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nausea after taking insulin

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ferretmum

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Hi everyone.

My daughter is 25 and has t1 diabetes (diagnosed at 21)
Every time she takes her short acting insulin she gets pain at the injection site and feels very sick. She is fed up with telling her doctors about this, as she feels she is not believed. Her nurse once told her that this can sometimes happen about a year after diagnosis but will settle. It did settle but has returned. She has no trouble with her long acting insulin. It has got to the point where she is avoiding taking it (or at least, taking very little). Has anyone had, or heard of anything like this?
 
Yes, I have heard of something similar to this.
See this article, originally from the BMJ: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC549657/

this article suggests it was due to glargine which is long acting, though. What insulins is she on?

There are lots of insulins out there she could try, which may suit her better; for your doctor not to take this seriously is appalling. If he/she doesn't know enough about diabetes to give advice, he/she should refer her to a specialist; or at the very least prescribe a different short-acting insulin to at least try it out.

Here is a useful chart showing all the insulin types and names and their length of action. She could perhaps find one that is similar to the one she is on in terms of length of action, and ask specifically for that. http://www.pulivh.com.tw/imims3/HTML/s_Insulin.pdf
Good luck!
 
Thank you so much for your reply. The insulin she is on is Novorapid. I will pass on your comments to her. It does sound as though she needs to try a different one. She will be relieved to know that this problem has been heard of before. Thank you again!
 
Novorapid isn't insulin glargine, that is lantus.

This might sound silly, but has she tried different needles? The nausea might be caused by the pain (I feel sick sometimes if the injection hurts unexpectedly, it's partly shock maybe?), which might be caused by the needles. Try different makes and different lengths, I am sure there is a difference in how sharp they are and how they are lubricated for different makes, and the different lengths also make a difference.
 
It may be worth filling out a Yellow Card report.
http://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Yellow Cards are there so people can report side effects that aren't mentioned in the patient information leaflets of drugs.

Pain at the injection site is mentioned for NovoRapid but nausea after injecting doesn't seem to be.

HLW makes some good points. I don't personally feel nauseous as a result of insulin injections but do feel nauseous during and after blood tests (involving blood being drawn from the vein) so perhaps it could be a similar reaction?
 
Sorry that was directed at ferretmum, I wasn't sure if she realised it was a different insulin or not.
 
Hi guys, thanks for all your feedback. Sorry, I wasn't very clear about my daughters insulin. She is on Lantus and NovoRapid. It is the NovoRapid that she has the trouble with.
My daughter and I are not aware of the 'yellow card' to report side effects but we will certainly ask!
 
Hi
Many people suffer different side-effects on synthetic insulins, this has been know for years. Side-effects are often ignored / dismissed by the medical profession, which is why it is crucial that you report any to the MHRA. In my case, I had a severe problems with Lantus, which were poo-poo-ed by amy diabetes care team. Since coming off it I've discovered that many people experience similar issues.

You should contact the IDDT. They have many people contact them with problems on synthetic insulins, and they may be able to enlighten you as to whether anyone else has reported similar problems to your daughter's,on Novorapid. Here's a link http://www.iddt.org/here-to-help/contact-us/

When your daughter takes her Novorapid and feels nauseous does she check her blood-sugar? Nausea can also be a symptom of a hypo.
Jus :D
PS - gr8 links Snodger!
 
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