Eating out?

My advice may sound a little harsh, but it is not intended that way.
My advice would be to get used to injecting front on people.
That does not mean you have to make a big thing about it. I would put the needle on the pen before you go out, wear something which gives you easy access to the area you inject (e.g. a pair of trousers and shirt which you can lift and inject) and then go for it under the table, when the conversation is flowing. You could ask a close friend to distract the conversation at the appropriate moment.
This is the approach I have taken and been out with people who never noticed I had diabetes.
Diabetes is nothing to be ashamed of. If someone doesn't like to see you inject, they can look away as you do what you need to do to stay alive.
It's the difference between injecting in public and injecting publicly.

I agree with @helensaramay, she has given some sound advice.

What I do not agree with though is affixing the needle to the pen prior to heading out. It's good practice to only attach the needle immediately prior to administering an injection. Applying the needle in advance can cause air bubbles to gather in the cartridge and apparently impact sterility of the needle.

Sorry, I'm nitpicky

GrantGam said:

I agree with @helensaramay, she has given some sound advice.

What I do not agree with though is affixing the needle to the pen prior to heading out. It's good practice to only attach the needle immediately prior to administering an injection. Applying the needle in advance can cause air bubbles to gather in the cartridge and apparently impact sterility of the needle.

Sorry, I'm nitpicky

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I was waiting for someone to pick me up on that.
I know the theory but never experienced problems myself so always adopted this no nonsense approach.

helensaramay said:

I know the theory but never experienced problems myself so always adopted this no nonsense approach.

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I guess it's a little like reusing needles and lancets are a no no, we all do it and are still alive and well...

I wouldn't personally choose to keep needles on my pens though because it simply makes them longer and offers less protection to the pen itself. That's just me though

I was self conscious at first too but @helensaramay's advice is correct - try to act normal as if it's an everyday thing you're doing and don't draw any attention to the act of injecting. Worked for me after a few goes.

I've found it impractical to keep the needle on the pen. I can't put the lid back on and the cap for the needle is liable to come loose or fall off when being transported exposing the needle.

Hi @JenLou . It's early days for you and injecting.
Diabetes WILL find a way to make you a weak person.
You haven't eaten out for 3 weeks, diabetes wins.
You have to be positive and not let this condition dictate your life.
Go out, live your life, and inject.
Don't let this ba***add ruin your life.
It takes 10. secs to inject, be proud for those 10 secs and say " hey I'm diabetic and this is what I do "

JenLou said:

I was diagnosed Type 2 in April 2016 but 3 weeks ago i found out i was actually Type 1 after i raised the question again for about the 5th time. Having only just been referred to a diabetes team.

What i want to know is how do you inject while eating out? I normally eat out once a week but haven't been for the past 3 weeks since i was re-diagnosed as i don't like injecting in front of people (not even family).

Any advice?

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As with most new things, jenlou, it just takes a bit of time to get used to it.

Remember how driving a car on your own the first few times was a bit scary, and then after a while, it wasn't scary?

I remember being self-conscious when I first started, but after a while it's just, yeah, whatever.

Random people at tables nearby won't really notice - they'll just think you're adjusting your blouse, if they notice at all - most are paying more attention to what's going on at their table and how badly their first date is going.

Family, friends, who you're with at your table, well, sure, that's up closer, I can understand you being shy about this to begin with, but, again, that changes over time.

I don't consult family or friends about shots when I decide to inject for a meal. They know I'm T1 and if I decide to do that, it's my business.In your case, they might not have seen it much before, but they will do as your confidence in doing public meal shots grows, and they will have no problems with it. You'll say, scuse me a minute, and they'll say, aye, ok, kid.

You might be a bit clunky at the moment with the physical action of doing an injection but after a while you can be very subtle with these things.

I'm not shy at all about injecting in public, but I don't make a show of it. You'll be surprised about how easy it is to inject without anyone noticing at all, or, if they do, they'll just be thinking it's our jenlou doing her thing.