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Tips for giving Insulin

T

thetallerpaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
158
Hello all,

I'm new to Insulin injections and while it doesn't hurt I'm getting a lot of bruise like marks where I am making the injections, especially on my stomach where I use Novorapid. Yesterday there was blood on the needle when I took it out and it has come up nicely.

Whats the best thing to do? Jab it in quick or slow? Best angle, best sites?

Thanks

Paul
 
I was told to inject straight in firmly but in one smooth motion, not slowly and not an aggressive jab, almost like letting the weight of the pen do the work :thumbup: Inject at right angles to your skin, inject insulin and then count three seconds (one , two, three slowly) before removing the pen.

I assume this information is still current :thumbup:
 
I was told to inject at right angles too and hold and count to 5 after releasing insulin before pulling needle out. I'm not sure this is helping as far as bruising goes though.... I seem to get hit and miss with that. Sometimes I can't feel a thing, other times it really is a big sting., sometimes I bleed, other times I don't, etc. But I always use my lower stomach (under belly button as instructed by diabetes educator). I haven't been game enough to try any new sites as yet (been injecting since Feb10). :D
 
mep73 said:
I was told to inject at right angles too and hold and count to 5 after releasing insulin before pulling needle out. I'm not sure this is helping as far as bruising goes though.... I seem to get hit and miss with that. Sometimes I can't feel a thing, other times it really is a big sting., sometimes I bleed, other times I don't, etc. But I always use my lower stomach (under belly button as instructed by diabetes educator). I haven't been game enough to try any new sites as yet (been injecting since Feb10). :D
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You should be rotating your injection sites mep, take a read of the link I provided above.
 
All,

Thanks for the response I think I got pretty good advice on the sites then but thanks for the tips on the injection itself. I'll see how I get on!

Paul
 
Are you pushing the pen against your skin as you inject, I find that make me bruise. I end up with my thumb and forefinger of one hand pinching up a section of belly, the other holds the pen. As I push in the button I sort of steady the pen againt the hand holding the skin.

Also what size needles are you using, I find I got alot less bruising with smaller ones.

I still get some bruises but not nearly as many as when I fisrt started. The other thing my DSN told me was not to inject to near an existing bruise as it could change the rate the insulin is absorbed.
 
thetallerpaul said:
Hyena,

Needles are 4mm? Think they are pretty small as I'm only giving 1-2 units for each dose.

Paul
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I just noticed they have you on a really small dosage of insulin.... is this working for you? For example I still produce some of my own insulin (although not enough) and my endo tells me he has me on low dosages. My endo has me on basal 16 units (although I'm taking 15 units right now)... 8 units is the minimum bolus for meals... and I go up to 13 units, especially for evening meal. I'm on Lantus for basal and Apidra for bolus. Although I realise everyone is different. :D
 
Mep,

Its working OK so far. I'm consistently above 7-8 though so think will need to up it a bit. I've just been told I'm type 1 so there might be a bit of a honeymoon period going on here. On those doses I have got down as low as 4 a couple of times if I'm grafting on something so a bit of exercise seems like will be the way forward.

Paul
 
I think 4mm are the smallest needles so it looks like that is not your problem. I started with 8mm and a lot of the brusing stopped when I switched, now I only get them regularly on my left leg. The right one is fine so I'm assuming it's something to do with the way I'm doing it.
 
thetallerpaul said:
Mep,

Its working OK so far. I'm consistently above 7-8 though so think will need to up it a bit. I've just been told I'm type 1 so there might be a bit of a honeymoon period going on here. On those doses I have got down as low as 4 a couple of times if I'm grafting on something so a bit of exercise seems like will be the way forward.

Paul
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Yes, you probably are in the honeymoon phase. :) It looks like you've improved your BGLs are fair bit too... well done! I'm not type 1, but I have to stay on insulin for rest of my life now even though I'm technically type 2. I've had type 2 since 1998 (maybe had it before I was diagnosed).... and basically my pancreas has worn itself out a bit it seems. I'd say that it's likely they will get you to increase your dosages as they aim to get your HbA1c down to <7% I was consistently hovering between 8-9.2% for a bit because of oral medications not working. Since being on insulin my HbA1c is now consistently <7% which is such a relief to see docs happy for a change... makes me feel like things are working better too.
 
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