Struggling with insulin injections, any tips?

[CheeseandGherkins]

I'm 26+4 and have been injecting insulin since about week 13 when I was told I have gestational diabetes. Every few weeks I have a bad couple of days where I really find it difficult to inject and bruise a lot etc. I've had this for a few days now and had quite a hard one two nights ago where I pulled it out as I was injecting and left a lump under my skin. I struggled again this morning having to try about 10 times before finally getting it in.

Does anyone have any tips to make it easier? I'm starting to get very frustrated and upset with it and the thought of food is putting me off as I know I need to inject before I eat 3 times a day every day.

I'm worried and anxious as it is due to our previous baby daughter being stillborn at 37 weeks last December so I'm finding this pregnancy tough. Sometimes I inject and I cannot even feel it and other times it's very hard. I know I have to suck it up and do it, and I do I was just hoping that maybe I'm doing something wrong!

I've spoken to the hospital and they are really nice but there wasn't a lot they could do other than suggesting someone else does it for me but that feels worse to me in a way! I have to also say that I've been needle phobic for as long as I can remember so self injecting is a really big deal for me.

hello cheese, i'm on once daily injections of clexane/heparin and am also extrememly squeamish about injections, blood tests, having my blood pressure taken, in fact any medical procedure, however simple it may seem, so i feel your pain. was fainting regularly during blood tests too.
had problems with the placenta last pregnancy, which resulted in my little boy being born at 28 weeks, weighing less than 2 pounds, so obviously trying to avoid simialr problems this time, i;m 22 weeks pregnant now.
i am covered in bruises all over my tummy, various shades of blue, black and green, and i think the only way i have coped is having my husband inject me early every morning while i am snuggled up in bed, before he goes to work. where are you injecting? is it more painful in the stomach/leg?
would you consider your other half doing it, say in front of the tv to take your mind off it? are you squeezing enough flab to inject into? this isn't a problem for me, have plenty to go round!
So sorry to hear of your loss last year, i really hope you can overcome this problem (to some extent) and your pregnancy continues well.

Thanks efeslight I don't envy you the clexane as my dh has to take that daily and he finds it painful. 28 weeks is very early, that must be a worry for you now. Was everything ok with you little boy?

I'm injecting into my stomach but have had to move around to the sides as I can't pull any fat up nearer the front anymore as I'm stretched and have a large bump. I don't have a huge amount of flesh to play with which is another thing making it hard I think, I can pinch a small bit but not much and she always seems to kick me under where I'm trying to ineject! I've never tried leg as they only told me stomach but I am wondering how much longer I'll be able to inject there as I get bigger.

I think it might be more of a mental thing at the moment, it's hard getting it to pierce the skin and then it's usually ok, unless I hit a small vessel and then it's more sore and bleeds. Dh keeps telling me to try and get it in faster as I hesitate a lot now expecting it to hurt but it's catch 22 as being slower makes it worse!

I've injected my way through one pregnancy already, as well as 30 weeks of this one. I find it easier to do it slowly, to be honest. Also the area below my belly button and a few inches to either side of it seems to be the least sensitive so I tend to stick to that.

You just need to inject into fat, so it doesn't necessarily have to be your tummy. Check with the hospital to verify that, of course, but maybe your bum or thigh might work better?

Are you using needles or a pen?

I'm sure the hospital have gone over these sorts of things already, but if you came to see me, this is what I'd be checking:

1. Are you changing your needle every time or is it getting blunt?
2. Are you changing WHERE you are injecting each time? (Start at one side of your tummy and then gradually work your way across to the other side over the next few days.) You could also try your thighs as well. You don't need to pinch up a lump - I certainly don't teach patients to anymore, just make sure you are going into fat, so stomach and thighs should be fine.
3. What length of needles are you using? I tend to use 5mm or 6mm needles unless people have particularly thick skin.
4. Your DH is right about getting the needle straight in. Think of it as a little dart if that helps. The sore bit is getting through the skin.

You are doing a great job because GDM is rotten at the best of times, never mind with a needle phobia. You also don't need to answer my questions here but I hope they might help.

Something else that might help is the Diabetes UK Careline. They can chat through the diagnosis, the needle phobia and how you are managing.

www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Careline/

Call: 0845 120 2960*, Monday?Friday, 9am?5pm.

Email: [email protected]

Or if you are in Scotland: [email protected].

i had insulin and the nurse said inject to thigh, may be easier than stomach, i didnt like injecting near the bump so found thigh much better
if you are hesitating it does make it worse i think your dh is right. i used to find the finger pricks for the sugar monitoring worse and more painful than the insulin though but i only had to inject at night, so having to do before each meal does sound a pain especially as you still have a while to go, hopefully the more u do it gradually u will get used to it?

List I'm using a pen and on novorapid. I can't se under my belly button but I can't pinch up any fat there or to the sides of it so I can't do that anymore. I'll ask about other areas when I go back on Friday, seeing consultants then so they should be able to help hopefully!

bartlet definitely changing everytime so it's not blunt. I've been trying to change the area, I do one side one day and the other the next but it's similar areas each time as there are less areas I can pinch up from as my bump has grown. My needles are 5mm so not very long either. Sounds silly but I worry about it going to deep on my stomach and hurting the baby as there isn't any fat towards the front. I use more to the sides because there is fat there but it hurts more.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I've noticed that when I do it faster it's usually easier but now and then I've gone right in and it's been very painful and that's put me off. Also, I've gone through the skin a few times and then seemed to hit something else as it got a little stuck, felt pain and pushed through something. Thank you for the numbers and email addresses, they're appreciated :)

firawla I thought I'd be used to it by now myself, I was doing so much better about a week ago and it's just getting harder and harder. The finger pricks are more of a short, sharp pain I find and at least are over quicker! I'm testing at least 4 times a day, first thing in the morning and an hour after meals, I inject before breakfast, lunch and dinner. I tend to test if I feel odd or strange at all, just in case so it's sometimes a couple of extra times a day.

hello again cheese, my little boy is fine now , thank you, a few complications and he's still small and not as physically coordinated as some kids, but his neurologist said it was rare for someone who was so small and early to be doing so well, so we're really pleased. i hope your injections get easier, i certainly find its less painful and i think bruises less if we pinch some fat to inject into, so i now lean forward a bit so the skin on my stomach is not taut, if that makes sense.

Hi Cheese - sorry to hear about this. I'm Type 1 all the time, so when I do it during pregnancy, it's what I do anyway, but here's what I find:

I hate pens. I think they are much more painful than syringes - maybe try disposables? You can control when you push, how you push, the speed of it - I always bruise with pens, never with syringes.

If you use disposables, ask from DEMI needles as they are the thinnest.

I never use my stomach, always my arms, bum, and thighs. Again, you can control it better with a disposable.

You get lumps if it's too shallow, bruises if too deep I think, so it may be the angle of the needle.

I don't keep the insulin I'm using in the fridge, I keep it at room temp as I find cold insulin hurts more.

I never pinch the skin unless on my legs.

Hope this helps - do feel free to PM if you'd rather.

Apologies, but forgot to say I'm so sorry for your loss Cheese and all best wishes for this pregnancy.

I wonder whether injecting in your tummy is also a worry as it seems so invasive when you're pregnant? Using your legs or arms or bum might take that away, and using needles/syringes will perhaps give you more of a sense of control?

efeslight I'm glad thar your ds is doing well now, that's very good :) Does makes sense, I find it harder when the skin is tauter.

ICapturedTheKitchen thank you for the advice. What did you mean by disposables? I have a pen which I fit a new needles onto each time, I think it's the smallest one I can get at 5mm.

The thought of an actual syringe makes me feel a lot worse! I hate needles at the best of times. It must be really hard having to inject all the time, they've said they want to test me afterwards to see if I have diabetes normally as they keep telling me how strange it is that I have it now and especially from so early on. I don't have a sweet tooth either, far more into savoury foods.

Lumps from being too shallow makes sense as I was pulling it out as I was still injecting, not realising though. I go straight in and not at an angle as that's what they told me to do. I was told to keep spare pens in the fridge and take them out before I needed to use them so I keep the current one in my bag all the time.

Thanks for your wishes :) I'm sure there is something to it with the worry of hurting the baby too. I'll hopefully get to talk to the hospital tomorrow if I can make my appointment as I've just come down with something and am feeling rubbish, have a dr appointment this afternoon.

Please don't inject in your arms. Most of us don't have enough fat in the bit of our arms we can get to so you risk injecting into muscle.

I teach patients to inject straight in (not at an angle). Are you finishing the injection then counting to 10 before removing the pen to make sure you are getting all the insulin in? I can see why lumps might develop if you are removing the needle before the injection is finished.

Hope you feel better soon.

I only got that lump the once and I did take it out far too soon, I had trouble with that one getting it in and was stressed so I think I just pulled it out too quickly. I usually do push in then count to 10.

I managed to do one yesterday and didn't feel it at all! Wish they were all that way. Thanks, hoping this bug goes soon.

Cheese - I use disposable syringes which have the needle attached. You use them once and then bin them into a sharps box (a tub really which I get from the GP and return there when it's full). I also use lancets which I don't attach to a pin pricking device as, again, I find that using them myself means I can control the depth and pressure. I test at least 6 times a day, more when pregnant or ttc and I have no bruises, no marks, and there's no pain. When someone else does a finger test on me and uses one of those devices, I'm shocked at how much they hurt - and it lasts for a few days, so maybe you could consider doing it by hand, as it were.

I totally sympathise with the needle phobia. I can't bear to have blood taken and practically every nurse I've ever met laughs at that, says 'what nonsense' when they know I'm type one, and I sit there, sweating, heart racing, and feeling faint!

No one can know how you feel. You are already dealing with so much after your loss, and my heart goes out to you having to cope with this as well.

Of course everyone is different, but I have injected into my arms for years. I'm not skinny, but the fat isn't hanging off me either ! (I'm a size 12, so only a bit deluded!).

This is what I use Cheese and they're really not scary! I tried a pen and actually felt much more 'diabetic' if that makes any sense. You can be in and out with one of these in seconds . . .

www.bd.com/uk/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=14153&id=31355

My DD (10) is type 1 diabetic - I would say leave your tummy alone - she has been injecting for 7 years and hates it in her tummy - may advice your be top of bum and thigh. Also talk to your diabetes nurse about shorter needles - my dd has gone from 5mm needles to 4mm and it makes all the difference pain wise for her. I am so sorry for you, you must be so worried given that you lost a baby before. You will get through this, it is a blink of an eye and once you have your baby all will be put in perspective. Chin up sweetheart and do contact the Diabetes Centre for some advice.