Advice on injections

[martyr]

I have been told that I have to inject rapid acting insulin before meals.That's Ok (even though it's a pain) at home but what happens if you are having a meal in a restaurant. We have not to inject into a muscle so that means for me the stomach. hardly something you can do in a restaurant even if the nurse says injecting is discrete. So do you have to sneak into a toilet (surely the worst place for an injection) and what do you do with the used needles. Does it mean carrying your sharps box around with you like a leper ?

Secondly if I can ask your indulgence, a specialist diabetes doctor says that a reading below 4.0 is a hypo. Ive had readings below that with no signs of a hypo ( I have had them and know what they are like). Also I have a booklet "Help with Hypos" issued by Novo Nordisk which says clearly
If your blood glucoze level falls below 4.0mmol/l YOU ARE AT RISK OF HAVING A HYPO.
Quite different.
Can someone please help ?

 

[AlisonM]

First injections. I have often injected in public and never had a problem, though I do use my thigh rather than my tummy and jab straight through my clothes, it also means I can do it under the table with even less chance of anyone being upset by it. I don't go in the loo to do it because they're not clean enough.

I have a kit bag I carry my stuff in and can store used needles there in the short term, then stick them in the sharps bin when I get home.

Second, Hypos. 4.0 is the limit set for an official hypo though few of us would treat at that point. I don't normally until I get to 3.5 or lower. I too have been that low and lower without symptoms, I've also had the symptoms of a hypo and been quite high but falling fast. Hypos can be sneaky things and the only way to be sure is to test.

 

[Redkite]

Actually it's quite easy with practice to discreetly inject into your tummy area while seated at the restaurant table (depends what you are wearing of course). Alternatively you could inject into your upper arm. What length of needles have you been given? 4 or 5mm needles are better for people without much body fat.

Hypos are any BGs under 4. Some people get no symptoms until they are in the low 3's and others may feel shaky in the low 4's. But it's quite important especially for driving that you don't go below 4, as you may have impaired reaction times despite not yet having hypo symptoms. How low does your BG go before you experience symptoms?

 

[novorapidboi26]

When on MDI I did used to go into the toilet, but this was before I started using my stomach, before I preferred my thighs and bum......

The arms are a good location too, provided your arms aren't too short and your not built like a tank, its quite easy to reach round and inject your arm....

Eventually though you wont really worry about who sees yous and what they think, as its actually quite common.....😉

 

[Northerner]

Hi martyr, welcome to the forum 🙂 I would start as you mean to go on and inject at the table. Honestly, no-one will bat an eyelid, and even if they do it's none of their business. If I am with people who don't know I'm going to do it, I let them know then it is up to them if they want to look away - I've never had anyone leap up and run away. You might feel self-conscious at first, but you will soon get used to it. I just lift my shirt and inject. This is far better than building up a fear of doing it (discreetly!) in public and having to go off somewhere possibly unhygienic. Imagine the scenario, your food arrives - do you excuse yourself and go off to find somewhere private, letting your food go cold, or do you inject and eat? The pen needles are invisible if you are a couple of feet away, they are so tiny! 🙂

Regarding hypos: meters are not 100% accurate - that 4.0 you are seeing may in fact be lower, so 4.0 is set as a safe limit to respond to - leave it and you risk falling much lower very quickly depending on the type of hypo. Some hypos can be very slow-falling e.g. at times when the insulin from your previous injection is all but exhausted and you are near to your next meal. Some may plunge quite quickly and give you much more pronounced symptoms e.g. when your insulin is peaking before your food, or if you have injected too much insulin.

 

[HOBIE]

Like you Novorap, I used to inject in all kinds of places. Out of the way of ignorant people ! If you where seen with syringes & needles in the 70s & 80s you would have got some good comments ! THINGS are a little easier now but i wouldnt push it Good luck 🙂

 

[martyr]

Thanks for the information and advice. It is very welcome but a bit sad that so many other people have the same problems. Hope they all clear up and thanks again

 

[Vicsetter]

Don't know if it helps but my meter case has : meter, lancing device, pot of test strips AND empty pot of test strips for used strips/needles (only takes a couple of needles but it's usually enough.

 

[Nic:)]

Just thought if mention about carrying needles I have a small needle cutter to carry round with me it's approximately 10cm in length and you just snip the needle off in to the sealed compartment and then just throw the plastic in a ordinary bin it may be worth asking for one of these there extremely useful 🙂

 

[Estellaa]

i inject whereever i want. i've done it in the middle of a high street, in a restaurant i don't care. and if you start to let it bother you you'll never get use to it and that can be a problem.
i never understand the concept of injecting through clothes i think thats an awful idea and wouldnt recommend it at all.
i inject in my stomach so as long as im not wearing a dress ( if i am then i'll jab in my leg) then its easy to access.
don't worry about what other people think, i don't.

 

[FM001]

Just inject whenever wherever and don't be ashamed. The needle can be left on the pen and disposed once you get back home, a hypo can come on quick and fast so anything around 4 should be treated.

 

[Bloden]

Dim prob

That's welsh for no problemo. I used to go to the toilet to inject, but then your food goes cold! No-one's ever commented on me injecting at the table. If they're squeamish, that's their problem. As for needle disposal, I do that when I get home. Paperchase or muji are good places to shop for unsquashable containers to store insulin pens and needles. X

 

[DeusXM]

There's a variety of ways of dealing with this.

You could go inject in the toilet. If you're an idiot. Seriously, it's a medical procedure. Why on earth would you do this in a room where people defecate and urinate? I basically inject everywhere except in the loo - in the restaurant, on the bus, at my desk, in bed, when I'm walking down the street...with enough practice you'll find you can pretty much inject right in front of people without them even realising you're doing it.

I'm assuming you are using pens. You don't need to whip the needles off these straight away, you know. You can put them on before you go out, and leave them on after the injection and just put the pen away.

If you're really paranoid about needles though and can't bear the thought of a capped needle being screwed onto your pen for more than 10 seconds, don't bother with a sharps bin (I still have no idea why on earth these are standard issue). Get yourself a Safe-Clip on prescription - it's a tiny little device that clips your needle to make it safe and it can store something like 1000 needles in something the size of your finger. Far more discreet and convenient than lugging a ridiculous brightly coloured box with you!

Injecting through clothes also doesn't have to be an issue. The majority of injections I do are through my clothes. Never once had a problem health-wise, although depending on your luck, you may find yourself disturbingly expert in getting bloodstains out of fabric (blot with a cold damp cloth!)

 

[Flutterby]

I inject wherever I am, if I am sharing a table with people I don't know (such as in a crowded cafe) I will generally ask them a closed question "You don't mind if I do my insulin jab do you?" Very often it leads to a discussion about someone in their family with diabetes. But other than that I don't care who sees and what they think. Funnily I went out with a friend and her mum and daughter the other day. Her daughter doesn't know anything about me and is 12 so I thought I might say something but she was so involved with various mobile devices that she didn't even notice - most people are the same you will find.

I just sort my needles when I get home. I carry the pens in a pencil case with room for a couple of needles too.

I wouldn't recommend injecting through clothes to be honest.

 

[trophywench]

Through clothes makes me cringe too Karen! So you grag the dirty denim on the outside of your jeans you'd worn twice already before you put em on this morning, straight through your pristine thigh skin underneath?

No thanks.

If you wear separates, you just expose half an inch of midriff and you're there!

 

[Aoife]

I must admit I do inject through clothes but only if I'm wearing a dress (and I am a dress person) if it's a skirt, jeans, trousers etc then it's just a sneaky up and under the top jobby. I would never go to the toilet, thats gross!

I also leave the needles on my pens, I know, I'm a bad diabetic but I only change the needles once a day, if I do change the needle then i just put the big clear cap back over the old needle and chuck it back in the pencil case I carry everything about in and sort it out when I get home.

I don't use my arms, not sure why not coz their is plenty of bingo wing to aim for! I always use my stomach for QA

 

[AlisonM]

I should have said, I only inject through clothes if I'm wearing something light weight as a 5mm needle wouldn't work too well through my jeans. Otherwise I might show a bit of leg for a few seconds as I jab myself. Thing is, I can do it without looking now so it draws even less attention. I haven't thought of trying an arm, not sure why and I only use my belly for the Victoza which is once a day and usually at home.

 

[Highlander]

My insulin pen comes in a case. So when out and about I take the case, inject in my leg, through my trousers, and put the needle in the case. No one has objected yet, but if they do, they will get a few well chosen words. I'm on Novomix 30, so it needs shaking a bit before use and most of my friends know what is happening, but take no notice. I get the odd comment, like Vic is shooting up again, or comments about not sharing. They get a suitable response.