Injection site advice?

[Ajg23]

Hiya all!
Basically, my boyfriend is type 1 and has only been diagnosed a year or so but he's finding doing his insulin injections really quite sore. He takes his background insulin in his leg but then his fast acting in his stomach as advised by his consultant. He doesn't have lumps or anything yet which I know can cause pain while injecting, he just finds it sore when actually pushing the insulin in. He rotates the injection site and I've read that keeping the skin moisturised can help but I was just wondering if there are any products or home remedies or anything that anyone has used that have helped ease the discomfort a bit? Any suggestions would be brilliant as he is quite newly diagnosed so obviously still has plenty to learn!
Thanks in advance!

 

[draddog1988]

I usually have my lantus (long acting) in my bum and novorapid (short acting) in my belly, my nurse told me this way, most of the time the lantus will sting but was told that it is what it is!

 

[noblehead]

He can inject the background insulin in either his legs or bum and his meal-time insulin in his stomach or arms. To prevent it hurting upon injecting make sure he uses a new needle every-time, also make sure not to inject the insulin too fast as this can make it very painful.

The needle size can also make a difference, if he doesn't use the 4mm needles already he should ask his gp to prescribe them, take a look at the following which has some good information on injecting insulin and shows the sites where insulin is best injected:

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7261

 

[Hooked]

Where does he store the insulin in use?

 

[Alice233]

diagnosis for either type of diabetes is through blood draw, especially for type 1. There are enzyme tests to tell if a person is type 1 or type 2 diabetic.

YES, all type 1 people MUST do insulin injections, their pancreas has died and doesn't work at all any more so it doesn't produce natural insulin. To live people must have insulin and it must work correctly.

Yes, all diabetics must do their testing several times a day to be in or near the normal glucose ranges.

Only type 2 people sometimes can regulate their glucose levels through diet and exercise. Type 1 people can only regulate how much extra insulin they must inject due to what they eat or don't eat.

 

[Ajg23]

I usually have my lantus (long acting) in my bum and novorapid (short acting) in my belly, my nurse told me this way, most of the time the lantus will sting but was told that it is what it is!

Yeah that's kind of what he's been told really. I just hope there is another option really!

 

[Ajg23]

Where does he store the insulin in use?

He has a case for the pens he is using but he keeps the spare insulin in the fridge till he needs it & he's really careful about checking expiry dates.

 

[Ajg23]

He can inject the background insulin in either his legs or bum and his meal-time insulin in his stomach or arms. To prevent it hurting upon injecting make sure he uses a new needle every-time, also make sure not to inject the insulin too fast as this can make it very painful.

The needle size can also make a difference, if he doesn't use the 4mm needles already he should ask his gp to prescribe them, take a look at the following which has some good information on injecting insulin and shows the sites where insulin is best injected:

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7261

He's using the 5mm needles at the moment but I've said to him about getting the 4mm. That website looks good as well, he does go in the diabetes uk site as well but that link gives clearer guidelines so thank you!

 

[Ajg23]

diagnosis for either type of diabetes is through blood draw, especially for type 1. There are enzyme tests to tell if a person is type 1 or type 2 diabetic.

YES, all type 1 people MUST do insulin injections, their pancreas has died and doesn't work at all any more so it doesn't produce natural insulin. To live people must have insulin and it must work correctly.

Yes, all diabetics must do their testing several times a day to be in or near the normal glucose ranges.

Only type 2 people sometimes can regulate their glucose levels through diet and exercise. Type 1 people can only regulate how much extra insulin they must inject due to what they eat or don't eat.

Thanks for your response. Yes we are aware he must test his bloods and inject appropriate amounts of insulin depending on carb intake and other factors and yes we do realise this is a must as his body does not produce insulin. This is partly why I feel there just be some way of making this a more comfortable process for him.
When he was first diagnosed, he was required to test his bloods 7 times a day as well as inject his insulin at least 5 times a day- one for each meal and a background insulin injection twice a day. The amount of times he had to test his bloods has reduced as he has done amazingly at learning to carb count and keep his bloods where they need to be without testing on such a regular basis.
The problem is still with his insulin injections. He does rotate his injection sites and follows the rules on reducing any trauma to the skin. It's just still very sore for him so I was just wondering if any longstanding diabetics had any tricks or tips they do to help with this problem?

 

[noblehead]

The problem is still with his insulin injections. He does rotate his injection sites and follows the rules on reducing any trauma to the skin. It's just still very sore for him so I was just wondering if any longstanding diabetics had any tricks or tips they do to help with this problem?

Only what was said earlier, use a new needle every-time and make sure to inject the insulin slowly.

What brand of needle does he normally use? I was mistakenly given a box of Owen Mumford Unifine Pentips needles a month or two back and they were the most comfortable needle I've used, even better than the BD needles I usually get prescribed.

 

[Ajg23]

Only what was said earlier, use a new needle every-time and make sure to inject the insulin slowly.

What brand of needle does he normally use? I was mistakenly given a box of Owen Mumford Unifine Pentips needles a month or two back and they were the most comfortable needle I've used, even better than the BD needles I usually get prescribed.

He uses the BD needles at the moment, I'll tell him to request the other ones though, must be worth a try! Thanks again

 

[noblehead]

He uses the BD needles at the moment, I'll tell him to request the other ones though, must be worth a try! Thanks again

No promises, but anything is worth a try, also if he is finding injecting insulin troublesome he could make enquiries about switching to a pump, might just be a better option providing his diabetes team would support his decision.

 

[Nyxks]

I was always told to inject into my tummy and only the thy or arm if I can't do it myself - because anything other then the tummy and it takes to long to really do its job effectively ... no idea if its true or not but i've been injecting in my tummy for a while now (10+ years) and have found that injecting into the thy does seem to have a slower effect that doesn't seem to be effective enough to long term care/use.

 

[Ajg23]

Yeah he only injects his background insulin into his thigh, as that one lasts 12 hours so absorption rate isn't really an issue with it, he rarely injects his fast acting into his arms either. Have you find anything that helps reduce trauma to the skin after injecting in the tummy for 10+ years at all?

 

[spats]

late home so late joining in! I have some 'methods' to sometimes over come the lantus sting. First it must be at room temperature - cold is sore. Then if the skin prick feels sharp even before injecting. I change site to the opposite side quickly ( sort of fools the nerves that it would hurt on the first area- but then the other side dose not get the message in time!! ) If I persist on the rejected site it gets its own back by bruising!!! I have read that cooling the site with ice works, but is complicated to get ice each time! Scratching gently anywhere else again confuses the pain links (a bit like 'rubbing it better' after a fall) I generally use my tum, occasionally commit the sin of injecting through trousers and into thigh if eating out - does cause more bruising.as if to get its own back! In all try,try, again and just accept that sometimes it is going to hurt!

 

[Fairygodmother]

Hello, joined this one late. If you look carefully and closely at the needles you'll see that the end of the needle is angled to the point; if you try to position the needle to make sure that the narrower end enters the body first then it tends to be more comfortable. It's like a wedge, right way up it goes in easily, wrong way up it has to be driven in hard! And the smaller the needle the less pain there is, but every now and again there's an injection the hurts: expletives provide instant relief!

 

[Jessicatine]

late home so late joining in! I have some 'methods' to sometimes over come the lantus sting. First it must be at room temperature - cold is sore. Then if the skin prick feels sharp even before injecting. I change site to the opposite side quickly ( sort of fools the nerves that it would hurt on the first area- but then the other side dose not get the message in time!! ) If I persist on the rejected site it gets its own back by bruising!!! I have read that cooling the site with ice works, but is complicated to get ice each time! Scratching gently anywhere else again confuses the pain links (a bit like 'rubbing it better' after a fall) I generally use my tum, occasionally commit the sin of injecting through trousers and into thigh if eating out - does cause more bruising.as if to get its own back! In all try,try, again and just accept that sometimes it is going to hurt!

Hi - am new at this site and like the comfort of knowing how everybody copes with injections and insulins and all.
It's good to hear - I would like you to look at my posting of the smallest syringe in the world yesterday - again - it is so easy to bring one or two tiny syringes with you when you are out - it amused me to know you sometimes shoot through clothes! Yes, guilty! But... since you are used to poking in your stomach I would like to know if this interests you as soon it will be available all over Europe infact apparently there are pallets in Stockholm waiting to be delivered - They need to find distributors all over the place! So we just need a little patience and of course your feedback would be supreme! Thanks and take care