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Hello every one

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Alison Jane

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Hi I am Alison and new to the website. I have had type 2 diabetes for 18 years now and have been on metformin and a few other meds. In 2 weeks I am due to start Humulin 1 insulin I hate needles and am terrified.
 
Alison Jane said:
Hi I am Alison and new to the website. I have had type 2 diabetes for 18 years now and have been on metformin and a few other meds. In 2 weeks I am due to start Humulin 1 insulin I hate needles and am terrified.
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Hi Alison, welcome to the forum 🙂

Please don't worry about the injections! They are nothing like the injections we get for things like flu, or when blood is being taken. The needles are tiny - as small as 4mm, as they only need to go into the fatty layer under the skin. Also, they are extremely fine so you hardly notice them at all (if you feel anything, that is). Honestly, they will be far easier than you are imagining 🙂 I would ask your nurse to show you to help put your mind at ease if he/she hasn't already done so, and do let them know about your fear so that they can help you with it.
 
Thank you Northerner for the reply it's much appreciated. I'm due to go to the Doctor's on the 24th July to be show how to do the injections, my nurse is on holiday at present so am dangling for now just waiting.
 
Alison Jane said:
Thank you Northerner for the reply it's much appreciated. I'm due to go to the Doctor's on the 24th July to be show how to do the injections, my nurse is on holiday at present so am dangling for now just waiting.
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Then please drive the worry from your mind, there really is nothing to it and you'll probably wonder what all the fuss is about 🙂 I think part of the problem is the misreporting of insulin injections in much of the media - people who don't have to do it always portray it as something awful to be overcome. It probably was, back in the days when things were far less refined, but things have moved on - even since I was diagnosed 10 years ago 🙂 The really good thing is that, hopefully, the insulin will give you much better control and help you to manage your diabetes better 🙂 Let us know how you get on, or if you have any other concerns 🙂
 
Hi @Alison Jane, welcome to the forum.

I can't advise as I don't inject, but I'm sure there's nothing to fear - I assume you don't use a blood glucose meter as most of us do? These have tiny needles too, and are very simple to use. Let us know how you get on, and fire away with any questions 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum Alison from a fellow T2 who's 3.5 years in.
 
Thanks every one for the support I really mean that, It's nice to know I am not the only one going through this, that there are others too. I had a Heart Ablation done 4 months ago which was scary so I'm sure I will beat my fear of Insulin too.
 
Hi Allison and welcome.

From what I have read from others with T2, they have found that going onto insulin helped them improve their control a great deal. I hope that it works for you.

Can you tell us a little more about how you manage your diabetes?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
 
Hi everyone me again. At the moment I am on metformin 500mg 4 daily, gliclazide 80mg 4 daily, 1 saxagliptin 5mg daily. I saw a dietician late Nov last year my diet was generally good apart from not eating fish which I hate and too much cheese which I have reduced and taken to eating reduced fat cheese. My worst problem is chocolate so try not to have it in the house. cholesterol 2.0 best yet
 
Alison Jane said:
Hi I am Alison and new to the website. I have had type 2 diabetes for 18 years now and have been on metformin and a few other meds. In 2 weeks I am due to start Humulin 1 insulin I hate needles and am terrified.
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Welcome AJ. I have been T1 form the age of 3 many years ago. Its what keeps us here so good luck 😉
 
Odd - usually cheese is fine - low carb, chocolate is fine as long as it is high cocoa low carb, I find that fish makes a nice change, but there are enough different ways of preparing meat to prevent boredom, plus eggs, all diabetes friendly.
 
Hi Alison and welcome 🙂

I have needle phobia and can't look at injections at all without passing out. I thought when I was first diagnosed that this would be a big problem! - but they gave me covered needles which mean I don't need to see the needle going in at all. I have now given myself thousands of injections and don't think twice about it, it's easy! I still couldn't look at the needles though!

The only disadvantage of the covered needles is they are slightly longer than the standard needles for insulin (don't worry, they're still tiny, we're talking in mm here) so if you can manage with the standard ones they'll be better - but if you really can't, ask for the covered ones (the ones I get are Novofine autocover, but there are others available).

I am also baffled by the cheese thing - cheese is great for diabetics (to state the obvious, it's carbs which are the problem for us, not fat). Chocolate is usually OK too (in smaller quantities!) if you can eat the very dark 85% or 90% cocoa bars, they are very low in carbs. I eat a couple of squares every day and don't need any insulin for it.
 
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