My 9 year old nephew has recently been diagnosed with T1D. He “fights” with his parents for over an hour every evening because he does not want to take his lantus injection. As a T1D myself, I understand that lantus can sting and cause irritation. His mother is looking for advice on how to make this an easier process each evening. Any suggestions would be apprciated. Thanks
if it stings, they might want to ice pack the area before the injection. Lantus stings because of the pH of the formulation (it’s an acid). if he’s sensitive to it it will always sting. Levemir is pH neutral so if that is the only thing irritating him, maybe they could talk to his endo.
if he’s fighting because he doesn’t want the shot… well I don’t think there is a good suggestion, he is likely to fight until he can accept the situation.
good luck, sorry about your nephew’s diagnosis.
Try taking the shot in the top of the thigh i find you can sometimes get no pain from lantus there
Another idea… I know we’ve always been taught to keep our insulin in the refrigerator, but the pen or vial that is actively being used can remain at room temperature. Injecting cold insulin hurts more and injecting cold Lantus increases the sting. I would also try keeping the current pen/vial in a cool, dry cupboard instead of the fridge, and see if that makes a difference.
I’ve heard good things about the ShotBlocker (http://www.bionixmed.com/MED_Pages/ShotBlocker.html).
We give our dghtr Her Lantus at night. We would tell her a positive memory of her younger years after her shot. She would look forward to the nights. Good luck.
i’m about to reach my year 44th year as a Type 1. even though it was many years ago, i remember that certain places hurt more than others when receiving my injection. the sites with more adipose tissue seemed to be the best location. find the spots where it hurts the least !!! room temperature insulin !!! angle of injection is important, also.
i was diagnosed at age 7 and within the first year i was injecting myself under my parent’s supervision. i’m sure it is too soon at this point for him to handle his own injections but i enjoyed having a sense of control over my disease by injecting myself. his parents will have to determine the best way to bring him to terms with the situation and it will possibly be a difficult task.
as hard as it may be, he needs to understand the following things:
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insulin delivered through his skin is required to keep him alive.
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he can control his disease (diet, insulin, exercise)
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if he lets his disease control him by not taking his insulin, bad things will happen (eye-kidney-heart
damage, ketoacidosis).
as stated by JOE he will fight the shot until he accepts the situation. i don’t know where he is as far as acceptance goes but he needs to know that while he had no control over contracting diabetes, he is in control of his actions which manage his disease. He needs to own it and plan to live a long healthy life.
after nearly 44 years as a person with diabetes, I am stronger, healthier, and sick less often than my non-diabetic co-workers, friends, and family. he CAN do this…tell him don’t quit, never give up, and keep trying. God bless and good luck.
My son had the same complaint. We discovered that it stings less when given in the fatty area at the back of his upper leg. I also touch the area with my always cold hand since he says that makes it better. Have him relax the leg so you have a lot of that loose fat and it is so easy to quickly administer. This area doesn’t bruise as easy and my little man’s arm does. The thing I didn’t realize with the Lantus is that once it is outside the fridge and used you do not put it back. It actually stays at room temperature.
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! Keep it coming. Always looking for additional support.
My daughter was diagnosed in June 2015. She had a reaction to Lantis while in the hospital and they tried Levimere. It works much better for her. Maybe you could ask your Endo about it! Best of luck!
We had a similar concern with my 8 year old who said the Lantus stung. Our endo said that some people are more sensitive to the pH in Lantus. It is different than the body. He had us switch to Levemir and it has been great.
If my child were diagnosed, I’d get him on an insulin pump asap. That way, the poke would only occur about every three days, and there’d be no need for Lantus.
My 6 year old daughter was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. She fought Lantus because of the sting. With her permission, I started to inject it at night about 30 minutes after she falls asleep. She sleeps very deeply for the first two hours. So she never wakes up or even moves when I inject. This is a much easier option for us.