A question about insulin please

[jalapino]

Morning everyone 🙂
I was wonder is there any side effects to insulin?
I do not no what type of insulin I will be on, my dn will tell me Tuesday after looking at my food diary to see when I go high and low, before all this I sorter assumed that insulin was just insulin, I did not no there were different insulins, that sounds so daft 😱
Been reading through the guide I was given and omg so much to take in, I just keep looking at the pen and just can't stop feeling I actually got to put it in my tummy and it makes me go all funny, I no it sounds silly but till I have to do it it is just playing on my mind!
Thought of putting it my thigh is better than my belly! 🙂
In the guide it says belly thigh and butt cheeks for injecting, why no where else?
Sorry for rambling on just trying to get to grips with it all 🙂

 

[Northerner]

The only 'side-effect' of insulin is that if you have too much of it your levels will drop too low so you will then have to treat the low with (for example) jelly babies. A very, very small number of people can be allergic to certain types. The reason why there are so many different types of insulin is largely dependent on how fast they work, so slow-acting (or 'basal') insulins, like lantus and levemir will last between 12 and 24 hours, whereas a fast-acting insulin, like novorapid or actarapid, will last maybe 3-5 hours. There are also mixtures that combine a slow and a fast-acting element.

What sort of pen have you been given? If you can tell us the name we can probably guess which insulin you will be given.

I inject in my behind as there is lots of real-estate there 🙂 In public, I would inject in my belly - remember that these are tiny needles and you are just injecting into the fatty layer beneath the skin, not into veins or muscle or anything, so for me the thighs are out as I have no fat on my thighs. You have very few nerves to even notice the tiny pinpricks in the fatty layer. 🙂 Some people also inject in their upper arms, at the back, or 'love-handles' - it's all to do with finding a sufficient layer of fatty tissue.

 

[jalapino]

The only 'side-effect' of insulin is that if you have too much of it your levels will drop too low so you will then have to treat the low with (for example) jelly babies. A very, very small number of people can be allergic to certain types. The reason why there are so many different types of insulin is largely dependent on how fast they work, so slow-acting (or 'basal') insulins, like lantus and levemir will last between 12 and 24 hours, whereas a fast-acting insulin, like novorapid or actarapid, will last maybe 3-5 hours. There are also mixtures that combine a slow and a fast-acting element.

What sort of pen have you been given? If you can tell us the name we can probably guess which insulin you will be given.

I inject in my behind as there is lots of real-estate there 🙂 In public, I would inject in my belly - remember that these are tiny needles and you are just injecting into the fatty layer beneath the skin, not into veins or muscle or anything, so for me the thighs are out as I have no fat on my thighs. You have very few nerves to even notice the tiny pinpricks in the fatty layer. 🙂 Some people also inject in their upper arms, at the back, or 'love-handles' - it's all to do with finding a sufficient layer of fatty tissue.

Thankyou alan, that clears a lot up 🙂 the pen is a novo nordisk?

 

[DeusXM]

Insulin is generally a low-side effect medication as most of it is simply replacing the hormone you would normally produce.

Some people do have allergic reactions to the additives but the rate of these effects is very low. Some people also find that Lantus causes a stinging sensation at the injection site and there is anecdotal evidence suggesting in a very, very small number of people, it may cause some adverse effects such as depression or perspiration. Again, I must stress these effects are INCREDIBLY rare.

What you should be aware of though is that insulin is a very powerful medication. It can of course cause hypos if you take too much, although these are usually easily treatable and don't have to be a problem at all.

The other thing to be aware of is that insulin does seem to have an effect on fat storage and on blood pressure. Insulin converts excess blood sugar to body fat, so generally it's a good idea to reduce the load your insulin has to work on. Higher insulin doses also seem to correlate with blood pressure too but it's not clear whether this is cause or effect.

 

[Northerner]

Thankyou alan, that clears a lot up 🙂 the pen is a novo nordisk?

If you've just been given one pen then the likelihood is that you will be given either levemir which is a slow-acting insulin, or a mixed insulin.

 

[jalapino]

If you've just been given one pen then the likelihood is that you will be given either levemir which is a slow-acting insulin, or a mixed insulin.

At least I got a bit more info now...many thanks 🙂

 

[jalapino]

The other thing to be aware of is that insulin does seem to have an effect on fat storage and on blood pressure. Insulin converts excess blood sugar to body fat, so generally it's a good idea to reduce the load your insulin has to work on. Higher insulin doses also seem to correlate with blood pressure too but it's not clear whether this is cause or effect.[/QUOTE]

Intresting...I suffer from high blood pressure, I take ramipril for that so another aspect to look out for 🙂

 

[Redkite]

My son much prefers injecting into the stomach. There are far fewer nerve endings in the stomach than there are in upper arms or thighs. He was extremely nervous of injecting in his tummy at first, and when he was eventually bribed to do so, found it virtually painless and certain,y better than any other sites.

 

[Copepod]

Injection site choice also depends on what you have just done / plan to do in coming hours, particularly for short acting insulin or bimodal, which contains some short acting, less so for long acting. If you have just been in a hot bath / shower or carried out a lot of exercise or plan to do something similar, then you may be better avoiding injecting into limbs that have been in hot water or exercised (arms may be OK after running or cycling, but not after playing a racket sport, chopping with axe etc), which leaves abdomen as a non limb site (or buttock). Hot water and exercise both increase blood flow to nearer skin, so rate of uptake of insulin will be faster than usual, which increases possibility of hypoglycaemia.

Personally, I prefer abdomen for short acting, as it's rare for me to go more than a couple of hours between activity and / or bath / shower during daytime, and generally use for thighs for long acting (bedtime and getting up). Abdomen is also usually easier to reach discretely than thighs, and less painful than thighs or arms (not that either are particularly painful). However, I have used abdomen for long acting when discretion is needed eg when working later nights / early mornings.

 

[jalapino]

My son much prefers injecting into the stomach. There are far fewer nerve endings in the stomach than there are in upper arms or thighs. He was extremely nervous of injecting in his tummy at first, and when he was eventually bribed to do so, found it virtually painless and certain,y better than any other sites.

I would rather inject in my arms or thighs but I do not have any fat on my arms or legs, so I guess it would be my stomach, I guess trial and error 🙂

 

[jalapino]

Injection site choice also depends on what you have just done / plan to do in coming hours, particularly for short acting insulin or bimodal, which contains some short acting, less so for long acting. If you have just been in a hot bath / shower or carried out a lot of exercise or plan to do something similar, then you may be better avoiding injecting into limbs that have been in hot water or exercised (arms may be OK after running or cycling, but not after playing a racket sport, chopping with axe etc), which leaves abdomen as a non limb site (or buttock). Hot water and exercise both increase blood flow to nearer skin, so rate of uptake of insulin will be faster than usual, which increases possibility of hypoglycaemia.

Personally, I prefer abdomen for short acting, as it's rare for me to go more than a couple of hours between activity and / or bath / shower during daytime, and generally use for thighs for long acting (bedtime and getting up). Abdomen is also usually easier to reach discretely than thighs, and less painful than thighs or arms (not that either are particularly painful). However, I have used abdomen for long acting when discretion is needed eg when working later nights / early mornings.

Thank you for the advise, I guess I have a long time to get to grips with it 🙂

 

[Copepod]

No-one gets it right all the time, but mistakes / problems happen less often as you gain experience. So, don't be too hard on yourself, especially at the beginning.

 

[robofski]

The other thing to remember with injection sites is rotation!

You don't want to be injecting in the same place all the time as this can cause small lumps to form beneath the skin.

I use thighs for my long acting, left leg in the morning right leg at night and for my rapid I use tummy, and try to alternate between left and right sides.

I too was quite nervous when I was first put on insulin and it too was quite a shock, I'd been on tablets and didn't expect to be given insulin when I saw the DSN. After the initial shock and getting over the hypo fears it really has been quite easy, I won't say it's second nature yet, I still have times when I'm sat down eating my dinner and suddenly think 'insulin' but once you get into your routine you should find that things are much better.

Good luck, I know it's a lot to take in but you've got a whole community here to help you get to grips with it.

 

[jalapino]

Thanks rob, hopefully when I see dn she can explain more about the insulin to, I have so many questions!!!!