Injecting

louie909

Member
Messages
5
My daughter is 12 and has only been diagnosed 2 weeks ago, she handlesthe pin pricks ok , but when it comes to injecting she is scared on putting the needle in we have tears , any ideas i know its early days , and hopefully this time next year she will be fine but any advice will be most grateful
 

ams162

Well-Known Member
Messages
572
Type of diabetes
Type 1
hi

is she injecting herself or are u doing it for her? if its injecting herself she is scared of there is a device my son used called a pen mate it fit over the pen and is spring loaded to ease self injecting it does make a clunk sound when pushed but my son was using it fine from the age of 7 maybe worth a try.

those early days are hard no matter what age u are she will get there its a steep learning curve

anna marie
 

sub

Member
Messages
16
The penmate is brilliant - worked wonders for my toddler.
It works on the Novo Nordisk pens - you put the insulin cartridge in the penmate, then screw on the top of the novopen. Screw in a needle when you're ready to inject.

There is a small square button on the top - to the side. When you press that, the needle is depressed - you then still have to eject the insulin from the pen.

We did some practice without the needle in to start off with as it really does clunk down and can make you jump, but it has made life a lot easier with the injections.

We found it helped us as we were reticent about injecting our daughter and weren't putting the needle in quick enough - the penmate takes this out of the equation.
 

SophiaW

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,015
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
We used the penmate too, but my daughter didn't like it so we stopped using it. It's worth a try though as it might be helpful for your daughter particularly when she needs to do the injecting herself. Make sure that you've been prescribed the finest and shortest needles available, they come in different sizes.The injecting does get easier with time, it's those first few weeks that are the worst to get through.
 

annettekp

Well-Known Member
Messages
153
Hi

Has she got something to practise on. We've got a bear that you can inject which your daughter is a bit old for but in hospital we got to practise giving injections on a thing you strapped to your leg that was meant to be skin. Might be worth asking your DSN. It might help her get over the whole strangeness of injecting.

We have 4mm needles too.

Annette
 

Hazza

Well-Known Member
Messages
169
My daughter used a penmate and after a few weeks she did the injections herself (under supervision of course) She was 7 at the time and now we are on a pump.
At first she did them all in her legs but after a bit of persuasion we got her to do them in her tummy. She was scared at first but after a few goes she wouldn't do them anywhere else. I think the thought of injecting in your tummy is the scary bit, but she said that it didn't hurt as much as in her leg.
It is early days and it is scary so don't try and run before you can walk, I'm sure that you will get better with practice. Good luck.

Harry
 

imalittlefishy

Well-Known Member
Messages
108
I was taught to inject when diagnosed at age 11 by injecting into an orange... :) Not sure if this is still the recommended way to do it, but it worked for me! It is scary and it does take getting used to, but I found that it wasn't long before I preferred to do it myself. To this day when I get flu jabs or anything like that I want to take the syringe off them and do it myself lol! Keep trying, it'll get there :)
xx
 

Jen&Khaleb

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820
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Not having enough time. Broken sleep.
imalittlefishy said:
To this day when I get flu jabs or anything like that I want to take the syringe off them and do it myself lol! :)
xx

I have got like that taking Khaleb for vaccinations and blood tests. I can do stuff to him at home and not have him stress out, scream, cry .... I know it isn't the same as a subcutaneous injection but I figure I could learn how to do them all.
 

louie909

Member
Messages
5
Thank you for all your replys, after a visit to our wonderful nurse, we have put Emma on an insulin that will see her through the day so avoids an injection at school, also we are getting a penmate with lessons , emma seems quite keen !!
 

ams162

Well-Known Member
Messages
572
Type of diabetes
Type 1
so pleased u have found a solution its all a worry isnt it having a child with diabetes is really hard work