• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Hi New to forum

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
S

stillgoing

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello I was diagnosed as type 1 over 57 years ago. Thought I would join in. I am a bit slow with all this technology. Only gave up with my glass syringe 3 years ago! Now on pen 3 times a day with another long lasting pen so now 4 injections a day instead of 2. Progress apparently. Anyway will try and join in.
 
Welcome @stillgoing 57 years of Type 1 is very impressive!

Don’t worry about any tech stuff. There’s always someone to help and none of us are super techy experts anyway.

Do you have a photo of your glass syringe? I’m fascinated. I only used plastic syringes, then pens, now a pump.
 
Ok I will try. If this works you should see a photo of the syringe with its spirit storage case. This saves having to sterilise it every time. The spirit holder has a spring in the bottom so you can place the syringe with needle attached. I don't have any original needles. The other photo is an easy way to administer the injection. The syringe is attached to the top pulled back to ****. It is then pushed against the skin. the plate pushes up a suitable area and then you pull the trigger and push the plunger. The first time it was used we didn't realise the clip at the front is meant to go around the needle. As a result the needle came off the end and fully embedded in my leg. After a few uses I decided it took more courage to pull the trigger then to push the needle in manually!
 

Attachments

  • P1030441.JPG
    P1030441.JPG
    100.5 KB · Views: 10
  • P1030442.JPG
    P1030442.JPG
    78.6 KB · Views: 10
Oh, thank you! 😎 That’s amazing to see. The trigger device sounds scary!

Really fascinated to see that - thank you again 🙂

I wonder how many other people here use/used them here? I think @trophywench and @Pumper_Sue have had diabetes a long time too.
 
It worked then!
Just tried pulling the trigger again. After firing it rings the metal (ringing sound from the force of strike) for about 30 seconds. So I did remember it correctly As I said so much more comfortable doing by hand.

I was diagnosed just after my 5th birthday. My mum was sent home with a syringe. She had to find something to sterilise it in. She didn't think to remove the plunger from the glass so on boiling the glass cracked. Back to hospital for replacement! You also have to wrap the glass in lint so that the force of the boiling bubbles don't crack it.
 
Hi there @stillgoing! What an interesting story you have to tell! I love the photos! It's such a stark contrast to when I was diagnosed! For context, the pens and routine that you are on now was what I was put on when I was diagnosed! I'm on a pump now. It's so interesting to see and hear how people progress!

Welcome to the forum! Can't wait to hear more from you and hear about your wealth of experience!
 
As my Dad would have said ‘You don’t know you are born you youngsters!’
thank goodness for my stylish Green pen! I think I would have fainted if I had to do it that way!
@stillgoing good tech knowledge with the attachments!
 
changed to pen after ending up in hospital. Staff couldn't cope. ended up without access to insulin for 3 days! The consultant wasn't to happy with my control. I pointer out it was difficult without access to insulin. He couldn't see the problem. Eventually got access to a DSN. I changed to a pen system. The entire ward ended up on a understanding diabetes course. They apparently didn't realise that type 1s grow old and don't become type 2!. Because of my age they thought I was type 2! I sent them on a course!! I was upset at the time because the sister on the ward said I needed re-educating which is how I got access to the DSN!
 
stillgoing said:
Hello I was diagnosed as type 1 over 57 years ago. Thought I would join in. I am a bit slow with all this technology. Only gave up with my glass syringe 3 years ago! Now on pen 3 times a day with another long lasting pen so now 4 injections a day instead of 2. Progress apparently. Anyway will try and join in.
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome to the forum 🙂
I'm just starting year 56 on insulin and like you used the glass syringe. Never used the pens just used the disposable syringes before going on a pump about 13 years ago.
 
Thank you Pumper_Sue. I take you own a Nabarro award! 57 and a half years on insulin. Never fancied a pump but that is just me. Medical team happy with my pen control so leave well alone! Long time ago when I talked to a consultant about it. I asked questions he couldn't answer. He refused to see me again. Got referred to another consultant at the hospital. Gave him a good laugh when he read my notes. Don't know what was written.
 
Hello and welcome @stillgoing , glad you've joined us 🙂

I hope you're getting on well with your new pens. I can remember the pale blue storage container for my glass syringe, the smell of surgical spirit still gives me the heebie geebies!
 
When I opened the case to take the photo I got spirit over my hands. Surprised it was still in there. I used white meths. It doesn't sting so much as surgical spirit! Only allowed to have in very small quantities!. Did you have the blue cases that held the other supplies as well as the spirit case. The 'new' version of the case was black with a hinge lid rather than a snap lid.
 
It's when the surgical spirit contacts any water whatsoever, the stink pervades the whole house. I used one specific saucepan to sterilise my glass syringe - an aluminium one someone had given us as a wedding present. Because it was so thin, the water boiled away very quickly, to quite often the lint it was wrapped in burned away too and it was only when that stink reached me where I was cleaning upstairs, that I'd realise and rush downstairs again opening every window I passed on the way, then the back door and the patio window in the living room.

The not to be missed Palmer Injector Gun - my skin was too thick so instead of the needle piercing my skin when the point of the needle met me, it ricocheted and wrenched the whole syringe out of the clips and launched itself across the room - usually landing up on the floor in the little corner space behind the telly.

Slightly after that, its last public appearance would have been at the Council tip along the Stourport Road in Kidderminster ......
 
My hospital has a display cabinet of old surgical implements. They have a Palmer injector Gun but not in such good condition as mine. I hope everybody threw them away and then I will auction mine🙂.
 
Just a heads up it was industrial spirit that was used to sterilise the needles and syringes 🙂
 
Well it probably was in your house Sue, but not in mine because you couldn't buy it from Boots and it wasn't prescribed. I got a syringe and 3 needles and that was that, other than having to go into the surgery and physically request a repeat prescription for insulin and Clinitest tablets to test my pee. As I worked in Birmingham, that meant I had to go into work late 2 days one week out of 6, 2nd time to collect the scrip. Then use the next 2 lunch hours visiting Boots dispensary to get it filled.

I'd forgotten having to do that. A right PITA.
 
trophywench said:
Well it probably was in your house Sue, but not in mine because you couldn't buy it from Boots and it wasn't prescribed. I got a syringe and 3 needles and that was that, other than having to go into the surgery and physically request a repeat prescription for insulin and Clinitest tablets to test my pee. As I worked in Birmingham, that meant I had to go into work late 2 days one week out of 6, 2nd time to collect the scrip. Then use the next 2 lunch hours visiting Boots dispensary to get it filled.

I'd forgotten having to do that. A right PITA.
Click to expand...
I had the industrial spirit on prescription, from what I remember Mum changed the spirit every week. IS came in a large brown bottle with poison written on it.
 
From what I remember I started of with surgical spirit but because I wasn't very good at getting the syringe free of it was changed to industrial spirit. The name was changed to meths but because people drink meths purple dye was added. This resulted in the meth drinkers going purple! For medical use white meths was available ie no dye added but only in very small quantities. As the use of glass syringes stopped (apart from me) meths was removed from prescription.

Surgical spirit was also used on cotton wool to clean the injection site. It is also used as a skin hardener. I ended up with hard skin on my arms. I then ended up with something called rockal (not sure of spelling) which was a blue colour. It was recommended for drain cleaning. However the pharmacist was not happy as he had to buy it in 5 gallon containers and dispense 500ml. By the time I needed a repeat. (I had to dilute by 10 times) his supply was out of date. I was the only user. Talking to my GP he said that current advice was that cleaning injection site was a waste of time other than obvious dirt.

Isopropal alcohol was also used on skin cleaning swabs. Occasionally I would use these if going out. Saved a bottle and bag of cotton wool!
 
If you ask me meths was dyed purple before you were born, cos you are 8 years younger than me and I remember being told you had to use the white spirit - not the purple bottle, we don't want a purple striped door! - to clean the paint brushes when mom & dad were decorating.
 
Sorry. Didn't mean to imply I was around when the purple colour was introduced only that I managed to get hold of meths without colour. You can get hold of white meth spirit (for cleaning) but this is also denatured but not with dye. The stuff I got was not denatured! You now need a licence to own it and is tightly controlled.

It is not much use for cleaning paint brushes. White spirit is turpentine based as are many oil based paints. Hence good for cleaning paint brushes. So many products with similar names!
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top