Injection Sites

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litto-miss-loz

litto-miss-loz

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hey all,

Just wondered how u all cope with injection sites?

sometimes i find it hard to inject without it being painful.

people say to pop the needle in quikly and take it out quik but i find that worse than doin it slowly lol

i just wondered if maybe im doing it wrong?
 
I'm not too bad. :( Bit told to inject in my stomach, thighs or arms. Don't really get how I can inject into my arms without a second person helping me. So I don't bother.

I also find some parts of my stomach are more sensitive than others and it hurts when I inject there. I found that when my room was cold, injecting hurt more often than normal. When it is warmer, it isn't as bad. 🙂

Are you "pinching" on your stomach or thighs? Doing that might help a little with the pain. Also what needles are you taking? I take some 6mm ones, however my surgery accidently prescribed some 8mm ones which hurt a lot more.
 
Hi little-miss-loz,
I've been injecting for over twenty years and it can still hurt.
There are several things that u can do: change the pen needle on a regular basis, rotate your injection sights and pinch up properly.
Personally i find if i push the needle in steadily but firmly it hurts less.
If your unsure get in touch with your doctor or clinic they should be able to advise whats best for you. 🙂
 
chance of hurting

Unfortunately, there's always an element of chance in how much each injection will hurt - the differences being due to exact location of nerves in the skin. There is a higher density of nerves in some sites than others, and good techniques hurts less than poor (what's best for some eg automatic pen devices that squirt out insulin, won't be best for all), but aound 5% will hurt. I wan's sure about the percentage, until I read something by a nurse who developed diabetes needing insulin as a young adult (my situation, too) - see "You won't feel a thing" in the Reading messageboard. Of course, you won't know which ones will hurt - and they may happen at times when you don't want to draw attention to yourself by yelping or pulling a face.
 
i find that sometimes it hurts and sometimes lucky that it doesn't. The majority of the time it is fine but when it hurts it seems to really hurt. Had this problem this morning tried to inject into my tummy but it was so painful, i changed the needle, even though it was a new one first of all, and it glided in with no pain at all. I dont know for certain but the sharpness of the needle must have an impact as when i changed no pain. Thought they would be quality assured but this is the only thing i can think of. I agree with Copeod that some areas are much more sensitive than others due to the location of nerves. Got told off this morning by my other half for saying owwwwww, quite loudly, told that my kids will be getting scared of needles. I said hold on i was scared of needles before having diabetes. lol. Some people have said use an ice cube and this helps. Never trie myself though. My diabetic nurse told me that there is a change in the pH level for some insulin pens and this can have an effect on the amount of pain one will have. Hope it gets better
 
I find it painful inserting the needle about 25% of the time in my stomach, rarly in the thighs. What I find more painful is the injection itself, particularly as I take large doses of up to 60 units. Splitting into a couple of smaller doses usually helps.
 
rotate as often as you can and only use the arms, stomach and the legs as they are the best to inject into. also try making sure you inject at a angle which is straight to the desired target area and try not to inject through clothes as this can snag the needle to. i find if i inject in my legs and stomach it generally dont hurt, but i also know if i use my insulin straight from the fridge then it is really cold and can give you a sting. also if the injection isnt quite straight it can hurt to. a good pinch and slow steady pressure work best for me. hope this will help you some 🙂
 
only other suggestion not already mentioned is to make sure you are not using the wrong sized needles. might be worth a try switching to shorter, or if you use the shorter to the longer.

My sites seem to ahve changed sensitvity, before my stomach was the most comfortable, but now It's the place I least like to inject. My arms are my definate favourite
 
how do you manage to do your arms?? if i ever have to my partner has to inject when i pinch up lol
 
mikep1979 said:
how do you manage to do your arms?? if i ever have to my partner has to inject when i pinch up lol
Click to expand...

Precisely the reason why I never use my arms! I struggle to find sufficient flesh to sink a 6mm needle into, so tend to use my hips (at the top/back). It does involve a bit of twisting, but it's my lardiest area...🙂
 
lol i must say i do use the hips area to and i do have to wriggle a little to get to it, but the missus loves the show hahaha
 
sofaraway said:
i don't pinch up
Click to expand...

I don't either, I use the 6mm needles and was told it wasn't necessary. I find arms are one of the easiest places for injections, stomach usually being first choice!
I don't find I get much pain from injections, unless I get a bleeder which as someone else said always happens as the worst time. The worst I ever had, no idea what i hit but it bled for ages,was at a wedding during the toasts, made a real hash of trying to sort myself out without drawing any attention!
 
I use my stomach and thighs, sometimes it really hurts! Other times I don't feel it, I always pinch as I don't have much fat on me, and it seems to help feel more comfortable.
 
hey all

thanks for all ur advice 🙂

i use the 5mm needles. yh my nurse told me i dont nee to pinch but then it can be really sore if u pinch.

i was on a website and it said that if ur slim then u can rotate the needle to a 45 degree angle instead of the 90 degree one.

do u think this would help?
 
i find if i dont pinch then it is painful also if i use insulin straight from the fridge. i was told if i didnt pinch to use 45 degree angle but as i do pinch i always go for the straight in approach. also you may find that if you inject through clothes it can cause problems.
 
i found my love handles the best! it rarely hurt there and you dont have to see the needle marks left afterwards. its tricky at first i've had to use a wall to push the button at the end of the needle as my hand couldnt reach! was very funny. i used the past tense above as im on a pump now have have to use my tummy again for the cannulas
 
i hope to be getting switched to a pump soon so i wont have to mess with the site rotation anymore lol. i use my hips and also the tops of my legs most as my stomach is gettin a little tender and i dont inject there very often now.
 
I find it hurts less when I don't watch myslef putting the needle in, I just pinch get ready to inject then look away while it goes in - if that makes sense. Maybe the pain was just psychological with me but thats what works for me :D
 
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