Long term injecting/BMs - alternative measures?!

[TheSparkyPony]

For those who have had diabetes a long time - how do you cope with all the needles, all the time?

I'm really starting to struggle Completely on top of my diabetes now, but am starting to get down about the constant needle usage.
All my fingers are hard, calloused and take repeated stabs to get blood out of them. My DN is reluctant to do AST (alternative site testing) as I have neuropathic problems.
I inject into my stomach and legs, but am getting fatty lumps in my stomach and my legs tend to bleed after each injection (9/10 times). I can't reach around to my ar*e, and as I'm always out and about, I don't think the general public would appreciate me dropping my drawers in the middle of a restaurant :lol:

I'm off to beg my DN for some answers at the drop in clinic but it's not until Thursday.

How do you guys cope with it? I'm running on empty here! xxx

 

[Elc1112]

I have been diabetic for over 20 years now so know how you feel! For me, it's not so much the injection sites but the BM sites. When I have been testing regularly my fingers become quite sore and bruised. Sadly I haven't found that there is a lot that I can do about this other than keep changing fingers, where I test on each finger and trying to limit the number of daily BMs. I have found that slapping on the hand cream does help to some extent.

As for injection sites, if you have been advised not to try AST then you really need to talk to your doctor about this.

Hope you manage to find a solution soon!

 

[megan]

hi, i have been injecting for over 20 years.....i am over weight and i use the 8mm needles.....i did used to use the 12mm needles and have occasionally reverted back to them to see if they help my control at all by getting the insulin in better....it doesn't seem to make any difference on my diabetic control but ....oh wow does it make a difference on the pain level and problems.

if i use the 12mm needle...i will bleed and bruise horribly each time and end up with a painful lump. and sometimes itchy too.

i do get this occasionally with the 8mm needles but its not as bad. i rotate my injection sites all the time. i sometimes pinch the skin a bit like suggested to inject into and then other times i don't. i can almost tell as well as a certain time which part of my skin is going to be more sensitive to inject into. and so avoid that that time.

i have tried my calves also...no one could come up with a reason why i shouldn't...it didn't make any difference and didn't react any differently to the other parts of my body.

I do MDI and it can get you down and can be a total pain.....i may even need to do more than one injection at a meal depending on how long the meal is and what it is.

i am ok with this now.....i do the injections quickly and unless i get a reaction ....i feel ok....but when it bruises or bleeds or stings or itches....i hate it....sometimes those temporary swellings after a jab can be a few inches wide and last a day.....

as for the blood tests....sometimes they have hurt but at the moment i am using the accucheck finger pricker and have done for some time...i get on very well with it and my fingers aren't particularly bothered.....quite a progression to what used to be available.

i hope you get on better with it soon....talk to your team....but i have got the best help and advise from this site.....find what you want then work on getting it....good luck

 

[copepod]

I tend to save harder to reach sites for injections in private. Tummy (untuck top from waistband or undo fly zip) is best for public use or thighs if I'm wearing zip off trousers, which I often do when out and about, which I often am.

Finger pricks - perhaps an unorthodox approach, but one that works for me, is to use side of just two longest fingers normally, as these aren't as senstive as index or little fingers and have beeter blood supply than ring fingers.

 

[megan]

strangely for me it is infact my little fingers and the next one along that i do most of my blood tests on....they seem to hurt the least and give the blood the best...

although as i put on one of my other posts recently....a psych nurse upon meeting me told me that they work with people with drug addictions and who inject and so doesn't believe that i do the injections i say i do!!!!!

crazy huh!!!!....i don't lie about my diabetes...there is no point....you will only be fooling yourself...

i think its good that theres not lots of evidence of blood tests other wise it would be a lot more painful for me......it does seem though that i can see the finger prick marks better when my hands are cold.

 

[daisy1]

strangely for me it is infact my little fingers and the next one along that i do most of my blood tests on....they seem to hurt the least and give the blood the best...

I also always use my little fingers and I also find that they don't hurt and they bleed well. Unlike the others... I just vary the place where I prick. They are however very bruised

 

[noblehead]

Sparky,

Try using your arms as well, it can be awkward at first trying to inject with one hand but with practise it does get easier, just remember to use the flabby part at the back of the arm. Constant bg testing can cause the fingers to become sore, do you have the pen device on the lowest setting and rotate from hand to hand? failing that I can only see AST being the alternative.

Nigel

 

[spideog]

although as i put on one of my other posts recently....a psych nurse upon meeting me told me that they work with people with drug addictions and who inject and so doesn't believe that i do the injections i say i do!!!!!

Well the psych nurse doesn't understand the difference between injecting into veins and injecting as diabetics do then. We have a bigger area of our bodies to aim for than the drug users that the nurse is working with are using.

 

[TheSparkyPony]

Thanks everyone for all the replies - apologies for only just coming back to this, been very busy recently!

Nigel - I do inject in my arms when I can! However I can only inject in my left arm - my left hand is too clumsy to risk trying to inject into my right :lol:

I went to see my DN, who changed the length of my needles from 8mm to 5mm (life changing stuff here!) and refused to consider AST. Her reasoning is due to my neuropathy, although that is only localised on my feet and one patch on my leg. Her logic astounds me! :roll:

Also enquired again over a pump, to be shot down again. Apparently my levels are too well controlled for a pump now, after 4 years of being told they were too high and then after getting them down each time to be told they only had funding for diabetics with poor control.
I despair, I really do! Not going to let it settle this time, I'm determined to fight for it, I have always fit the NICE guidelines in one way or another, and have always followed my consultant's instructions to boost my chances.

Thanks all again for the input, am seeing her again in 2 weeks so will take some of the info from you guys and attack again! xxx

 

[noblehead]

Nigel - I do inject in my arms when I can! However I can only inject in my left arm - my left hand is too clumsy to risk trying to inject into my right :lol:

I know what you mean SP, but with practise it can be done! Although I am right-handed I find it strangely easier to inject into my right arm now :?

Nigel

 

[Debloubed]

you've probably tried this but as a 25 year type 1, I too have the calloused finger tips so other than the obvious rotational finger tips teqhnique, I try and use the side of my fingr rather then the top? Does that make sense? I test numerous times a day (far too many if you speak to my GP!) and find the only way I can get a decent drop of blood without several stabs at the hardened skin is to go to the side of the tip of my finger. After a week or so, I can then go back to the middle again after lots of moisurising. Then the cycle starts again :wink:

 

[cugila]

Finger prick testing.......for those new to testing (and not so new).

You are not supposed to prick the pad/centre of your fingertips to obtain a blood sample for Bg monitoring. The instructions are to prick the sides of your fingers. Pricking in the pad/centre will usually cause pain and can lead to callouses forming.

This from the NHS :

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-t ... evels.aspx

 

[Debloubed]

Finger prick testing.......for those new to testing (and not so new).

You are not supposed to prick the pad/centre of your fingertips to obtain a blood sample for Bg monitoring. The instructions are to prick the sides of your fingers. Pricking in the pad/centre will usually cause pain and can lead to callouses forming.

This from the NHS :

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-t ... evels.aspx

I love the NHS, they do so consider the practicalities don't they?! :lol: :mrgreen: I wish they would add 'actually, even if you do use the sides of your fingers, they too will callous and become painful after 10 years or so but not to worry!' :lol:

 

[cugila]

Possibly....however at least you will be able to type your responses out without your fingers hurting.

You also have 16 sites to work with rather than 8 which has to be better and should delay the start of any callouses as well. It's also a fact that setting the finger pricker to the correct depth has a lot to do with pain and callouses forming.

I have been doing it for 14+ years and never had any pain or callouses.......then again I always do the washing up.......keeps my skin soft...... :wink:

 

[Debloubed]

Oh my fingers don't hurt, but they are calloused in places but then I do test 10 times a day so I kind of expect it! I see it as a minor by product of type 1, bigger things to worry about like the price of diesel and whether my daughter is doing enough revision for her GCSE's :lol: 8)

 

[iHs]

I have been doing it for 14+ years and never had any pain or callouses.......then again I always do the washing up.......keeps my skin soft...... :wink:

LOL Ken, you wait until you've been diabetic 30yrs+, you'll see the hardness develop then.

I find the best way to get blood out from fingers is to warm the hands up before you do the test. Also a bloodtest can be done by pricking the thumb or the inside palm of the hand where the bottom of the fingers meet. Where the thumb meets the palm is also an alternative :wink:

 

[cugila]

DD
Price of Diesel.......don't get me started !!!! :twisted: As for kids and homework/revision....they never seem to do enough but will always amaze you......in my experience anyway...

DD & ihs
I have been using the side of one particular finger for the last 18 months to see if it made any difference to my skin.......testing 7-8 times daily as well. Apart from getting blood from more than one place when the finger was squeezed it has had no effect whatsoever.......no callouses and no bruising.

Here was me thinking you ladies were the toughies out there....... :wink:

 

[Debloubed]

I find the best way to get blood out from fingers is to warm the hands up before you do the test.

Great tip, works every time!

 

[Debloubed]

I have been using the side of one particular finger for the last 18 months to see if it made any difference to my skin.......testing 7-8 times daily as well.

Let's revisit this in 18 'years' shall we?! I'll make a note in my diary :lol: :mrgreen: 8)

 

[cugila]

I'm up for it.......do you think you can stand me for another 18 years........ :lol: :wink: