Coronation Street’s handling of teenage diabetes so far

[Annemarie]

What does anyone think about the diabetes topic so far? Last week I saw a frightened teenage girl, a needle phobic adult and another adult who was frustrated by the situation. Surely they had professional help with the scripts or is that to come?

 

[JJay]

Actually I saw a teenager in denial, a concerned parent out of his depth and a needle-phobic co-parent (unhelpful but not uncommon, I imagine). Parent seeking assistance from appropriate professional (DSN). Teenager refuses help, and seeks solace in rebellion (energy drink). Seemed pretty accurate to me.

 

[Kaylz]

From what I read they have worked closely with Diabetes UK on it, I haven't seen much of it due to the football but from what I've read it's quite true to how some diagnosed youngsters act

 

[trophywench]

Yeah - and good for Corrie giving an accurate portrayal of it (for a change for TV progs) if they have.

Can anyone explain to me though, how/why anyone ever becomes needle phobic? I mean I spose I could have, had I ever had to have many cortisol jabs in my shoulder, or intra muscular ones delivered via the front of my thigh - Gordon Bennett, those hurt. However - both were to try and get rid of something else, neither of which was chronic, and anyway when parents are scared of giving insulin jabs to little children, whilst I understand it's scary - surely to goodness HCPs tell them to try sticking themselves with a pen needle, so they can 100% find out for themselves how much it really doesn't hurt?

 

[Annemarie]

Yes good point, hopefully Corrie will get round to that. Many things are more frightening to think about than actually do.

 

[rebrascora]

Yeah - and good for Corrie giving an accurate portrayal of it (for a change for TV progs) if they have.

Can anyone explain to me though, how/why anyone ever becomes needle phobic? I mean I spose I could have, had I ever had to have many cortisol jabs in my shoulder, or intra muscular ones delivered via the front of my thigh - Gordon Bennett, those hurt. However - both were to try and get rid of something else, neither of which was chronic, and anyway when parents are scared of giving insulin jabs to little children, whilst I understand it's scary - surely to goodness HCPs tell them to try sticking themselves with a pen needle, so they can 100% find out for themselves how much it really doesn't hurt?

I don't think it is necessarily about pain but just penetrating the skin with anything can be a mental challenge for many people, either self inflicting or administering to someone else. I am not needle phobic but I found it mentally challenging to give my mother injections in her buttocks as a teenager. As with anything, the more often you do it, the less of a challenge it becomes. I am sure trainee surgeons and vets making their first incision into a live body must feel a similar reticence or trepidation.... I would like to think they they do otherwise it would suggest they are perhaps too confident.
I don't find it too much of a stretch of the imagination to envisage some people struggle with the idea of inserting a needle and many people are squeamish about cleaning and dressing a wound.
My limit was watching the body prep on a postmortem where the scalp was peeled back over the face to enable the skull to be opened up and the brain examined for signs of a stoke. I am not generally squeamish but that really upset me and I will admit I was close to fainting. Oddly I was fine with watching the internal organs being removed and dissected but the head prep really got to me. We all have our limits as to what we can cope with mentally.

 

[pm133]

Yeah - and good for Corrie giving an accurate portrayal of it (for a change for TV progs) if they have.

Can anyone explain to me though, how/why anyone ever becomes needle phobic? I mean I spose I could have, had I ever had to have many cortisol jabs in my shoulder, or intra muscular ones delivered via the front of my thigh - Gordon Bennett, those hurt. However - both were to try and get rid of something else, neither of which was chronic, and anyway when parents are scared of giving insulin jabs to little children, whilst I understand it's scary - surely to goodness HCPs tell them to try sticking themselves with a pen needle, so they can 100% find out for themselves how much it really doesn't hurt?

You might as well ask why people get afraid of spiders.

I am needle-phobic. Always have been.
It's completely understandable that people get nervous stabbing themselves with sharp stuff. 🙂
Once you do it, you get more comfortable but I still looked away when I got my vaccine doses.

Don't think I'll ever not dislike it.

 

[Ivostas66]

Yeah - and good for Corrie giving an accurate portrayal of it (for a change for TV progs) if they have.

Can anyone explain to me though, how/why anyone ever becomes needle phobic? I mean I spose I could have, had I ever had to have many cortisol jabs in my shoulder, or intra muscular ones delivered via the front of my thigh - Gordon Bennett, those hurt. However - both were to try and get rid of something else, neither of which was chronic, and anyway when parents are scared of giving insulin jabs to little children, whilst I understand it's scary - surely to goodness HCPs tell them to try sticking themselves with a pen needle, so they can 100% find out for themselves how much it really doesn't hurt?

I was needle phobic prior to diagnosis. I was admitted to hospital in 2007 after eating a cake bought in for someone's birthday at work. He said it did not contain nuts, turns out it must have done as I felt like I was heading towards anaphylactic shock (I have a severe nut allergy). At A&E, even though I had recovered after an hour or so, they insisted I was put onto a drip for four hours. The nurse popped the cannula into my arm and turned to attach the tube, forgetting to switch it off. I sat and watched my blood spurt in time with my heartbeat out of the end of the cannula and across the floor - suffice it to say I passed out!

 

[Leadinglights]

I can believe people can be phobic about anything, we had school kids into the Uni to do science activities and were told by the teacher that one of the kids was 'allergic' to purple.
Myself it's spiders.

 

[pm133]

were told by the teacher that one of the kids was 'allergic' to purple.

What????
LOL!! 🙂

 

[trophywench]

I can actually understand that thing with you - your description of the 'scalp bit' is the 'bilious' thing to me too, not sawing an aperture to access the brain nor the brain itself, nor as you say, internal organs. All animal carcasses have em. Just vary in size.

Remember talking to an epileptic friend who had that op to cure it, where the surgical team have to talk to the patient at various stages till they get to the right bit to 'attack' - he said the only word to describe the experience was 'peculiar' - which is exactly the same word as used by other people having had artificial hips under epidurals rather than GA, to describe their experiences.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I'm not needle phobic but I can completely understand why someone might be. I have relatives who are terrified of doctors and hospitals and who won't have injections unless they are sedated.

I believe a lot of needle phobic people are people who have been badly traumatised by dentists who had bad techniques when administering anaesthetic. Others who have had bad experiences with vaccinations or blood tests and some who had nasty moments with DIY ear piercings.

It is perfectly reasonable to have a strong instinctive reaction against people stabbing sharp objects into oneself. I doubt I'd cope well with using a 'proper' long needle in a DIY/home treatment situation. I'm ok with my pricker because I can't see it and it is very very short and I know it can't do any real harm.

Back in the olden days when I was a dental student it was the point (no joke intended) at where we had to start injecting people that I finally gave up and left my course half way through the second year of my studies. I just couldn't bear the idea of potentially hurting a patient. I'd been hoping up until that moment that somehow I'd get over that hurdle but I realised I never would be able to. Not phobic exactly but it gives me a bit of an insight into how reluctant people can be to the extent it could become a phobia.

 

[eggyg]

I’m not needle phobic but as a first time mum to be 38 years ago I passed out when they did the routine blood tests. To this day I look away whenever the docs/nurses take blood/inject/ fit cannulas etc. I also look away when they’re forever showing folks on the telly getting their Covid jab. Yet I can prick and inject myself no problem.

 

[Bloden]

Can anyone explain to me though, how/why anyone ever becomes needle phobic?

I should ask my nephew - he’s absolutely terrified! Makes no sense - he climbs mountains (heights, eek! ) and scuba dives, etc etc. Mind you, he’s had his Covid jab tho, so maybe he’s cured!🙂

Snap! @eggyg - I hate seeing other people getting jabbed. My SIL has been volunteering with St John’s Ambulance and working vaccinating people - her description of jabbing folks made me want to hurl. Weird, considering...

 

[nonethewiser]

I’m not needle phobic but as a first time mum to be 38 years ago I passed out when they did the routine blood tests. To this day I look away whenever the docs/nurses take blood/inject/ fit cannulas etc

Same here, have to look away otherwise ok with others using needles.

 

[PattiEvans]

I recently had the unpleasant experience of visiting A&E in a hospital in Greece. I'm quite used to inserting cannulas and sensors, having B12 intramuscular injections and regular blood draws. I have however never come across as rough a nurse as the one who inserted a huge frightening cannula thing into the vein in my arm. When I flinched she slapped my arm. I didn't have the Greek and apparently she didn't have the English to explain what this thing was for.... in the event it wasn't used for anything... but if that had been someone's first experience then I can completely understand them developing a phobia.

 

[Inka]

I have a needle phobia. It’s not to do with pain or roughness. It’s the physical breaking of the skin, both to watch and to feel. It doesn’t matter if it hurts or not. Some needles trigger it worse than others (huge long cannula needle, I’m looking at you) but the phobia is that and thinking about it happening before it does too.

 

[Sally71]

One time when my daughter was in hospital one of the nurses said it’s usually big beefy men who faint or make the most fuss about having to have an injection for anything, and they are usually covered in tattoos! How do they think they get there then!

 

[Leadinglights]

One time when my daughter was in hospital one of the nurses said it’s usually big beefy men who faint or make the most fuss about having to have an injection for anything, and they are usually covered in tattoos! How do they think they get there then!

Yes it was usually the male students who would faint when they had to do a finger prick sample for a lab experiment. But strangely enough many of them would rather do a finger prick than give a saliva sample.
If they were struggling to get enough blood, I was usually sent for as it was well known I could get blood out of a stone.

 

[cameron]

Oh no, I might have to start watching Coro again now. I was doing so well all these years!

I was too scared to inject myself for a while after diagnosis when I was a kid, but I had no problem with family doing the injections for me. Testing my sugar was what I disliked most as a teenager, I just found it a nuisance.