Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on November 21, 2012 at 7:51pm

You have to pinch the skin up. That's critical to getting subcutaneous shots where they go and should help with pain issues.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stemwinder on November 21, 2012 at 8:02pm

I usually inject in my stomach or my thigh. It doesn't really matter where you inject because sooner or later your going to hit a nerve and it'll sting quite a bit. Practice does make things easier and soon you will get over your anxiety and fear. Poking one's self with a needle is not a natural act but will feel normal to you after a while. Pinching up the skin will help with the pain.

Hang in there it gets easier.

Gary

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Parrformance on November 22, 2012 at 8:35am

+1

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Super_sally on November 21, 2012 at 8:18pm

I usually do stomach or love handles. I find upper tummy is more sensitive than lower (mostly). Stemwinder is right though, that sometimes you hit a sensitive area. Putting the needle in straight and fast helps, i find. Sometimes I pinch and sometimes I don't - but then I've got plenty of fat so no risk of going anywhere.

I don't inject on my thighs because I find I bruise very badly there.

You'll get better with practice and hopefully it won't bother you so much soon.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by lotsofshots on November 22, 2012 at 5:25am

Sometimes with Lantus it is not the needle that hurts. The insulin Lantus sometimes makes a burning feeling for a while after you give yourself a shot. It doesn't happen every time to me though, but enough to notice, like every third time. If that was your third shot you are doing a good job, especially if you are afraid, soon you will be an old pro at it. Pinching up the skin is a good idea for good absorption. The stomach is a good area unless you are super thin. Make sure to do a different place every time.
I have a trick, I pretend a mosquito is biting me instead of thinking about the needle. I never heard of mosquito bite phobia, though I could be mistaken! Then I get to be happy that I don't have an itchy mosquito bite to deal with later, and that works for me!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on November 22, 2012 at 5:40am

I have to tell you, over time I've come to feel that lancing for blood sugar testing hurts far more than injecting insulin. And I would encourage you to believe that with repeated injection you will feel less and less fear. In fact, exposure therapy is used to treat various anxiety disorders. And repeatedly injecting is essentially exposing yourself to the same situation that gives you fear and anxiety. You just have to have some faith that it all will get better and it will.

In addition to the good advice you have gotten, let me give you two key suggestions. First, use an ice cube at your injection site, this will numb the site and you will feel the injection much less. Second, I have found that a swift and fast injection helps to make a painless injection. Inserting the needle slowly hurts a lot more. This technique for a painless injection is described by Dr. Bernstein over at DiabetesInControl.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Parrformance on November 22, 2012 at 8:39am

I must agree, I was terrified of the pain of CGM insertion and caused myself a lot of discomfort with the method of insertion, now that I know what to expect the pain/discomfort no longer worries or bothers me.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shawnmarie on November 22, 2012 at 6:46am

Regarding pinching up, the information insert with my pens says not to do it. I use the shortest possible needle as well and I don't really pinch the skin, but I do tend to hold a fairly large amount of flesh between my thumb and other fingers. I think it might be more psychological than anything else, but it seems to help with the pain. I don't use my stomach much because I have more padding on the love handles, a site previously mentioned.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kathyann on November 22, 2012 at 9:46am

hi there,
I use my stomach, thighs,arms. Just make sure you rotate or your skin will get tough and hard to puncture. I walk my needle across my skin. If I start to push and feel nerve pain I move the needle again until I find a less sensitive area. And I do pinch the skin up with Lantus and Humalog. Hope this helps!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chris Miller on November 22, 2012 at 2:39pm

The finger pokes with lancets hurt more than any needle. I was injecting for 38 years, first with syringes, then pen needles, until finally starting on an insulin pump in July.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Gerri on November 23, 2012 at 2:15am

Lantus stings because it's acidic. Levemir doesn't sting or burn, if you can change that would take care of the pain issue. Being afraid of needles sure doesn't help--sorry. I don't use my arms because I've hit muscle there. Hurt!

Doing it quickly is the best way. I use syringes because pens caused bruising for me. Though I rarely even feel it, I've found my butt to be the least sensitive area.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Josephine A Ni Dhomhnaill on November 23, 2012 at 4:09am

I find the quicker the better. So sorry that you are afraid of needles, that is just an awful burden. Your fear will go though. I usually inject in my stomach. I always found the pens a bit heavy, I prefer syringes cause they are lighter.

I've just read that Gorgeous Gerri uses syringes too.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page