How to avoid pain while injecting the insulin injection ?

[Chandradev819]

Hi Everyone,

Whenever i inject the insulin needle or Pen insulin needle, i get some little bit more pain. Is there tips or trick to avoid the pain ?
when i was in hospital, i was getting very less pain.

I will store my insulin and Pen Insulin in refrigerator. Is it the root cause ? is it recommended give cold insulin ?
I generally inject the pen Insulin on my stomach and other injection on my upper arm .

 

[paulliljeros]

When I used to inject, I found my stomach more painful than my leg, so used to use my thighs almost exclusively. I would only every use pens that were at room temperature, and would inject slowly, aiming in-between the hair follicles, but I think its a case of trial and error and personal preference. As weird as it sounds, I believed the pain of injections was mind over matter, so just used to tell myself it wouldn't hurt, and on the occasions I thought it was going to, it did. I think it comes more down to relaxing, than anything else though

 

[Juicyj]

Good morning @Chandradev819 It is not recommended to inject insulin direct from the fridge as it is very uncomfortable - so wait until it's room temperature, also the insulin is not as effective when used cold.

When injecting what size needles are you using ?

When injecting pinch a layer of fat between your fingers and inject into this, it should be more comfortable also doing it this way

 

[noblehead]

Cold insulin may sting, as others have said keep your in-use insulin at room temperature.

To reduce the pain try not to tense-up beforehand, but also make sure you use a new needle every-time and inject the insulin slowly, if you force the insulin in this tends to hurt and can leave the injection site feeling sore afterwards.

On injections I would inject my basal in my bum or legs and bolus doses in the stomach or arms.

 

[Chandradev819]

Good morning everyone and thanks for sharing your suggestion. I will implement in my daily life. @Juicyj, i hope i am using 4mm needle for pen injection.

 

[Chandradev819]

I have one more question, can we store insulin bottle and Insulin pen with cartilage in fridge ?

 

[noblehead]

I have one more question, can we store insulin bottle and Insulin pen with cartilage in fridge ?

Are you talking about pre-filled insulin pens?

Unused pens (without a insulin cartridge) you just keep in a drawer until you decide to use them, keeping a pen like the NovoPen Echo in a fridge might damage the built-in memory function.

 

[Chandradev819]

I am talking about used pen injection. I generally used to through the needle and keep the complete pen with cartridge in fridge.
is it not recommended to do like this ?

 

[Juicyj]

Hello - you can store insulin which hasn't been opened in the fridge between 36& 46F, but do not store say insulin pens in the fridge between using them, once out of the fridge if kept at a moderate temperature (56-80F) they will last 30 days before going stale.

If you are worried about your insulin becoming too warm then try purchasing a 'Frio' storage pouch as it will keep it cooler, and keep insulin out of direct sunlight too

 

[noblehead]

I am talking about used pen injection. I generally used to through the needle and keep the complete pen with cartridge in fridge.
is it not recommended to do like this ?

As said earlier in your thread, the in-use pen can be kept at room temperature and the unused insulin stored in the fridge, as @Juicyj says if your worried that the in-use pen may become too warm purchase a Frio Wallet, they really are a great invention and last for years.

 

[Chandradev819]

Thanks @Juicyj for valuable suggestion . I have to purchase frio storage pouch. Now i will keep the used insulin at room temperature.

 

[Xander2016]

Hi

I was always told not to refrigerate the pen I am using. Since the needles have been smaller the injected insulin burns and it hurts. I prefer the syringes with the longer needles. My doctor put me back on penfill, which I never liked. I dropped the penfill a number of years ago and used vials and syringes. I never had any burning sensations until I went back on penfill.

 

[Humma]

Id like to know what you class as painful there`s worse forms of pain than that from a Micro-Fine Ultra 4mm x 0,23mm pen needle

 

[DunePlodder]

I rest the needle on the surface of the skin then insert the needle very gently. If it is painful as it enters, I take it out & try a few millimeters away where often as not I don't feel a thing.

 

[PseudoBob77]

Insulin should be kept refridgerated at all times. Yes it can be kept at room temperature, if you have a fridge and the whole western world does then you should really put it back in the fridge after injecting.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[catapillar]

Id like to know what you class as painful there`s worse forms of pain than that from a Micro-Fine Ultra 4mm x 0,23mm pen needle

Of course there are worse forms of pain than injecting with a 4mm needle. However, I get the impression that possibly English isn't the OP s first language so perhaps picking him up on semantics is a little bit unforgiving. I haven't seen anyone on this thread suggest that injections are the worst pain in the world. However, they do sometimes hurt or sting and we do have to do it 4 or 5 times a day. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for advice on how to make it more comfortable.

So, perhaps instead of berating the OP for not suffering in silence, you could offer advice on how you deal with the the injections? Even if it is just grit your teeth and get on with it, that in itself might be useful to hear?

It supposed to be a supportive forum and all that ...

 

[catapillar]

Insulin should be kept refridgerated at all times. Yes it can be kept at room temperature, if you have a fridge and the whole western world does then you should really put it back in the fridge after injecting.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

That's contrary to what I've been told by all HCPs I've asked & to the storage instructions with my flex-pens, which say, quite clearly, on the back of the novorapid box: During use: Use within 4 weeks. Do not refrigerate. Store below 30deg C. Levemir box says the same, but use within 6 weeks. Do not refrigerate during use.

So where does the advice to keep it in the fridge at all times come from? Is it for different insulins? Are we all being told different things?

Also, if insulin must be kept refrigerated at all times, how does that work for pumps, where people have a reservoir of insulin with them for 3 days? I'm pretty sure the instructions for the Omnipod say that the pod should only be filled with room temperature insulin, not insulin straight out of the fridge.

I'm confused, please clarify?

 

[Juicyj]

Hey @catapillar Pump insulin is supplied in a glass bottle, which means at room temp it will last 30 days, generally when filling a new infusion set the insulin will only last say 2 weeks anyway, so it's unlikely to go off, if it's stored in a plastic vial then it goes off alot quicker (not sure of exact timings for this).

In regards to avoiding pain when injecting the best method is to pinch the skin, it seems to work alot better than just stabbing a fleshy area with the needle which can be quite painful, hope this helps

 

[Juicyj]

In regards to insulin storage, it is recommended that if you are using a pen for injections then it must be kept out of the fridge at room temp, only insulin which hasn't been used should be stored in the fridge, as quoted above, it is less effective when cold and also more painful to inject when cold, 2 very good reasons for not storing your pen in the fridge in between injections

 

[Flakey Bake]

Hi there, all good advice so far. I have learned a wee trick that takes the sting out of injecting, particularly with the basal, which can sting like hell. The sting is just a nerve firing an impulse. If you scramble that signal by giving yourself a good scratch (like you do if you have an itch) at a site very near to where you are injecting, you don't feel the sting of the injection; just the scratch sensation with is far more pleasent than an injection. I figure the nerves firing from scratching overwhelms the signal from the sting. It really does work for me or it certainly masks the pain from particularly nippy injections. I would be interested to see if it works for other too, or am I just a freak?