Occasional pain when injecting

[OldBuzzard]

Hello Folks,

I know that this makes me sound a bit like a ***** but just occasionally when I inject, I seem to manage to find an exceptionally painful spot. Damn - I'm only using a teeny weeny 4mm needles so what's all the fuss!
But once in a while it stings like anything and I can't wait to remove the needle after the stipulated 5-10 seconds.
I believe that I've managed to find a nerve and I'm man enough to tough it out but that doesn't make it any nicer, thank you.

So is there a way to avoid pricking nerves?
Or to avoid places where there are more nerves than in others?
Or am I entirely wrong in my presumption about nerves?

 

[Inka]

That happens to me occasionally when I inject @OldBuzzard There are places that seem to lead right to a nerve and the pain makes my eyes water! What I do is put the needle into my leg and if I feel that nerve pain, I immediately remove it without injecting and move it a centimetre or two away from the nerve (or whatever it is) and then inject.

 

[helli]

There are tricks that some people use to temporarily numb the area they are going to inject into like rubbing it with an ice cube.
If the problem is nerves, it is really a case of trial and error to see what works for you and where/when you can ignore the pain.
Have I mentioned that we are all different? 😎

However, if the pain lasts longer, there is a possibility that it could be the insulin. Some people find some insulin types sting when they inject. If this is the case, there are alternative types of insulin that you could try.

 

[rebrascora]

You will definitely find that some areas are more sensitive than others and it is a temptation to always go for the less sensitive areas but obviously that isn't a good idea either. Sometimes you can tell just by touching the skin with the tip of the needle and if you move it half an inch you might find a better spot. I find that counting to 10 and relaxing means that the discomfort starts to melt away by the time I get to 10 and from that I learn that it is bearable and I just need to wait and breath and the pain will subside. Of course I am going to remove the needle once I get to 10 anyway, but just knowing that I can withstand this pain and it eases by 10 stops me from getting uptight about it and prevents me from finding injecting difficult. It is really weird because some spots the needle just goes in without feeling it at all. And occasionally the needle goes in without any pain but the insulin stings when you press the button.
Stretching the skin can also help either by pinching or tensioning the skin by pushing it apart with your fingers. That way, the tip of the needle breaks the surface with less resistance. I think as we get older this can be more of an issue especially if you have a bit of cellulite, so definitely try stretching/tensioning the skin before you inject and see if that helps a bit.

 

[OldBuzzard]

That happens to me occasionally when I inject @OldBuzzard There are places that seem to lead right to a nerve and the pain makes my eyes water! What I do is put the needle into my leg and if I feel that nerve pain, I immediately remove it without injecting and move it a centimetre or two away from the nerve (or whatever it is) and then inject.

Yep - right with you! Insert - nope - remove - reposition - if ok then try again!
But where are those places? Are any parts of our injection areas extra loaded with nerves or even devoid of nerves?
Or is it just a case of prick it and see?

 

[helli]

Stretching the skin can also help either by pinching or tensioning the skin by pushing it apart with your fingers.

The other option for those of us who are slimmer is to pinch UP the skin and inject into the pinched part.
I have never tried (nor needed) the stretching option you suggest.
But pinching may help with pain.

@OldBuzzard in the olden days we discussed earlier when we had longer needles, we were taught to pinch and area of skin to pull it away from the body (I think of it like "pinch an inch") and inject into this pinch. This was especially useful for slimmer people to avoid the needle going in too deep. As the needles have shrunk, the advice to pinch has gone but some of us are still stuck in the "pinch ages", especially if we are on the slim side.

 

[rebrascora]

Yep - right with you! Insert - nope - remove - reposition - if ok then try again!
But where are those places? Are any parts of our injection areas extra loaded with nerves or even devoid of nerves?
Or is it just a case of prick it and see?

I find the area just above my pubic hairline is always painless. Another area is the underside of my buttocks just along and above the crease line at the top of the legs.... oh and the 3-4 inches at the tops of my legs at the front. I am very disciplined though and only use these areas when their turn comes around. If you reuse them too frequently you risk getting lipohypertrophy which is lumpy sites that don't absorb the insulin very well.

 

[OldBuzzard]

Thank you helli and rebrascora
There's some excellent ideas and advise in your comments - thank you.
Your latest comment Helli, about pinching the skin is what I was told to do, so it's still a current recommendation - although I'm not exactly slim! You still find those damn nerves though!

I also agree entirely with the "count to 10" system - if you can put up with the pain for that long then you can do so for the whole 20 seconds (if that)! And it usually isn't true pain - it's just a bit of discomfort...except just once in a while.

Not sure if I can stretch my skin far - it's too old to do much more than a little bit of movement, but I might try. Anyway, I don't encourage my skin to get all energetic on me - I like a peaceful life!

 

[OldBuzzard]

I find the area just above my pubic hairline is always painless.

That's way out of the area that I was told to use - almost on another person!
I was given a zone that's no more than from just above (but not including) my navel down to my underpants line - that fades to nothing by the time you reach the hips.
Add, at the back, top only of thighs; back of arms and what they describe as buttocks but in reality is a continuation of the mid-line area only and that's about it.

 

[Inka]

Yep - right with you! Insert - nope - remove - reposition - if ok then try again!
But where are those places? Are any parts of our injection areas extra loaded with nerves or even devoid of nerves?
Or is it just a case of prick it and see?

Prick and see, I find!

 

[rebrascora]

As I understand it you can inject anywhere that has a decent covering of fat and no significant surface blood vessels. For some people who are very slim those limited areas that you have described might be the only ones where you can be sure you have enough fat but for myself (and I am carrying a few lbs too many but not seriously overweight) there are many more extensive areas that I can use. The more area you have to spread your injections over the less likely you are to cause damage, so limiting you to a relatively small area, unless you are very slim, is not beneficial. I was just told to inject in my abdomen but not within a couple of inches of my navel. Then the members of this forum encouraged me to try other sites and I just experimented from there. I could probably inject into my calves too even though I have pretty muscular legs as I can still pinch enough to allow for the needle depth no problem.
I found that the rules/guidance I was given my health care professionals in lots of respects, not just injection sites, was quite restrictive and experimenting to see what actually worked for me was the way to improve my diabetes management and my health. It is important to be aware of the risks, like hitting muscle or significant blood vessels or bone (yikes!) but really it just needs to go into subcutaneous fat and many of us have a large area of our bodies covered with enough of that to use 4mm needles there. I do wonder if some of these diagrams were developed when needles were much longer and then habit of nurses advising these small sites just carried on, despite needles getting shorter.

 

[Lucyr]

just occasionally when I inject, I seem to manage to find an exceptionally painful spot

Change spot and inject somewhere else. If it’s painful you should feel the pain before you actually press the plunger.

 

[Lucyr]

I also agree entirely with the "count to 10" system - if you can put up with the pain for that long then you can do so for the whole 20 seconds

What do you mean by the whole 20 seconds? You don’t need to leave the needle in for 20 seconds.

 

[OldBuzzard]

What do you mean by the whole 20 seconds? You don’t need to leave the needle in for 20 seconds.

No - I don't mean that! I'm implying or indicating that it takes around 20 seconds for the whole procedure.
Firstly there's injecting and making sure the needle is seated comfortably. Then the injection itself and then - in accordance with my mentors and book - I should hold the needle in place for a further 10 seconds to ensure that all the insulin is drained out. So overall, perhaps 20 seconds - probably less.

 

[Lucyr]

No - I don't mean that! I'm implying or indicating that it takes around 20 seconds for the whole procedure.
Firstly there's injecting and making sure the needle is seated comfortably. Then the injection itself and then - in accordance with my mentors and book - I should hold the needle in place for a further 10 seconds to ensure that all the insulin is drained out. So overall, perhaps 20 seconds - probably less.

I’d really struggle to make an injection last 20 seconds. “Getting the needle in and pressing the plunger” is more like a 1 seconds job than 10

 

[OldBuzzard]

Change spot and inject somewhere else. If it’s painful you should feel the pain before you actually press the plunger.

Pretty obvious. So - having felt the pain then extract and move. But we're supposed to stick to a fairly rigid system whereby we inject in different places on a rota so moving isn't a total option. And also, there is a viewpoint by which you grin and bear it - after all, the next place you choose might turn out to be worse. So what's the good of shifting?

My overall enquiry was to see if it was possible to know of areas that are less densly populated with nerves - do they even exist. As I also implied, the pain is one of those things...and yet no-one wants to suffer it if possible.
Furthermore, once you've stabbed the needle into a nerve then that's it - no relief.

 

[OldBuzzard]

I’d really struggle to make an injection last 20 seconds. “Getting the needle in and pressing the plunger” is more like a 1 seconds job than 10

Granted. One second to empty the dose. But if you are to adhere to the book (which newbys like me tend to do) then we're supposed to hold the needle in place for a minimum of 10 seconds. Personally, I'm far from perfect when it comes to timing myself and usually overdo it for safety. So possibly 20 seconds all in, is not out.

 

[helli]

I’d really struggle to make an injection last 20 seconds. “Getting the needle in and pressing the plunger” is more like a 1 seconds job than 10

Don't you hold the needle in place to the (very fast) count of 10 before pulling it out?
This is what I was taught (although probably not told to count very fast, that is my own "tweak") and I have always done.
If I take the needle out as soon the plunger goes down and when it appears to have completed the "squirt", I get a bigger "drip" of insulin off the needle.

 

[OldBuzzard]

Don't you hold the needle in place to the (very fast) count of 10 before pulling it out?
This is what I was taught (although probably not told to count very fast, that is my own "tweak") and I have always done.
If I take the needle out as soon the plunger goes down and when it appears to have completed the "squirt", I get a bigger "drip" of insulin off the needle.

In hospital, when I was being drained of sugar, I was actually taught to depress the plunger slowly too, as well as counting to 10 afterwards. I ignored that after I'd read up on the subject!

 

[helli]

In hospital, when I was being drained of sugar, I was actually taught to depress the plunger slowly too, as well as counting to 10 afterwards. I ignored that after I'd read up on the subject!

It depends upon the pens. Some allow a slow depression whereas others release the insulin in one "whoosh".
I have two different pens and they behave differently. Given one (probably the first one I started using 20 years ago) only allows for the single "whoosh" I had never even thought about doing it slowly.