I need serious help/advice.

[HSSS]

I agree with you, but it hasnt stopped, also I cant get appointments at my GP for weeks, so the next appointment wouldnt be until Jan anyway. NHS is in an awful state right now, we all know why.

I have eaten some chicken and my blood sugar has gone down to 11 now from 13.1, so its still going down, so I must be producing something.

Ill be cooking and eating my tea in about an hour, the problem is I cant get it below like 10 before I have to eat again, I wont starve myself.

What should I do about this?

Routine appointments might take weeks. Emergency ones should be hours or a day or two at most.

 

[EllieM]

Hi @Andy499 I'm sorry you are in this position, it does seem like the medical profession is neglecting you.

It seems to me that one of your biggest issues is your needle phobia. Once you are taking insulin you will have much greater dietary freedom plus you won't be so hungry because you'll be able to process your food normally.

In some ways T1s have greater dietary freedom than T2s because they can use insulin to balance the carbs in their food. Yes, it's a continual learning process to work out how much insulin to take, but you should genuinely feel much better when there is enough insulin in your system.

You won't be the first (or the last) T1 to have needle phobias, but I find that injecting myself is way less scary then having someone else do it (I'm not a fan of innoculations or blood draws but I do them for the sake of my health). And insulin pens look much less scary than old style syringes. I carry one in my bag and I inject myself in public as and when I need to. It only takes me a few seconds and no one ever comments.

I believe there are devices that hide the needle when you inject and am very very sure that the hospital will be very experienced in helping people with needle phobias. (I guess you already know all this as you've been having needle phobia therapy?)

Please ask for the help you need and deserve.

All the best, lots of virtual hugs

 

[ElenaP]

I cant stab myself with a needle multiple times a day - I can only just bare blood tests

I understand what you say about having blood tests. I find having bloods taken very painful every time. However, injecting insulin is different. The insulin needles are thin and do not hurt as much. The hospital diabetes nurses will teach you to do your injections. If you have three meals a day, that means three injections of fast-acting insulin and one injection a day of long-acting (background) insulin. You can do it, and it will make you feel batter.

I agree with the previous replies. You should get referral to a hospital diabetes team before Christmas. You could try telephoning the specialist diabetes nurses at your nearest hospital and explaining your situation. You may well get a quick appointment.

 

[Andy499]

I understand what you say about having blood tests. I find having bloods taken very painful every time. However, injecting insulin is different. The insulin needles are thin and do not hurt as much. The hospital diabetes nurses will teach you to do your injections. If you have three meals a day, that means three injections of fast-acting insulin and one injection a day of long-acting (background) insulin. You can do it, and it will make you feel batter.

I agree with the previous replies. You should get referral to a hospital diabetes team before Christmas. You could try telephoning the specialist diabetes nurses at your nearest hospital and explaining your situation. You may well get a quick appointment.

Thanks -

What does the insulin needle feel like? Can you even feel it?

Also - how do you know how much to inject after eating out? Say you go out for a curry and have a curry, rice and naan, how do you know the carb content? Its all very overwhelming

 

[Antje77]

What does the insulin needle feel like? Can you even feel it?

By far the most times I don't feel it at all, but sometimes I hit a somewhat sensitive spot. This still doesn't hurt more than the fingerpricker though.
I don't mind injecting or fingerpricking at all, but if I had to choose I think the injecting is more comfortable than the fingerpricking.

Also - how do you know how much to inject after eating out? Say you go out for a curry and have a curry, rice and naan, how do you know the carb content? Its all very overwhelming

It takes time to learn, it's a process. You don't have to be perfect all the time, and at the beginning it's a steep learning curve.
There are also courses like DAFNE, aimed at helping T1's getting confident in making dosing decisions.
And once you start insulin you'll have your diabetes nurse at your back to help you too.

 

[finzi1966]

Andy
I don’t take insulin but I do take an injectable medication that uses the same size needle as insulin (so it feels the same).

I can say that, *for me*, I do not feel it at all. I am not just saying that to try to make you feel better. I hate fingerprick testing (that’s why I use a Libre). I don’t think you can even begin to compare it to fingerprick testing, or to blood tests (although I’d probably take blood tests over finger pricks).

I don’t know if insulin is the same, but mine is a pen, you take the lid off, you put the short needle into your tummy (if I had my eyes shut I wouldn’t know whether it had gone in or not, I can only tell by looking at it. I don’t feel anything at all). Then you press the button at the top of the pen. Its not a “needle” like they use for doing blood tests.

 

[EllieM]

I don’t know if insulin is the same, but mine is a pen, you take the lid off, you put the short needle into your tummy (if I had my eyes shut I wouldn’t know whether it had gone in or not, I can only tell by looking at it. I don’t feel anything at all). Then you press the button at the top of the pen. Its not a “needle” like they use for doing blood tests.

That sounds very similar in feeling to an insulin pen to me

 

[Zhnyaka]

insulin injections are not the same injections that you usually get in the hospital. For this purpose, syringe pens with a very short needle are used (I use a needle with a length of 6mm, but you can buy a shorter needle). It's completely painless if you don't use the same needle for a very long time. Look, it doesn't look like a regular syringe at all

and as for finger pricks, this is done by a device in which the needle is not visible at all and it is also very short, you can adjust the depth of the puncture so that it does not hurt you. Look, it's not as scary as you imagine


You can also use cgm, it hurts a little when you put it on, but for two weeks there is no need to pierce your fingers and the needle on the sensor you also don't see when you put it on your hand. It's a little unpleasant to take it off, because then you see the needle, but you get used to it quickly

Carbohydrates are not as hard to count as you think. Given that you have Google, you can just Google how many carbohydrates are in a particular product, doctors will pick up a dose of insulin for 10g of carbohydrates and you will simply divide the amount of carbohydrates in the dish by 10 and multiply this number by the amount of insulin for 10g of carbs. Given that people's diets are rarely very diverse, you will quickly remember how much insulin you need for your favorite dishes. It's really not as terrible as you imagine, even children learn it easily, I was only 8 years old when I learned, so you will definitely succeed

 

[JohnEGreen]

There are needle free delivery systems such as InsuJet but they are expensive to buy and I don't think they are available on the NIHS as a rule.

 

[Deleted member 527103]

You can also use cgm, it hurts a little when you put it on, but for two weeks there is no need to pierce your fingers and the needle on the sensor you also don't see when you put it on your hand. It's a little unpleasant to take it off, because then you see the needle, but you get used to it quickly

I would love it if there was NO need to prick my finger but this is not the case. Even the manufacturers advise to check the readings from the sensor when they do not correspond with how you feel. And my DSN advises to check all highs and lows as the sensors are calibrated to be most accurate at "normal" levels.

Libre and other CGMs are fantastic for much much more than reducing the number of finger pricks. The value I gain from seeing what happens between finger pricks is amazing.

 

[JohnEGreen]

There are needle free delivery systems such as InsuJet but they are expensive to buy and I don't think they are available on the NIHS as a rule.

Though this would seem to suggest otherwise.
"Two needle-free devices to deliver insulin are available on the NHS- Insujet™ and Injex™. Both utilise jet injector
technology to fire a jet of insulin at high velocity into the subcutaneous region. They are promoted as a possible
option for patients with needle phobia."

http://www.midlandsmedicines.nhs.uk/filestore/Insujet.pdf

 

[Zhnyaka]

I would love it if there was NO need to prick my finger but this is not the case. Even the manufacturers advise to check the readings from the sensor when they do not correspond with how you feel. And my DSN advises to check all highs and lows as the sensors are calibrated to be most accurate at "normal" levels.

Libre and other CGMs are fantastic for much much more than reducing the number of finger pricks. The value I gain from seeing what happens between finger pricks is amazing.

I calibrate cgm when I put it on and check when bg is below 3 or above 16, but that's about five times in two weeks. But yes, you're right, it's not a complete rejection of finger pricks

 

[Zhnyaka]

that's about five times in two weeks

****, it probably sounds scary for a person who is afraid of needles, but it really doesn't hurt

 

[Rokaab]

I calibrate cgm when I put it on and check when bg is below 3 or above 16, but that's about five times in two weeks. But yes, you're right, it's not a complete rejection of finger pricks

It can also depend on the exact CGM - for instance mine (Medtronics slightly older one that works with their pumps) needs calibrating every 12 hours otherwise it just wont have a reading, and due to its reminder an hour before its needs calibrating I end up calibrating at least 3 times a day so I dont get woken early by its reminder - though I think we may be going off topic here

 

[Hopeful34]

There are needle free delivery systems such as InsuJet but they are expensive to buy and I don't think they are available on the NIHS as a rule.

Years ago, a group from my hospital trialled something like this, and apart from one person, we all found it much more painful than injections, and some of us got huge bruises from the force required to get the insulin under the skin. Took weeks for mine to go. Give me needles any day, and I've got a needle phobia!!