"Does it hurt?" & other reactions from non-diabetics

[katie]

Ouch, bad luck. I almost passed out and vomited when they took blood for my diabetes diagnosis. I had to be helped into a room with a bed, lie down with the window open and a fan on me and suck some minty sweet to get my blood sugars back up.

I went to the hospital a few days later to see a Diabetic consultant doctor who confirmed that I had Type 1 diagnosis. For some reason they wanted more blood (see I told you, irony!) and we had to go and find the phlebotomist. Naturally I wasn't looking forward to this but we found out the phlebotomist was actually a trained phlebotomist and not just a nurse. She was a lovely woman from New Zealand and spoke to me and Mum like we were people and not just walking blood samples waiting to be taken. We told her about my record with needles and blood being taken. She just said, calmly and confidently, that no-one ever faints or feels bad when she takes blood. And she was right! Seconds after the needle was out, which I barely felt, I stood up and felt like nothing had happened to me. So I think it was a mixture of her being trained at this, indeed doing it every day, and not just being a nurse trained in basic blood taking but also her friendliness and character really helped.

Strangely we've not actually gotten the results of the blood test. They weren't taking it for blood sugar as I'd been issued with a tester by then. I must ring the hospital and find out what it was for and what the results were.

Yeah some nurses are really good at it and you hardly notice. sometimes you get some idiot. like the time a nurse left that strap on my arm for ages while she got a smaller needle and my arm started going blue, then she took my blood and afterwards i felt like i was going to be sick. that was a really strange feeling. i had to lie on the floor so that the blood went back to my head?! it worked though hehe. afterwards she was like "was that because i left the strap on too long?" i was just thinking... How am i supposed to know?
You are the professional!

Ok I should probably stop telling these stories if you are scared of needles. I was told by the woman who is good at it that you should tell the nurse which is the best arm and even where abouts your best vein is - so that might help in future.

 

[Munjeeta]

Haha... My veins also collapse as soon as the HbA1c needle gets anywhere near them! I've had so many reactions over the years to my diabetes. All the 'does it hurt?'s 'how many times to you inject?'s and the 'wow, you don't look like a diabetic's... My personal favourites though, have to be the people who think it's ok to tell you that their friend/ grandad/ great aunt Maude died/ went blind/ lost a leg through diabetes. Thanks!

 

[Lynne Day]

As a parent some of the funny ones are
• Oh he will grow out of it
• Oh its not that bad my son has asthma (and yes i know asthma can be bad)
• Oh my nana has diabetes and had had her leg amputated (oh by the way this was a teacher and was in front of my son aged 8 at the time)

 

[Alan221]

Katie, if they had changed my needles I'd just take them back, I'm not interested how much they cost. I use BD micro-fine 5mm - i'm ok with them - yes sometimes they hurt but on the whole OK. Marc- when I was in the hospital with DKA, everytime the nurse came near me with something that I thought was a needle, I tried to get away. That included a thermometer!! Well I was a bit 'our of it'.

 

[Northerner]

The only needle that used to really bother me was the injection in the gum at the dentist. I changed dentist a few years ago and was really (pleasantly!) surprised when he gave me an injection that didn't hurt at all. I told him about my fear and complimented him on his skill. His explanation? He uses 'child' size needles on everyone! He said sometimes it means more than 1 injection, but they are always less painful. Now I have no concerns about going to the dentist (well, not as many!🙂)

 

[MarcLister]

Are they called penfine - universal click? or something similar? because they did exactly the same to me, except the pharmacist realised I had never had them before and asked if i had changed. when i said no they told me to complain to my dr. they said the dr might have done it because they are cheaper (how rude). I haven't complained yet but only got them last time i got my prescription and im planning on making an appointment sooon.

Er I can't find them for some reason. That'll be me putting them somewhere so that I can find them if I need them. And I can't. Don't think they are Penfine - Universal click. They were just some horrid generic stuff.

Yeah some nurses are really good at it and you hardly notice. sometimes you get some idiot. like the time a nurse left that strap on my arm for ages while she got a smaller needle and my arm started going blue, then she took my blood and afterwards i felt like i was going to be sick. that was a really strange feeling. i had to lie on the floor so that the blood went back to my head?! it worked though hehe. afterwards she was like "was that because i left the strap on too long?" i was just thinking... How am i supposed to know?
You are the professional!

Ok I should probably stop telling these stories if you are scared of needles. I was told by the woman who is good at it that you should tell the nurse which is the best arm and even where abouts your best vein is - so that might help in future.

I don't mind the stories. Better to hear stories like this than to experience it.

Marc- when I was in the hospital with DKA, everytime the nurse came near me with something that I thought was a needle, I tried to get away. That included a thermometer!! Well I was a bit 'our of it'.

Nasty. The DKA that is. I hope to be able to manage my condition enough that I never have to get hospitalised. Course I understand that sometimes illness or some infection can overwhelm you and you need hospital attention.

 

[angel30eyes]

Dentist

The only needle that used to really bother me was the injection in the gum at the dentist. I changed dentist a few years ago and was really (pleasantly!) surprised when he gave me an injection that didn't hurt at all. I told him about my fear and complimented him on his skill. His explanation? He uses 'child' size needles on everyone! He said sometimes it means more than 1 injection, but they are always less painful. Now I have no concerns about going to the dentist (well, not as many!🙂)

Wish i'd spoke to you a few days ago lol, i woke with a god awful toothache and when at the dentist i freaked, i have OCD and panic attacks, they put the one in the gum fine but i knew how much the roof of the mouth one hurt so they didn't do it, i didn't have the tooth taken out but just filled for a few months and the prospect of going back in a few months to have it taken out if i'm brave enough

 

[MarcLister]

I use BD micro-fine 5mm - i'm ok with them - yes sometimes they hurt but on the whole OK.

Just re-read your post and realised its BD Micro-fines I was given. 8mm I think. And I found out why I can't find them. Mum has them at school. She's a Biology teacher and is covering Diabetes with one of her classes soon and wanted some gear to show the students. She's got an old, empty insulin pen and the needles to show them. 🙂

 

[katie]

Katie, if they had changed my needles I'd just take them back, I'm not interested how much they cost. I use BD micro-fine 5mm - i'm ok with them - yes sometimes they hurt but on the whole OK. Marc- when I was in the hospital with DKA, everytime the nurse came near me with something that I thought was a needle, I tried to get away. That included a thermometer!! Well I was a bit 'our of it'.

I will do, i'm just errr, laid back about these things... 😉

 

[tracey w]

[

've on the Novofine needles which are nice and small and barely register on my pain scales. However some wally at my GPs printed out some non-Novofine needles which were longer and bigger. Muchos ouchos. I complained to the pharmacy wondering why they'd given me different needles. They showed me the prescrn they'd collected on my behalf and proved the surgery had made a mistake. A painful mistake that.

Hi, i presume novofine are used with novopens? guessing. I use bd microfine 8mm with a luxura pen, never had any problems, hurt occasionally but not too often. Maybe Im just a bit more padded, ha ha

What mm are novofine? I dont think they are necessarily cheaper versions, just used with different equipment maybe?? GPs do mess up sometimes, you have to keep your beady eye on them!

 

[mikep1979]

lol i do get does it hurt and wow 4x's a day?? i also love to baffle the docs when i get took in hospital, but my biggest problem is when im admitted to hospital for something that has nothing to do with my diabetes they imediatly start to flap around doin my sugars and getin hba1c's done and the likes!!!! last time was a few months ago when i fractured my ribs so i went homne first and did my own sugar levels, then took my monitor to the hospital. the nurse came out and asked me if i had any idea who my sugars were doing today so i showed her on my monitor how they had been for the past week!!!!! she still asked a doctor if she should do my hba1c!!!! i hit the roof and started to ask her and the doctor what they knew about diabetes. besides the usual standard stuff they knew nothing. so i decided to fill them in a little lol they were a little red faced after i told them how i handled my own insulin dose's as i was on the I.C.E system. they didnt even know what it was!!!!!!

 

[MarcLister]

[

've on the Novofine needles which are nice and small and barely register on my pain scales. However some wally at my GPs printed out some non-Novofine needles which were longer and bigger. Muchos ouchos. I complained to the pharmacy wondering why they'd given me different needles. They showed me the prescrn they'd collected on my behalf and proved the surgery had made a mistake. A painful mistake that.

Hi, i presume novofine are used with novopens? guessing. I use bd microfine 8mm with a luxura pen, never had any problems, hurt occasionally but not too often. Maybe Im just a bit more padded, ha ha

What mm are novofine? I dont think they are necessarily cheaper versions, just used with different equipment maybe?? GPs do mess up sometimes, you have to keep your beady eye on them!

6mm mine are. Yep that's right. A whole 2mm extra HURTS! And yes Novofine needles with Novopens. A winning combination, including me that is, if I do say so myself. 😎

It isn't the GPs that **** up here. The surgery I'm with has its own dispensary, the nurses/staff in there do the repeat prescriptions. And not very well either.

 

[MarcLister]

I.C.E system?! I don't know what that is.

(Unless its the In Case of Emergency contact number on yer mobile phone? 😛)

 

[mikep1979]

I.C.E stands for insulin carb exchange marc. it is a system to adjust the amount of insulin you take in relation to the carbs you eat and also your starting sugars. it is a little hard to do at first, but once you get used to it then it is fairly good for control of your diabetes.

 

[MarcLister]

I knew that. Was going to be my second suggestion. 😉

I do that, just wasn't aware it had an acronym. I look at my lunch or dinner and then guesstimate the carbos, then look at my blood sugar and decide whether to have the standard amount of insulin for that particular meal, less if blood sugar is low or very little carbo in meal or more if blood sugar is high etc. 🙂

 

[mikep1979]

lol yeah same here. only problems i find is trying to guesstimate it when im eating out as they can load meals with carbs when it looks like its low in carbs.

 

[angel30eyes]

Top of the list though is my wife's reaction that it's not important. When I do say I'm having problems with it her reaction is "Well, it's your fault..." (that I haven't taken enough insulin, I've eaten too much or too little, etc.)

And your still married because??

 

[sofaraway]

lol i do get does it hurt and wow 4x's a day?? i also love to baffle the docs when i get took in hospital, but my biggest problem is when im admitted to hospital for something that has nothing to do with my diabetes they imediatly start to flap around doin my sugars and getin hba1c's done and the likes!!!! last time was a few months ago when i fractured my ribs so i went homne first and did my own sugar levels, then took my monitor to the hospital. the nurse came out and asked me if i had any idea who my sugars were doing today so i showed her on my monitor how they had been for the past week!!!!! she still asked a doctor if she should do my hba1c!!!! i hit the roof and started to ask her and the doctor what they knew about diabetes. besides the usual standard stuff they knew nothing. so i decided to fill them in a little lol they were a little red faced after i told them how i handled my own insulin dose's as i was on the I.C.E system. they didnt even know what it was!!!!!!

I don't see the problem with getting an A1c done when you get admitted for something unrelated, it can identify people who don't have good control and some intervention would be helpful.

I've never heard of it referred to as the ICE system.

 

[mikep1979]

i dont mind having the a1c done, but id like them to get me sorted for the things i came in for first as this is the reason im there!!!! it is what my local authority call its system. id never heard of carb counting before i got told about this.

 

[Caroline Wilson]

I had a reaction from some one I didn't expect to react this morning, and in a way I wasn't expecting. WHile I was waiting to get an office key this morning I decided I'd test before deciding on tea or hot chocolate.

I was in the vending machine area with my puncture kit out when the security person came in. This person has a reputation for being diamons hard. At the site of a little blood, there was a dishevled heap on the floor.

I did the right thing nd called for a first aider who then wanted to see if the person on the floor was having a hypo because I was testing. I soon put them right and handed a leaflet and a list of web sites over...

12 hours later I can see the funny side of it, but the Diamons is not.