Pinching skin for Lantus?

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Dragon queen

Dragon queen

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Does anyone pinch skin to inject Lantus?? I’ve been slowly building back muscle tone in my leg after stroke. So injecting is now very painful as not as much fat there. I was told it’s now not practice to pinch I’m new to insulin 9 wks using.
 
Dragon queen said:
Does anyone pinch skin to inject Lantus?? I’ve been slowly building back muscle tone in my leg after stroke. So injecting is now very painful as not as much fat there. I was told it’s now not practice to pinch I’m new to insulin 9 wks using.
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No need to pinch unless you have particularly long needles. But if you prefer to pinch you can
 
Dragon queen said:
Does anyone pinch skin to inject Lantus?? I’ve been slowly building back muscle tone in my leg after stroke. So injecting is now very painful as not as much fat there. I was told it’s now not practice to pinch I’m new to insulin 9 wks using.
Click to expand...
It depends what length needles you are using. When I first started on Lantus, I had 8mm needles, which was the norm then, and I was told to pinch. I now have 4mm ones, and there is no need to pinch with that length, but sometimes I do if I'm injecting into a not very fatty bit.
 
I've only used 6mm and now 4mm needles. I frequently pinch, it's sort of instinctive to do that.
 
Robin said:
It depends what length needles you are using. When I first started on Lantus, I had 8mm needles, which was the norm then, and I was told to pinch. I now have 4mm ones, and there is no need to pinch with that length, but sometimes I do if I'm injecting into a not very fatty bit.
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Hi

I’m using 4mm which was fine at first , but now legs toned it’s burning like a bee sting. My rapid in tummy is fine. Will try to pinch tonight and hopefully won’t make my eyes water.
 
Robin said:
It depends what length needles you are using. When I first started on Lantus, I had 8mm needles, which was the norm then, and I was told to pinch. I now have 4mm ones, and there is no need to pinch with that length, but sometimes I do if I'm injecting into a not very fatty bit.
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Thank you will try to pinch tonight, it’s so painful I dread doing it. My rapid in tummy is fine, using same technique as fatty there.
 
I too always pinch when I inject as I am slim.
I use 4mm needles but still bruise if I do not pinch.
But I do not get a sting from injecting. That suggests more of a allergic reaction. This can happen even if you have been using insulin for a while. Maybe it is worth talking to your DSN to try a different long acting insulin.
 
helli said:
I too always pinch when I inject as I am slim.
I use 4mm needles but still bruise if I do not pinch.
But I do not get a sting from injecting. That suggests more of a allergic reaction. This can happen even if you have been using insulin for a while. Maybe it is worth talking to your DSN to try a different long acting insulin.
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Or just possibly a different needle. When my normal needles were temporarily unavailable, I was given an alternative and every one from that box felt a bit different from my originals. I read the patient information leaflets of both and became particularly aware that each was claiming their needle coating was "the best (or some such thing)" and these claims made me wonder if I was detecting the difference in needle lubricants.

I was also reflecting on why I routinely pinch and I think that started after I was first diagnosed and like an in use pin cushion with the various drains etc post-op. 17 tubes at one point. The nurse who first introduced me to self- injecting used to gently pinch and I carried on copying that.
 
helli said:
But I do not get a sting from injecting. That suggests more of an allergic reaction.
Click to expand...
Lantus does sting, because of the greater acidity. I used to find it stung some times more than others, (it can be eye-watering), and I never worked out why. Eventually I switched to Levemir, which is so much less uncomfortable to inject.
 
Robin said:
Lantus does sting, because of the greater acidity. I used to find it stung some times more than others, (it can be eye-watering), and I never worked out why. Eventually I switched to Levemir, which is so much less uncomfortable to inject.
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I guess what concerned me was that it stings now which suggests it did previously.
I took Lantus until I started pumping and never experienced stinging. That's not because I am immune - Fiasp can sting at times.
 
I use Levemir and Fiasp and sometimes they both sting but not always with either of them. The stinging is generally caused by the insulin not the needle. If it is painful to push the needle in, then that is either the site being sensitive or it is the needle. If you touch the tip of the needle to the site before pushing through, you can usually tell if it is particularly sensitive spot and moving just half an inch and trying again can often locate a less sensitive bit of skin.

Pinching up can help to stretch the skin which means that the needle is likely to push through the surface more easily than if the skin is loose.... a particular factor as you get older. I tend to stretch the skin by putting my thumb and forefinger on the site and pushing them apart to stretch it, but I have enough subcutaneous fat not to worry about needle depth and pinching up.

I find the tops of my thighs much less painful than mid thigh for inserting the needle, but we are all different, so you have to find what is best for you. Similarly there are areas on my tummy and buttocks which are more sensitive than others. It is tempting to over use these areas but important not to, so sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and accept that some injection sites are painful. It is only for a few seconds and even when the insulin stings going in, it is usually subsiding by the time I remove the needle 10 seconds later, so I just breath and count knowing that it will soon be over. I also bleed occasionally and get a bruise. It is just luck of the draw hitting a small capillary blood vessel.

All of it is still a much better alternative than what people previously had to endure with glass syringes and reusable needles which were huge and had to be sharpened and kept in surgical spirits.... or before that when there was no insulin and people died.

If you are on particularly large doses of Lantus it might help to split the dose between two sites. I generally need 22 units of Levemir as my morning basal dose and I put 11 units into each buttock, rather than all 22 into just one. Then I put my evening dose of just a few units (usuall between 2 and 4) into one of my thighs. Splitting the large morning dose between two sites gives me better (more even) coverage and is probably kinder on my injection sites. It is a particularly good idea with Lantus as it has a bit of a reputation for very occasionally forming pockets of unabsorbed crystalline insulin, which can unexpectedly release that insulin weeks or months later, causing unexpected hypos..... or at least that is what some people have reported experiencing.
 
Robin said:
Lantus does sting, because of the greater acidity. I used to find it stung some times more than others, (it can be eye-watering), and I never worked out why. Eventually I switched to Levemir, which is so much less uncomfortable to inject.
Click to expand...
I am on lantus is does sting but not all the time.
 
rebrascora said:
I use Levemir and Fiasp and sometimes they both sting but not always with either of them. The stinging is generally caused by the insulin not the needle. If it is painful to push the needle in, then that is either the site being sensitive or it is the needle. If you touch the tip of the needle to the site before pushing through, you can usually tell if it is particularly sensitive spot and moving just half an inch and trying again can often locate a less sensitive bit of skin.

Pinching up can help to stretch the skin which means that the needle is likely to push through the surface more easily than if the skin is loose.... a particular factor as you get older. I tend to stretch the skin by putting my thumb and forefinger on the site and pushing them apart to stretch it, but I have enough subcutaneous fat not to worry about needle depth and pinching up.

I find the tops of my thighs much less painful than mid thigh for inserting the needle, but we are all different, so you have to find what is best for you. Similarly there are areas on my tummy and buttocks which are more sensitive than others. It is tempting to over use these areas but important not to, so sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and accept that some injection sites are painful. It is only for a few seconds and even when the insulin stings going in, it is usually subsiding by the time I remove the needle 10 seconds later, so I just breath and count knowing that it will soon be over. I also bleed occasionally and get a bruise. It is just luck of the draw hitting a small capillary blood vessel.

All of it is still a much better alternative than what people previously had to endure with glass syringes and reusable needles which were huge and had to be sharpened and kept in surgical spirits.... or before that when there was no insulin and people died.

If you are on particularly large doses of Lantus it might help to split the dose between two sites. I generally need 22 units of Levemir as my morning basal dose and I put 11 units into each buttock, rather than all 22 into just one. Then I put my evening dose of just a few units (usuall between 2 and 4) into one of my thighs. Splitting the large morning dose between two sites gives me better (more even) coverage and is probably kinder on my injection sites. It is a particularly good idea with Lantus as it has a bit of a reputation for very occasionally forming pockets of unabsorbed crystalline insulin, which can unexpectedly release that insulin weeks or months later, causing unexpected hypos..... or at least that is what some people have reported experiencing.
Click to expand...
I have 30 units of lantus I am wondering if that's the issue with the unexpected hypo I get I will try splitting it into two different sites
 
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