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Hello everyone
- Thread starter QueenVic2
- Start date
- Status
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello @QueenVic2 and welcome 🙂
What is it that scares you about starting insulin? Do let us know, and hopefully we can reassure you. It's very easy to use and the needles are very tiny and don't hurt at all, if that's what's worrying you (I say that as a needle-phobe, I have covered needles so I don't have to see them!).
I'm going to tag @Ljc as she's a type 2 on insulin so she's likely to be able to help from that point of view.
What is it that scares you about starting insulin? Do let us know, and hopefully we can reassure you. It's very easy to use and the needles are very tiny and don't hurt at all, if that's what's worrying you (I say that as a needle-phobe, I have covered needles so I don't have to see them!).
I'm going to tag @Ljc as she's a type 2 on insulin so she's likely to be able to help from that point of view.
Ljc
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hello @QueenVic2 , welcome to the forum. Please tell us what worries you about going on insulin, is it needlephobia, the fear of pain when injecting, fear about insulin or something else.
I was diagnosed back in 1994 and needed to go on insulin a couple of years ago as nothing was working . Well my Hb1ac has been below diabetic levels for some time now. I feel oh so much better in myself , I have so much more energy and I haven’t put on weight .
As @TheClockworkDodo has already said , it’s very easy to use, the needles are tiny and don’t hurt, the injection devises are called pens because that’s what they look like.
Yes their is a bit you need to learn but they are going to teach you you’re not going to be left floundering , we will help too ! Every one of us on here who is on insulin have been where you are so we do understand.
So please let us know your worries / fears about insulin
I was diagnosed back in 1994 and needed to go on insulin a couple of years ago as nothing was working . Well my Hb1ac has been below diabetic levels for some time now. I feel oh so much better in myself , I have so much more energy and I haven’t put on weight .
As @TheClockworkDodo has already said , it’s very easy to use, the needles are tiny and don’t hurt, the injection devises are called pens because that’s what they look like.
Yes their is a bit you need to learn but they are going to teach you you’re not going to be left floundering , we will help too ! Every one of us on here who is on insulin have been where you are so we do understand.
So please let us know your worries / fears about insulin
Madeline
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi and welcome! I’m about to start too, although I’m the opposite and have fought to have it. I’m looking forward to being able to eat more ‘normally’. If it’s the actual injecting that’s concerning you, I’ve had it before and the needles are so incredibly fine that I didn’t feel it at all.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
I have been on insulin for a month now and it is a relief to see my Blood Glucose to come down and start to stabilise. I was diagnosed as Type 2 in Feb this year, but have just been for a blood test today to see if I am actually Type 1 or some other variation. I'm very much hoping that my HbA1c reading from today will show some improvement as my last two readings were 112 and 114. This will be the first check since I started on insulin, so really keeping fingers crossed that I see some improvement.
I too was very anxious about starting on insulin but nothing really bad has happened so far and I imagine the first month or so is when you will make the most mistakes and get the biggest swings. I've had a hypo and a false hypo and although my lowest reading was only 4.3, it was pretty obvious that something was wrong and easy to bring it back up with some glucose tablets..... for your info, in case no one mentions it to you, you need to take 3-4 glucose tablets to bring it back up when you have a hypo.... I assumed you just needed one and it was the dietician who mentioned to take 4 glucose tablets if it happened. The very next day I was extremely pleased of that info!.
As others have said, the needles are so fine and short you can barely see them, so nothing to worry about there and the pens are very easy to use.... just dial up the number of units push it onto your skin and release the dose. I got myself a bum bag to carry my insulin pens and BG meter, glucose tablets and ketosis sticks and my sister downloaded a free app. called The.Sugar Diary onto my phone and I record everything on that and it is really easy to use, even for a dinosaur like me!
I hope it all goes smoothly for you although do not expect to get it right all the time. There will be a period of transition where you will probably get significant fluctuations before things start to balance out and stabilise as you get the hang of it. I find that it is best if I still keep my carbohydrate intake low, so that I need less insulin and just have a small portion of starchy food like potatoes, pasta, bread or rice once a day, but everyone is different and you will eventually figure out what works for you. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress..
I have been on insulin for a month now and it is a relief to see my Blood Glucose to come down and start to stabilise. I was diagnosed as Type 2 in Feb this year, but have just been for a blood test today to see if I am actually Type 1 or some other variation. I'm very much hoping that my HbA1c reading from today will show some improvement as my last two readings were 112 and 114. This will be the first check since I started on insulin, so really keeping fingers crossed that I see some improvement.
I too was very anxious about starting on insulin but nothing really bad has happened so far and I imagine the first month or so is when you will make the most mistakes and get the biggest swings. I've had a hypo and a false hypo and although my lowest reading was only 4.3, it was pretty obvious that something was wrong and easy to bring it back up with some glucose tablets..... for your info, in case no one mentions it to you, you need to take 3-4 glucose tablets to bring it back up when you have a hypo.... I assumed you just needed one and it was the dietician who mentioned to take 4 glucose tablets if it happened. The very next day I was extremely pleased of that info!.
As others have said, the needles are so fine and short you can barely see them, so nothing to worry about there and the pens are very easy to use.... just dial up the number of units push it onto your skin and release the dose. I got myself a bum bag to carry my insulin pens and BG meter, glucose tablets and ketosis sticks and my sister downloaded a free app. called The.Sugar Diary onto my phone and I record everything on that and it is really easy to use, even for a dinosaur like me!
I hope it all goes smoothly for you although do not expect to get it right all the time. There will be a period of transition where you will probably get significant fluctuations before things start to balance out and stabilise as you get the hang of it. I find that it is best if I still keep my carbohydrate intake low, so that I need less insulin and just have a small portion of starchy food like potatoes, pasta, bread or rice once a day, but everyone is different and you will eventually figure out what works for you. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress..
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