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Injecting in public

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

ms6282

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I've been on insulin for a few weeks and have been told to inject before breakfast and before my evening meal. Due to my work, I stay away several weeks every year and I enjoy travelling and eating out. This means that I'll need to inject while I'm eating out from time to time. I was wondering what other users do under these circumstances. Do you inject brazenly at the table or sneak out to the toilet?

A couple of days ago I had my first experience of having to inject while I was out and about. I had to eat during the evening while I was on the train. I didn't seek out a hiding place but tried to do it discretely in situ. I don't think anyone noticed 😱

I'd welcome some advice on this.

Mike
 
Discreetly in situ every time .... NEVER a loo - very unhygienic places loos, you may have washed your hands but what about the previous million people? Yukkk !
 
Hi Mike.

You've done exactly what you should do. Be discreet, but not secretive. If challenged, see it as an opportunity to educate. There have been members who've been abused for injecting in pubs or restaurants but this is the exception. I've never had a word said and I've injected in plenty of strange places. Just be aware that some people are needle phobic and respect their right to not have it shoved in their face. 🙂

Rob
 
Hi Mike, if you search the forum for injecting you will find this topic crops up quite a lot.

If you can do it discretely in a restaurant then go for it, some might object to you exposing you bare stomach (or do you inject through the shirt?).

Unless it's time critical and you feel embarrassed you could possibly inject in your car (is this insulin or Byetta?).
 
I just get on with it usually. Although, I must admit that when I was on a VERY busy train the other day I did wait a couple of stations for people to get off, which happily a lot of them did - it would have felt too much like a spectator sport otherwise. If the train had remained busy I would have proceeded, possibly (or possibly not) informing the person next to me what I was going to do. No qualms about doing it in a restaurant or a park bench etc. 🙂
 
I agree with Trophywench on this, as discreetly as is possible. Believe it or not, I tried to avoid eating out because of this problem with injecting, but going to a meet recently with some nice people from this forum, gave me loads of confidence to inject in front of others 🙂

Moral of this story......

Make a point of going to a Forum meet :D When you attend one, you will be keen to attend another.

John
 
Went fishing the other week and there was a couple of traffic cops sat there,i was a bit nervous ut i just went ahead and injected,was'nt a problem.
 
Vic, with insulin it's best to wait for your meal to arrive in a restaurant - the number of times I've pictured a nice pile of spuds and injected for them - only to be presented with 2 or 3 Jersey mids. Gorgeous BUT !

Or we ask how long, they say 10 minutes, but it's nearer 40 - so I've had to drink full fat Coke (and I don't partic even like it) to cure the hypo by then.
 
I use the pump now so a lot easier, but with injections if I needed to inject I did, if somebody took offence then it was their problem not mine..

But it be a very rare occasion any protest is made, the only time I had any protest concerning injecting before I ate was from an unexpected person, friend with an insulin dependant T2 husband...

My attitude is, I'm not a druggie I'm doing nothing ilegal so tough...
 
trophywench said:
Vic, with insulin it's best to wait for your meal to arrive in a restaurant - the number of times I've pictured a nice pile of spuds and injected for them - only to be presented with 2 or 3 Jersey mids. Gorgeous BUT !

Or we ask how long, they say 10 minutes, but it's nearer 40 - so I've had to drink full fat Coke (and I don't partic even like it) to cure the hypo by then.
Click to expand...

Only if it is a bolus injection, Mike didn't say, he could be on a twice a day basal injection in which case it doesn't really matter - he is T2 don't forget!
 
Vicsetter said:
Only if it is a bolus injection, Mike didn't say, he could be on a twice a day basal injection in which case it doesn't really matter - he is T2 don't forget!
Click to expand...

Yes, Mike says in his introductory post that he is on two injections a day, which probably means that timing is pretty important - I can happily delay my bolus injection, or even miss it out altogether if I don't eat.
 
Northerner said:
Yes, Mike says in his introductory post that he is on two injections a day, which probably means that timing is pretty important - I can happily delay my bolus injection, or even miss it out altogether if I don't eat.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily true, Alan, if it were bolus then I would expect breakfast, lunch and evening meal. However if it is split dose Levemir or Lantus it would be quite common for a GP to associate injecting at breakfast and evening meal to get the timing. I guess we will have to wait for Mike to reply.
 
Hi Peeps ...

This is a subject that sparks a passion in me, being mam to Nathan. Yes, it is down to personal choice and what suits them. But Nathan has been reassured ... to get on with it ... despite what others perception of it is ... He is totally confident at injecting where ever and when ever he has to.

Yes, over the last 4 and a half years we have come across negativity in certain situations, and have been asked to use toilets etc ... to which my reply .. couldnt possibly be repeated .. 😱 .. and another time when eating out .. a diner on another table turned round and said "MY God, thats disgusting, filthy and sould not be done in public" ... But as a mam .. the lioness came out in me then ...

Something I have noticed though over the years is ... the majority of people dont notice, as they are concentrating on what they are doing etc .

Heidi
xx🙂
 
sasha1 said:
Hi Peeps ...

This is a subject that sparks a passion in me, being mam to Nathan. Yes, it is down to personal choice and what suits them. But Nathan has been reassured ... to get on with it ... despite what others perception of it is ... He is totally confident at injecting where ever and when ever he has to.

Yes, over the last 4 and a half years we have come across negativity in certain situations, and have been asked to use toilets etc ... to which my reply .. couldnt possibly be repeated .. 😱 .. and another time when eating out .. a diner on another table turned round and said "MY God, thats disgusting, filthy and sould not be done in public" ... But as a mam .. the lioness came out in me then ...

Something I have noticed though over the years is ... the majority of people dont notice, as they are concentrating on what they are doing etc .

Heidi
xx🙂
Click to expand...

Anecdotes like yours make me want to go out and inject in the most public place possible just to dare people to say something ! :D

At college I used to inject in the toilets because I was embarrassed. I had to use a disposable syringe and 2 vials and it was a right palaver but I wasn't terribly confident.

Public exposure to the realities is way better now. It's been on the TV and in the media, so no-one really has an excuse for not knowing what's being done. Strange how smoking was tolerated for so long (and still is largely) but an unpleasant means of keeping ourselves alive is frowned upon sometimes.

Rob
 
Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I've been prescribed Novomix and told to inject before breakfast and evening meal.

I'm reassured that injecting discretely shouldn't be a problem in most cases. That's what I did on the train on Tuesday. Nobody seemed to notice (although the train wasn't crowded and I was sitting at a table with my wife.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on this

Mike
 
I try to inject when I am on my own. I've had a number of bad experiences where people have shouted at me even though I was injecting discreetly. As if having diabetes isn't hard enough! The person who shocked me the most was my partners step-grandmother (who's sister is type 1), she told me it was dirty and that I had to use the family bathroom or go outside to inject. Another time I was in a restaurant with friends who brought along another friend who continued to tell me all night how sorry she was and how terrible my life is! Thanks a bunch! I know!
 
Tumble said:
I try to inject when I am on my own. I've had a number of bad experiences where people have shouted at me even though I was injecting discreetly. As if having diabetes isn't hard enough! The person who shocked me the most was my partners step-grandmother (who's sister is type 1), she told me it was dirty and that I had to use the family bathroom or go outside to inject. Another time I was in a restaurant with friends who brought along another friend who continued to tell me all night how sorry she was and how terrible my life is! Thanks a bunch! I know!
Click to expand...

That's terrible 😱 Injecting insulin is NOT dirty or anything even approaching it - quite the opposite! People should not associate the delivery of a life-giving substance with (presumably) the often sordid world of recreational drug-taking. If they do, it demonstrates their ignorance and lack of compassion. What on earth is 'dirty' about using a pen with a tiny needle that you can hardly see to prick the surface of the skin? I am appalled every time I hear that someone has been subjected to such crass, imbecilic comments! 😡
 
Tumble, old bat deserves a smack - send her round here! - and before you castigate me for saying that, it's because I too am a step-grandma (in fact now a step-great-grandma) so therefore feel I am an authority on the subject!

I object most strongly to her attitude as she is giving the step-garndmas of the land a bad name, so needs sorting out ...... 😎
 
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