Advice please

[julieking]

Newly diagnosed LADA. My insulin stings for a while after injecting. Is this normal?

 

[Lucyr]

Newly diagnosed LADA. My insulin stings for a while after injecting. Is this normal?

Which insulin is it? Totally normal for lantus

 

[julieking]

Abasaglar

 

[helli]

Welcome @julieking
Sorry to read about your stinging insulin.
It is not normal for the insulin to sting. Many of us don’t feel it at all.
However, some of us may be more sensitive to some types of insulin.

Does it always sting or only some times? Does it sting just during the injection or for longer? What insulin do you take?

Sorry for all the questions.
It could be the injection (sometimes, I catch a nerve) or the insulin itself.
There are different types of insulin which you may be more suited to.

(Sorry, your answers to @Lucyr came up as I was typing.
It is rare to react to any insulins. I took Lantus for 12 years without any sting so would not say it is “normal”. However, it is more common than for other insulins.
Abasaglar is biosimilar to Lantus.
If the stinging is uncomfortable, I recommend men this to your DSN and requesting a different long acting insulin.)

 

[julieking]

Thanks for the advice. I’m only on day two! I’ll persevere for a while and see if it settles. Stings for a good half hour.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear you are experiencing discomfort. Are you injecting the insulin at room temperature, not straight out of the fridge, as that can cause it to sting. Just to be clear, your "in use" insulin stays out of the fridge at room temperature. It is only unused pens or cartridges which need storing in the fridge.
Very occasionally I will get one that stings and I use Levemir not Glargine/Abasaglar. It is rare that it lasts for longer than a couple of minutes though. Sometimes l catch a nerve when I inject and that can be sore for longer, but it is noticeably different from when the insulin stings... ie. It is pain rather than a sting. Some areas are definitely much more sensitive than others so you might try injecting somewhere else to see if that helps. I tend to inject my basal insulin into the tops of my thighs or buttocks and keep my midriff for my fast acting insulin. Thinking about it I don't think I have had a stinger since I stopped using my stomach, but perhaps I have just stopped noticing. I certainly haven't become immune to the sensitive spots though. Sometimes it hurts so much I pull the needle back out after I have got it half way in because it is so painful. I then move half an inch and try again. Some areas I just don't feel it at all, some I feel it but it is tolerable and some are wicked. Usually I can tell if I touch the needle to my skin before pushing it through.
As has been said, if it is a persistent problem, ask to try a different basal insulin.

 

[soupdragon]

Abasaglar stung for me. I've now changed to Levemir and have no problems with stinging now.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Abasaglar

That’s a glargine, so quite like Lantus - and I assume it has the same acidic pH as part of the mechanism, where the insulin is soluble at an acid pH, then as the body neutralises the acidity on injection a little depot of precipitation forms, which is absorbed over the 24hrs.

Hopefully it will settle for you (Lantus only rarely stung for me), but there are options if it stings often for you.

 

[Tdm]

I use abasaglar and can't say i feel any sting, perhaps a little pain at the time or possibly a min or so afterwards.
Are you cleaning the site before injection? I was told not to. An alcohol wipe before injection could prob make it more painful

 

[trophywench]

Many many people worldwide have never had Lantus stinging them either - but that doesn't mean it doesn't do that to some folk - me included.

 

[julieking]

I use abasaglar and can't say i feel any sting, perhaps a little pain at the time or possibly a min or so afterwards.
Are you cleaning the site before injection? I was told not to. An alcohol wipe before injection could prob make it more painful

I’m not cleaning the area. The last couple of nights I’ve given it much slower and this seems to help. Still stings a bit but certainly not lasting as long.

 

[Robin]

I’m not cleaning the area. The last couple of nights I’ve given it much slower and this seems to help. Still stings a bit but certainly not lasting as long.

Only just seen this! I'll cast my vote for the 'Yes it stings!' camp. Lantus certainly smarted for a few seconds every time for me, like getting lemon juice on a cut finger.. As @everydayupsanddowns said above, the Ph balance means it’s slightly more acidic than the body, and I guess some people just feel it more than others. Since I swapped to levemir, I've never felt another sting.

 

[Lucyr]

Are you injecting it straight from the fridge? I find it burns more cold than it does at room temperature

 

[trophywench]

Are you injecting it straight from the fridge? I find it burns more cold than it does at room temperature

i didn't actually find any difference whether it was cold or room temp. See - we're all different in so may ways apart from hair and eye colour etc.