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What do i do when...

Phieeeface

Phieeeface

Newbie
I went out for a meal last night and didn't realise I had no needles left in my Diabeties bag (rookie error I know) do i couldn't inject the insulin before hand. Next time should i ditch the meal and fetch my needles or is it fine to take the insulin within an hour of eating (slash when I got home).
I'm a newbie and I was so nervous that something was going to happen, so I eat at lightening speed and raced home and took the insulin then.

What should I have done?
 
I've done similar and left everything at home!! Not ideal but I just took it when I got in, try to have a low carb or carb free options. It's really hard at first , I'm 10 months in and still making the same mistakes!! Just go easy on yourself x


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Phieeeface said:
I went out for a meal last night and didn't realise I had no needles left in my Diabeties bag (rookie error I know) do i couldn't inject the insulin before hand. Next time should i ditch the meal and fetch my needles or is it fine to take the insulin within an hour of eating (slash when I got home).
I'm a newbie and I was so nervous that something was going to happen, so I eat at lightening speed and raced home and took the insulin then.

What should I have done?
Click to expand...

It depends how close you were to,your home. If it was feasible, I'd have nipped back to get needles. Otherwise I'd have eaten my meal but kept the carbs low so as to reduce the BS rise. The first option would be my preferred one as I wouldn't like my meal ruined by being so restricted in what I ate.
 
When I was on injections I always kept the needle on the pen. I used to change it before injections so when I forgot new needles I could reuse one on the pen
 
It happens...I did that just the other day...every other bit of paraphernalia...but no insulin...doh! I generally keep a couple of spare needles in a pocket in my bag...just in case...but that only helps when you have your insulin. I had a low carb meal...as I do anyway and raced home and took my insulin...no harm done.
 
Phieeeface said:
I went out for a meal last night and didn't realise I had no needles left in my Diabeties bag (rookie error I know) do i couldn't inject the insulin before hand.
Click to expand...

Did your pen still have a needle attached (from your previous bolus dose)?

If so I would have just used it but otherwise I'd have tried to keep the carbs down and corrected on my return home.
 
You need to be careful about leaving needles on. The insulin can actually dry up inside the needle and prevent you getting the correct dose (or any dose at all). I won't tell you the long story about how I learned this, but learn it I did.
I would have done the low carb then jog home. Or asked for a doggy bag for the carby parts!


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A lot depends on your numbers. If you generally run low ( I'm usually between 4 & 6) and you know you're going to be home in a hour, don't panic. As others have said, if possible have a low carb option,
If not, just use your meter to keep an eye on your numbers & take your insulin when you get home.

Also, I often find when I'm out, I need less insulin than at home for what seems to be the same amount of carbs, which can make deciding the dose tricky. I tend to allow my blood sugar to be a bit higher if on a night out. It's not that often.

However, if you had the banana split with extra hot chocolate sauce, you may want to get home a touch quicker. ;)
 
We've all done it. A blood sugar rise every now and again like this isn't a big problem. Just take a certain amount of Bolus later and use the meter.
 
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