Occasional pain when injecting

[Lucyr]

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.

You’re making up too many rules here. There is no rigid system. Just vary your injection sites. Moving site is an option.

 

[Lucyr]

Don't you hold the needle in place to the (very fast) count of 10 before pulling it out?

Yes, I count to 10. That’s nowhere near 20 seconds. @OldBuzzard said the time you near to bear an uncomfortable site is 10 seconds to insert the pen and 10 seconds counting, which is at least double the realistic time to do an injection. I’d just move sites and not wait 20 seconds.

 

[OldBuzzard]

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.

Ah, but I was inducted on one kind of pen and needle only - the Lilly Humulin pen and BD Viva 4mm needle so I only thought of the one method of emptying it. (Oh, also a 5mm needle but that was soon changed) Hadn't really considered slow release except when in hospital. Joking aside - hospital releases are always slow, methinks!

 

[OldBuzzard]

You’re making up too many rules here. There is no rigid system. Just vary your injection sites. Moving site is an option.

Perhaps you'd care to replace my nurses then?

 

[OldBuzzard]

Yes, I count to 10. That’s nowhere near 20 seconds. @OldBuzzard said the time you near to bear an uncomfortable site is 10 seconds to insert the pen and 10 seconds counting, which is at least double the realistic time to do an injection. I’d just move sites and not wait 20 seconds.

My definition wherein I said 10 seconds to insert the pen is merely a description of the dithering that sometimes goes with sticking a needle into your body. There's a certain "Do I really want to do this?" with each insertion that floods through your brain, so I was just offering a 10 second space in which to opt in, choose and then finally stick it in.
Prsumably with you, the decision is instantaneous with no consideration; no delay in injecting and no waiting afterwards. Life for you is very cut and dried, it sounds.

 

[Lucyr]

There's a certain "Do I really want to do this?" with each insertion that floods through your brain, so I was just offering a 10 second space in which to opt in, choose and then finally stick it in.

If you don’t want to inject insulin you’ll need to speak to your diabetes nurse about other treatment options.

 

[OldBuzzard]

If you don’t want to inject insulin you’ll need to speak to your diabetes nurse about other treatment options.

Is there not a certain feeling of wishing that you didn't have to do that, when it comes to injecting?
It's a natural feeing to prefer to do something else - something less invasive perhaps - but since I know that I'm stuck in my disguise as a diabetic, I'd better go along with it.
I have no desire to seek other options and since the diabetic care team here pretty well rescued me, I'm happy enough to follow their lead. That still says that I don't especially want to be doing it!

 

[Lisa65]

Is there not a certain feeling of wishing that you didn't have to do that, when it comes to injecting?
It's a natural feeing to prefer to do something else - something less invasive perhaps - but since I know that I'm stuck in my disguise as a diabetic, I'd better go along with it.
I have no desire to seek other options and since the diabetic care team here pretty well rescued me, I'm happy enough to follow their lead. That still says that I don't especially want to be doing it!

I think after a while we just get used to it. I actually asked for insulin because metformin alone wasn't enough for me after 15 years, and I didn't want any of the oral alternatives.
For me it's been fantastic apart from a few small initial hiccups.
A slightly painful prick on occasion is a small price to pay 🙂

 

[OldBuzzard]

Lisa65,​

Well said! ​

I couldn't agree more - there's no special pleasure in stabbing yourself repeatedly but then again, apart from an occasional nasty nerve-hitting prick, it's not a bad way to go. But as you say - you get used to it and although I'm picking fault with the system, even I'm getting accustomed to doing it, like it or not......​

However, I'm already taking 21 assorted pills a day, so it would have been far simpler overall, if I'd been put on diabetic pills rather than on injections. Such is life!
..

 

[rebrascora]

I don't think (and hope) that @Lucyr will mind me mentioning that she is autistic so has a very factual approach to things and therefore responds in very logical, clear cut fashion.

Yes, if injecting is the treatment you have been prescribed, as with any medication taken at home you are at liberty to take it or not take it, but obviously we don't encourage not taking it without discussion with your health care professionals.

As @helli said, many of us have pens which don't allow slow injection, it is simply a question of dialing up the dose inserting the needle into the chosen site and pressing the button and it delivers the whole dose immediately with that action. I often count more than 10 after injecting, particularly if it is a larger dose to give it longer to dissipate and I generally find that after 10 seconds the pain starts to ease anyway, so holding it longer is not more of an ordeal.

I am sure we would all like to manage without injecting insulin but the fact of the matter is that many of us would become ill and die without it. If you are genuinely a Type 2 then you may not be so reliant on insulin as those of us with Type 1 especially if you are newly diagnosed but it is also possible that you are a misdiagnosed Type 1 or some other damage has been caused to your insulin production making it a necessity. Sometimes Type 2s are started off on insulin to get their levels down if they are very high and can then manage on oral meds and diet particularly if they are able to lose weight/burn off visceral fat. Obviously this needs to be done in conjunction with supervision from HCPs. In the mean time I hope you are able to explore a few more options for injection sites and finding more numb spots.

 

[Lucyr]

Is there not a certain feeling of wishing that you didn't have to do that, when it comes to injecting?

No, I need to inject so I just inject. None of the tablets work for T1, only insulin does, so there would be no point stopping to debate whether I take each injection

 

[OldBuzzard]

Hiya rebrascora

Many, many thanks for telling me about Lucyr - I was totally unaware. And sadly this site offers no more identifying features of the members than their name, locality, affliction and sex.

So far as I was concerned, that person was merely a rather unpleasantly bitchy young lady whereas the truth is almost certainly far from that.

So to you Lucyr I offer my unreserved apologies for some of the replies that I've made to your comments. Had I known of your own dllemma I'd have treated you much more as a young lady should be treated - with respect and love.

 

[Lucyr]

Hiya rebrascora

Many, many thanks for telling me about Lucyr - I was totally unaware. And sadly this site offers no more identifying features of the members than their name, locality, affliction and sex.

So far as I was concerned, that person was merely a rather unpleasantly bitchy young lady whereas the truth is almost certainly far from that.

So to you Lucyr I offer my unreserved apologies for some of the replies that I've made to your comments. Had I known of your own dllemma I'd have treated you much more as a young lady should be treated - with respect and love.

Thanks, but it makes no sense to assume that someone is “being bitchy” when everything I’ve said has been completely factual. If I’ve said anything that is factually incorrect I will edit it to the correct information.

 

[OldBuzzard]

No, I need to inject so I just inject. None of the tablets work for T1, only insulin does, so there would be no point stopping to debate whether I take each injection

Ahh - perhaps that's what makes the difference. Your diabetes was more or less forced upon you whereas mine is self-inflicted.

Thanks, but it makes no sense to assume that someone is “being bitchy” when everything I’ve said has been completely factual. If I’ve said anything that is factually incorrect I will edit it to the correct information.

No, you've been factually correct, it's just been the way it's been presented at times that has caused me to perhaps feel offended. I'm afraid that I've met far too many people in my 80 years who have indeed been totally bitchy, just for the sake of being bitchy. And so you too might well have fallen out of that kind of category for all I could tell from my early sightings.

However, it would appear that I'm wrong so assuming that neither of us snipe or snap at the other from now on, then I'm happy to behave normally anyway.
Over to you then!

 

[rebrascora]

@OldBuzzard Of course it is just possible that some of those apparently bitchy people you have come across were also autistic. It can easily come across as confrontational rather than just factual and nobody really knows what invisible conditions other people have which affect how they interact with people. I really didn't know or give much thought to any of this before I joined this forum.... you can learn so much more than advanced diabetes here!!

 

[Lucyr]

Ahh - perhaps that's what makes the difference. Your diabetes was more or less forced upon you whereas mine is self-inflicted

Nope, our diabetes is probably similar, I was misdiagnosed T2 for 15 years and nothing worked except insulin.

If something other than insulin has worked for you, then you have every right to go back and say you want to change treatment to that.

If nothing else works except insulin for you, then there’s no benefit in giving it a second thought. You need what you need, just get the jabs done, moving site if it’s painful

 

[Natalie123]

I'll admit that I still dither over inserting a cannula and when I was injecting, 20 seconds was if I was feeling particularly brave! I have needle phobia. When I was first diagnosed my Dad did my injections for me. I then moved from 2 injections a day to 4 so I had to learn to do them myself, it took me over half an hour the first time! I got better but never found it easy, I always inserted the needle slowly, removed it if I hit a nerve and tried again and I always gave the dose slowly to reduce stinging and because I was so sweaty I couldn't hold the pen and press the plunger! (plus I've always needed large doses). I was so relieved when I was allowed a pump and only had to deal with a needle every 2 days! It does get easier but not all of us get to a point where we can do it quickly and that's ok.

My advice would be to move sites before injecting the dose if you hit a nerve. Sometimes you only need to move a couple of mm so it wouldn't affect site rotation unless you're really precise. You will get more familiar with where to avoid but sometimes you just hit a bad patch when your not expecting it! The only other thing that I've noticed is that I am much more sensitive and likely to hit a nerve when I'm hot, particularly when I get out of the bath or shower so I allow myself to cool down first! I have no idea why but it might be worth considering.

 

[OldBuzzard]

Hello [B]Natalie123[/B]
Good to hear from you too.
And you along with several others, [B]rebrascora[/B] and the likes of [B]helli[/B] in particular, seem to have hit the nail (if not the nerve) on the head - move, but move only a very small distance.
I can well imagine that you'd be more sensative when hot because the nerves would be naturally more sensative then - think how unfeeling your hand or feet get in icy weather. So good advise anyway, even though, in this warming climate, within a few years we'll be unlikely ever to see winter again!

 

[OldBuzzard]

@OldBuzzard Of course it is just possible that some of those apparently bitchy people you have come across were also autistic. It can easily come across as confrontational rather than just factual and nobody really knows what invisible conditions other people have which affect how they interact with people. I really didn't know or give much thought to any of this before I joined this forum.... you can learn so much more than advanced diabetes here!!

Hiya Rebrascora,
The trouble with this site is that we can find out so little about the members. In the Macmillan cancer site, for example, (where I'm also an active member) you can click on the user name and read their entire life history (should they wish to make it public, of course) which can obviously allow one to learn a lot of pertinent info as well as personal background.

As for learning about other things apart from diabetes - that's always a hope - that would be so much easier to learn given what I've just said above.
Also truthfully, I guess I didn't give it much thought either, but once bitten (or many times bitten actually) one tends to bite back first and ask questions later.

 

[rebrascora]

I do understand and it was why I felt obliged to step in and say something because I could see you were getting frustrated and I can entirely understand that. Lucy used to have a comment in her signature about her autism and that she did not mean to be rude but then someone accused her of using her condition as an excuse, so she removed the information. Sometimes you just can't win but personally I felt it was helpful to be able to see that information as otherwise people can easily be affronted or upset by her manner when it really isn't intended.