Insulin injections.

[VicMar]

Well, it appears I've been doing my insulin injections wrong for the past 64 years.

When I filled in my repeat prescription request for needles to fit my Novopens, the only option was needles 4mm long. I was given needles 8mm long when I asked last time and previous to that I always had 12mm needles.

Now, everything I read tells me that insulin is a subcutaneous injection - NOT an intramuscular one.

Next time I go to see my consultant at the Hospital Clinic, I'm to ask him for something in writing if he agrees that 4mm needles are too short.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem getting the needles they want?

Vic

 

[Kaylz]

I was started on 4mm needles and still use them, they are perfect for me and couldn't imagine using anything longer personally xx

 

[Robin]

Well, it appears I've been doing my insulin injections wrong for the past 64 years.

When I filled in my repeat prescription request for needles to fit my Novopens, the only option was needles 4mm long. I was given needles 8mm long when I asked last time and previous to that I always had 12mm needles.

Now, everything I read tells me that insulin is a subcutaneous injection - NOT an intramuscular one.

Next time I go to see my consultant at the Hospital Clinic, I'm to ask him for something in writing if he agrees that 4mm needles are too short.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem getting the needles they want?

Vic

I don’t think the insulins I’ve been using of the last 12 years were ever meant to be intramuscular. The instructions told you to pinch a wedge of flab between the fingers to make sure the longer needles didn’t penetrate the muscle. I was started on 8mm, and had a lot of bruising. After reading up on it (mainly in this forum) I decided shorter needles were the way to go, and asked for 4mm. I find them much more comfortable, but I don’t think my nurse would ever have thought to offer them to me.

 

[CosmicHedgehog]

Shorter ones didn't exist years ago anyway! I had 0.8mm syringes.. then when i got my first re fillable insulin pen i got the 0.8mm bd needles... every so often when i have to order them the try and tell me they are too long... i tell them i'm old school and prefer 0.8mm unless you are actually hitting muscle with them i don't see the problem. Hitting the muscle makes the insulin absorb faster. i always used to pinch and inject anyway... like i was taught eons ago lol. if you like the 0.8mm no body can tell you to change.. it's peosonal preference 🙂

 

[Sally71]

I think over the years insulins and also knowledge about diabetes has improved, so things do change. What you were told all those years ago was probably correct at the time, but maybe not so much now. We were started on 6mm needles in 2012 which were eventually changed to 4mm, yes they do seem tiny but they do the job! (Actually as we are pumping we don't often use pens, but as long as we've got some sort of needles to use if we need them, and yes they do work on the rare occasion that we do, then I'm not going to argue about the length.)

Have you tried the 4mm needles, is there any reason why you don't like them? At the end of the day though you are entitled to ask for the needles you want if you prefer them.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I started on 12mm too back in the day - but was always told that insulin was subcutanous and instructed to pinch up the site to use the longer needles. I graduated to 8mm for several years, and moved to a pump before I went any shorter.

Most people's skin thickness is very similar regardless of build, so 4-6mm should be perfect.

Intramuscular injections have a very different absorption profile, and are significantly affected if you use the muscle groups in question which can cause problems with hypos and make it trickier to predict what a dose will do. (not that it's very easy at the best of times!!)

Insulin packaging and Patient Information Leaflets almost certainly specify s/c (subcutanous)

 

[KARNAK]

I use BD Viva 5mm needles, a bit of bruising occasionally but no big deal. I believe @mikeyB uses 8mm needles only to go through his clothes when injecting.

 

[mikeyB]

I was going to comment to that effect Karnak

I wouldn’t recommend injecting through clothing with cheap and nasty needles. I use MyLife Clickfine needles, which I used to get on prescription in Scotland. I’m not even going to bother arguing with the practice here that a box of a hundred lasts more than a year because they are ultra sharp. I only change needles when I start a new pen. I’ll just buy my next box from Amazon, for around £15. That’ll last me another year.

No, I’ve never had a problem doing that, but it drives DSNs spare. But if you can use lancets for months, you can do the same with decent needles.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. 4mm now seems to be the standard for most people and in particular those recently diagnosed. It does the job for most skin types and thicknesses