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help with bigger needles please

ClaireG 06 said:
I'm hoping and praying it's not a one off and you've cracked it.
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Well the correction dose i gave with breakfast should have brought her down to 7.8 so if the 4.7 is not a 1 off then either the ratio will need changing yet again or the morning levemir reducing, i bribed her into using a bigger needle for her lunch today as well to see what effect that has on her after school reading

The next few days will be interesting and confusing i think :lol:
 
well she has just tested 19.4 at 3:30pm after being 4.7 at 12pm :shock:

yesterday she was 13 at 3:30pm after being 9.9 at 12pm

exactly the same food, same doses of insulin but 8mm needles today, 5mm yesterday
 
Overnight readings were so much lower and this mornings :shock: :shock:

After yesterdays drop at lunchtime i changed her breakfast ratio back to 1:15 from 1:10 and dropped her morning Levemir down by 1 unit

It will be interesting to see what her readings are today using the bigger needles again
 
I generally use the 5mm needles (Khaleb is only 4 yrs old) and have used the 6mm also. I've also used the 8mm syringe/needle set. The hardest thing to not do with the longer needle is have it move from side to side while it is in the skin. This tends to cause a lot of bruising and then subsequent injections become more painful and more damage gets done. Even a little bit of movement at one end is a lot of movement at the needle.
 
Spearmint said:
Overnight readings were so much lower and this mornings :shock: :shock:

After yesterdays drop at lunchtime i changed her breakfast ratio back to 1:15 from 1:10 and dropped her morning Levemir down by 1 unit

It will be interesting to see what her readings are today using the bigger needles again
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8mm needles sounds very long to me to be using on an 11 year old :shock: I tend to agree with what's been said above about a possible allergic reaction to the Levemir rather than the needles. As you said, the Novorapid is fine when injected with the same needles.

It could be that your daughter is just getting used to being on MDI, being fairly new to it, but it could also be that the 8mm needles are too long and she is injecting in her muscles, giving unreliable absorption of the insulin which can cause hypos and hypers.

I hope everything gets sorted out for her soon, I can really imagine she won't like to use them :(
 
Thanks for that info Jen, i will tell her about that and to hold it as still as possible.

Unicornz said:
8mm needles sounds very long to me to be using on an 11 year old :shock: I tend to agree with what's been said above about a possible allergic reaction to the Levemir rather than the needles. As you said, the Novorapid is fine when injected with the same needles.

It could be that your daughter is just getting used to being on MDI, being fairly new to it, but it could also be that the 8mm needles are too long and she is injecting in her muscles, giving unreliable absorption of the insulin which can cause hypos and hypers.

I hope everything gets sorted out for her soon, I can really imagine she won't like to use them :(
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They are wider as well :shock:
She says she doesn't mind using them in her tummy but is not keen on them in her leg.
She is perservering though because i bribed her with a new game for wii :lol:

They have made a huge difference overnight and stopped the night time spikes and subsequent morning highs so i just need to play around with her doses to get the daytime readings lower.

It would have been nice if somebody at the hospital had shown us how much she needs to pinch up by though
 
Hiya, dont know IF this would help? but I bruise on a bigger 6mm needle and have been taught to get a good pinch [flabby fatty area only] my tummy only for me . KEEP the needle straight as you go in during the count off [6 seconds] hold it absolutely STILL after count off bring straight out exact same angle as went in. Have learnt if needle is moved or wiggled at an angle bruising and lumps appear. I use a 5mm needle best with myself. Could it be down to aquiring the right technique? As your daughter is only young child yet. Levemir can and does produce lumps if needle dont go in 90degree angle 'straight' . Hope this helps? Please let us know how you and your daughter go on with this. Anna.x :)
 
Thanks for that anna :)

I told her what you said and she says she does try and hold it as still as possible, i have been checking the angle with her as well. She holds it on for 10 seconds as anything less seems to result in drips from the needle and also from her skin.

She is still getting small lumps under the skin but they are gone by the next day so not so much of a problem as they were to start with so maybe it was just a case of her body getting used to it.
 
Hi, Am so pleased there is progress for you both, your daughter is still a young girl and this is some responsibilty for her. If there is the slightest wiggle with the needle in the skin it does bruise and leave a lump! Hopefully as a knack for doing it easily without wiggling neeedle and entering as straight n steady as possible is acheived your daughter will feel both more confident and relaxed to do her own injections happily. It does take time to relax and for it to become second nature. Aww bless she is doing so well , you must be proud of her. Much love and thoughts to you both. Anna.x :D
 
Oh yes i am proud of the way she copes with all the tests and injections and she knows it :)

Seems to be climbing at night again, gave an extra novorapid injection last night which brought it down a little bit and she then stayed at that level til the morning so tonight i've changed her dinnertime ratio but gave it after dinner rather than before so will see what effect that has!
 
to be honest doctors dont know everyhting . bigger needles are great for some patients but for me i hate bigger ones i got to use 6mm ones as i have a problem with bigger ones . it depends on the person really what they like to use .

she cud be injecting the same spot every day and thats why she getting a reaction not nesscarsarly to do wit needles .
 
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