roast potatoes etc), then again before Christmas pudding, then again before tea, but under, rather than overestimate insulin dose if injecting with less than 4 - 5 hours between injections, to avoid "stacking".

 

[MeanMom]

I find the Levemir will bruise pretty much all the time due to its higher PH level, but the Novorapid and in your case Humalog shouldn't have the same effect.....
...........

Never thought about that NB - thanks it explains something that was puzzling me🙂

 

[novorapidboi26]

Never thought about that NB - thanks it explains something that was puzzling me🙂

I believe it slightly more acidic, and this is what slows its action down, as the body neutralizes it before use, that's my understanding anyway..................

Its stings for me more often than not, and leaves a bruise too...........

 

[Copepod]

Liquids with higher pH are more alkaline, not more acidic.

pH 1 to < 7 is acidic; pH 7 is neutral; pH > 7 to 14 is alkaline.

 

[novorapidboi26]

Liquids with higher pH are more alkaline, not more acidic.

pH 1 to < 7 is acidic; pH 7 is neutral; pH > 7 to 14 is alkaline.

Thanks..................I got a Higher in Chemistry as well............

 

[Copepod]

I only just passed my A level Chemistry (about 27 years ago!) 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I believe it's Lantus which is acidic (hence it's reputation to sting on injection). Levemir's pH is approx 7.4 I believe.

musicnote - have you tried different needle lengths? Ssome find that either slightly shorter or longer sometimes help.

 

[robert@fm]

This thread's title gave me a bizarre mental image. 😱 I certainly hope that nobody is injecting their Christmas dinner with anything, nor taking it by injection... 😉

 

[Copepod]

You mean you don't inject your Christmas cake and Christmas pudding with alcohol?!? 😱

Or, at least make holes with a knitting needle, then pour over brandy / rum / or our family favourite, since a Jordanian student lived with us for a year when my sister and I were teenagers in early 1980s, arak (aniseed spirit). Mum & I returned to Jordan a couple of years ago, and brough back another bottle, which should keep us going for many more years! 🙂

 

[novorapidboi26]

Levemir's pH is approx 7.4 I believe

Which would means its normal.....................I am sure it stings........

Levemir was always the one that gave people blotches/rashes and Lantus didn't........

Do they not use the same mechanisms to become a 'slower' acting insulin....?

 

[Robster65]

Which would means its normal.....................I am sure it stings........

Levemir was always the one that gave people blotches/rashes and Lantus didn't........

Do they not use the same mechanisms to become a 'slower' acting insulin....?

Levemir uses a different mechanism to lantus (can't remember what 🙄).

Lantus is acidic and 'bundled up' and, as the body raises the pH, the larger bundled molecules break down and release the insulin bit by bit. At least that's as I remember reading it.🙂

Levemir may also work with long and short chain molecules in a different way but can't remember.

Rob

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Levemir uses a different mechanism to lantus (can't remember what 🙄).

Lantus is acidic and 'bundled up' and, as the body raises the pH, the larger bundled molecules break down and release the insulin bit by bit. At least that's as I remember reading it.🙂

Levemir may also work with long and short chain molecules in a different way but can't remember.

Rob

I have a feeling egg protein might be involved?

Lantus is soluble when acidic, but precipitates out as the body neutralises the acid. The precipitate is then absorbed over time.

 

[Northerner]

Levemir uses a different mechanism to lantus (can't remember what 🙄).

Lantus is acidic and 'bundled up' and, as the body raises the pH, the larger bundled molecules break down and release the insulin bit by bit. At least that's as I remember reading it.🙂

Levemir may also work with long and short chain molecules in a different way but can't remember.

Rob

This link explains the differences between the two 🙂

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/...nd-levemir--whats-the-difference/?section=200

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I have a feeling egg protein might be involved?

Well 'albumin' anyway!

More than 98 percent of detemir in the bloodstream is bound to albumin. With the albumin stuck to it, the insulin cannot function. Because it slowly dissociates from the albumin, it is available to the body over an extended period.

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2007/07/17/5316/lantus-and-levemir--whats-the-difference/

Ha! Northie beat me to it 🙂

 

[musicnote]

Thanks for the replies. 🙂

Re injecting sites, arms, stomach, top of thigh.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for the replies. 🙂

Re injecting sites, arms, stomach, top of thigh.

How about your buttocks (when convenient!) I've only used my thighs once as I got a humungous bruise and it really hurt! The main thing is not to tense up before injecting as this can make it hurt.

 

[MeanMom]

Hi - just caught up with this thread

- have you tried different needle lengths? Ssome find that either slightly shorter or longer sometimes help.

My daughter was given 5mm needles when she was Dx, but she moved over to 4mm this summer. She was dubious that it made any difference until she used a 5mm needle we had left over - then she could tell the difference Might be worth you asking.

FWIW - re the bruising - I can always tell when K has lapsed into injecting her Levimir into her arms as she will get a bruise. I dud have a theory it was because she was rushing it so I wouldnt spot what she was doing and nag her to do it in her leg (She only injects arms and legs - legs for Levemir ) but perhaps it is the different type of insulin - but then why doesnt she get bruising on her legs? Hmmm - bit of a puzzle