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PAIN AFTER INJECTING

eddie1968

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,661
Location
Dumbarton, Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Pasta, sorry to me it's vile, yeuch lol (and full of nasty carbs)
I'm Type 2 and have been on Humulin M3 for almost a year now. I take 52 IU at breakfast and 36 IU at dinner time. When I am injecting it really hurts on plunging and I usually use my belly as the site. Am I not doing it right maybe or is it just the volume which I think is a lot. Any help, T1 or T2s welcome
 
Hi. What size needle are you using? 4mm is the smallest. Your injection levels are quite high so do you have a high BMI? The important thing is that the needle stays in the fat layer. I sometimes hurt when injecting but only if the needle hits a nerve or blood vessel; usually it's completely painless but my units are nearer 10-12. I use both stomach and thigh. Are you low-carbing? If you are overweight then reducing that will enable you to reduce the injection shots and possibly the residual pain
 
Daibell BMI not high, using BD Ultra fine 4mm 32G needle. Mainly use abdomen and rotate around it. Didn't have this injecting smaller amounts and always do a SC route but am considering IM as it is allowed with Humulin M3. Still think it's the amount but might split the 52 morning units to two 26 unit jabs and see how it goes. Thank you
 
I think it's the amount. 52 units is a lot to get in one go... It hurts me sometimes from 25u up, I never do more than 30u in one go (i usually never need more than 30u at once as well). You should talk to your dsn - maybe splitting the dose or taking some meds for insulin resistance to lower the dose?
 
Be aware that splitting such a high dose will affect the absorption speed - smaller doses usually absorb faster. So with the mixed insulin watch out foe hypos!
 
PaulinaB said:
Be aware that splitting such a high dose will affect the absorption speed - smaller doses usually absorb faster. So with the mixed insulin watch out foe hypos!
Click to expand...
I think you've got my problem nailed PaulinaB. Thanks, I'm due my 6 monthly review and will mention this to my DSN and Consultant. Many thanks for replying
EDDIE
 
Hi Eddie, as others have said that's a lot of insulin in one go. So my question is how much do you actually need for basal and how much do you need for bolus?
Perhaps it would be worth considering MDI, this way you could fine tune your insulin needs this way. Bothe the insulin's you use are available in separate vials/pens so no need to change them if you are ok with them.
 
I do two injections, 52 IU at brekkie and 36 at dinner. The insulin is a biphasic intermediate acting one. I am not too sure about separate insulins but do adjust if I am hyperglycemic and run this by my diabetes team. Thanks for your interest

EDDIE
 
Agree with Carbsrok about MDI, but to make injecting more comfortable try and inject the insulin slowly as this makes a big diference, also don't over-use your injection sites, make sure you rotate them regularly.
 
I would add to my earlier post that the Basal/Bolus regime might be better for you? Apart from the better control it gives you, you would be injecting 4-5 times a day with smaller amounts each time.
 
Keep rotating your injection site area's well .
Line needle in/up 'straight' before injecting .
Push plunger in slowly delivering the dosage nice slowly steadier .

When mine has hurt - have learnt it has been when rushing a shot !
Learnt to make/use technique slower and steadier "knocks" any
after pain/soreness on the head .

Yep larger units dosage can hurt sometimes a tad more I have found .
Smaller ones no pain or soreness oddly !
So there could be a valid point as mentioned in the above posts .
 
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