Type 1'stars R Us

@Fairygodmother . The needles 28 yrs ago were a godsend from years previous. Today’s needles are just amazing.
I think it’s not so much the physical size of the needle that creates a problem but more the thought of what you’re actually doing.
I fully appreciate that those with a needle phobia are always going to struggle but I found an almost new found phobia upon diagnosis . One of those things that diabetes throws our way and can be difficult to talk about.

therower said:

Just thought I’d have a trip down memory lane.

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Many of my memories of dx are vague, mainly because I was flat out dka unconscious most of the time, but a few of them are still crystal clear. One is the Italian nurse, well, I was 21... Another is Sister Carmichael who led me through my first ever self-administered injection. She had this skill, a combination of empathy, reassurance, confidence, experience, which made me feel like it wasn't a big deal. Did the injecting the orange thing, then it was me. It was a thigh shot, needle in, push the plunger...and at that point, my dad, who was there doing the parental support bit, gives me a big, well done, son, slap on the back...while the f'ing needle was still in me! I tell ya, I just about punched him!

It's an interesting issue, this whole business of wariness of injections. One of the things I've noticed, for me, is that injecting in the stomach is about as much hassle as putting a bit of lipsalve on; thighs, where I do my lantus, can be a bit more stingy; and arms, sorry, I just can't do that all - the idea freaks me out a bit. I'm wondering, though, whether I should, literally, have a stab at other areas; maybe the stomach has been used so much there's inconsistent absorption issues.

@Scott-C . My first injection was with a DSN. Aged 28. She actually pulled her skirt up ( just enough) to inject herself in the thigh. I asked if she was diabetic. No was the answer but she wanted to show me how easy it was.
At this point I had to drop my jeans and do my own injection. If I’d have known then more appealing underwear wouldn’t have gone amiss.
As for sites.
Thighs no problem.
Stomach always seems to sting.
Backside ( lantus ) no problems other than it tends to bleed more.
Arms no problem and if I’m honest I probably overuse them.
Calves. Only ever injected there a few times and although it’s okay it just doesn’t feel right and there’s that split second pause before jabbing the needle in.

therower said:

Arms no problem and if I’m honest I probably overuse them.

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I'm currently in a "my insulin is water and won't lower this 8.7" holding position, so I might just see how p****d I get tonight and then maybe have an arm shot.

Oops, I've been too impatient - cgm has just clicked me down to 8.2 so watch and wait.

Scott-C said:

I'm currently in a "my insulin is water and won't lower this 8.7" holding position, so I might just see how p****d I get tonight and then maybe have an arm shot.

Oops, I've been too impatient - cgm has just clicked me down to 8.2 so watch and wait.

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You’re not the only one injecting water. It must be a common occurrence at the moment, I’m constantly doing extra jabs at the moment to try and keep below 10. Manage to get down to a nice 5, contemplate eating a biscuit and find myself back at 10 without eating a da* n thing.
Go for the arm shot. If nothing else the lipohypertrophy will make the guns look bigger in the gym.

Delticmatt100 said:

Tx so much strange readings as u can see.

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Matt, one thing to be aware of, something which many of us have experienced ourselves in the early days, and have seen in forum posts, is that newly dx'd, especially folks in professions like software and engineering who expect consistent results, get frustrated when T1 doesn't work out that way.

It seems simple: 1u for 10g or whatever, how can that go wrong? It does. You can do as much arithmetic and weighing as you want, but as soon as you eat food and inject insulin, they will both be subject to a huge variety of bodily processes which will throw the calculations out, and leads to *** highs and lows.

That is the main reason why a lot of newly dx'd get frustrated with it - they're playing by the taught rules, but T1 isn't.

How to sort that out? There's no easy answer to that.

One is to accept that sometimes this will go wrong and it is incorrect to blame yourself for not being able to see what a hundred and one bodily processes are doing.

Another is to twist your team's arm a bit and see if they'll prescribe libre or dexcom for you. Or buy it yourself if they don't. Bg moves around a lot - which is why random unpleasant hypos will hit you - but with cgm, you can see how it is moving and then steer it: there will always be unpredictability with T1, but when you're getting a 30 min heads up via cgm on where it's going, you can shift the direction, and the unpredictability doesn't matter that much.

therower said:

You’re not the only one injecting water. It must be a common occurrence at the moment, I’m constantly doing extra jabs at the moment to try and keep below 10. Manage to get down to a nice 5, contemplate eating a biscuit and find myself back at 10 without eating a da* n thing.
Go for the arm shot. If nothing else the lipohypertrophy will make the guns look bigger in the gym.

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Lol, T, things seem to be back in order again a steady 7, which might pop down to 5 or 6 with the remaining iob (although a few pints of IPA in my local, it being Saturday night and all might influence that..).

I've been using cgm for about 3 yrs now, and one of the things I've noticed is that sometimes bg will just sort of gravitate to a happy 5 and stay there for several days without me doing much at all, and then other times it'll just go on a 9 to 10 flier despite anything I do. No idea what the cause or answer is, T1 sometimes does as T1 wants.

Still, I keep in mind it's a long game, and those random highs for short periods will lend a hand in maintaining hypo awareness.

therower said:

@Scott-C . My first injection was with a DSN. Aged 28. She actually pulled her skirt up ( just enough) to inject herself in the thigh. I asked if she was diabetic. No was the answer but she wanted to show me how easy it was.
At this point I had to drop my jeans and do my own injection. If I’d have known then more appealing underwear wouldn’t have gone amiss.
As for sites.
Thighs no problem.
Stomach always seems to sting.
Backside ( lantus ) no problems other than it tends to bleed more.
Arms no problem and if I’m honest I probably overuse them.
Calves. Only ever injected there a few times and although it’s okay it just doesn’t feel right and there’s that split second pause before jabbing the needle in.

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It took a long time for me to do the stomach thing, fault of a vivid self-created picture of oozing gut stuff. Felt triumphant when I first jabbed there. Piece of cake now. Not literally. Not oozing cake, that’d be @Knikki. Ok, I’m off to the garden

@Knikki . The term a sit down curry has bought a smile to my face.
Warped sense of humour..
Hopefully you won’t be sitting down for too long after enjoying your curry.

Delticmatt100 said:

Think I can get on prescription?

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Hey, sorry this is a late reply to this but in answer to your question yes you can get them on prescription. At least I do, these are the ones I've been given since diagnosis (I didn't even know there are other types!)

Morning peeps.

Revoltingly early but want to get the dogs out while it's cool and they can run round and have fun. Dizzy feels the heat dreadfully and at the moment is only having walks in the early morning and very late evening. The rest of the time he has a shady spot in the front where he can watch the world go by but be out in the fresh air.

I am still debating whether I should clingfilm the new tattoo while I have a long shower and hairwash. Not supposed to get new ones totally drenched within a couple weeks of being done, and this one is only four days old. It's fine with quick showers but throw in a hair wash, a feet check etc and it might be a bit much of a soaking.

Last night I sort of pre-rage munched a lot of Oreos, and then did the injection. Seems slightly the wrong way round but I hadn't meant to eat the Oreos. It just sort of happened, guv!

I've never used my calfs or arms. When the nurse was showing me how to inject she told me to use my "jodphurs" which I thought a bit of a personal comment, or my stomach or upper bottom. Because she never mentioned lower legs or arms I didn't realise for years that I could inject there.

I have massive scars on my abdomen and can't inject within 1.5 inches of a scar so the area gets a little limited sometimes, but thighs have always been good, and there's a lot of my bottom to aim at!

Robinredbreast said:

Good morning, just had my first cuppa and can't wait until I have another.
I had a great day out at the steam rally yesterday and a lovely mooch around, then a gf vegan pizza, nice vegs on it but the crust was a bit on the hard side, I just thought I would try it. Then a peanut Haagen-Dazs ice cream on a stick, lots of nuts too and rather delish

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Two yummy pizza makers are The White Rabbit and also Sainsbury's Love your Veggies range. They do a gorgeous jackfruit one! Mind you, I just love pizza ......

Robinredbreast said:

This was Asda, I love veggies so that one looked appealing, but not keen on the crust.

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Yeah - I don't like the crust to be one of those break-your-teeth efforts either.

WuTwo said:

Yeah - my husband actually likes the evil stuff. It is never permitted to sully my plate

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Luv beetroot