Its so funny when I take my insulin shot in front of my friends when they say "i could never do that" or "id rather die". They dont understand that when you have diabetes you get used to using a needle quick. Ive never had a problem with getting a shot from a doctor before i had diabetes so it was no biggie to me. But some people are just so petrified of needles that they think if they had diabetes....they would never use a needle and take a shot. But for those of us who have experienced DKA....we know darn well that not taking a shot at the right time feels worse than death. People who dont have diabetes really have no clue what its like in our shoes.
I know what you're saying. There's a difference between thinking you can't and knowing you have to. My brother in law is deathly afraid of needles (to the point where it's funny and really hard to NOT make fun of him). He doesn't mind being around me when I'm taking shots or changing a pump site, but I always notice he's a little paler :o)
Like you, I've heard people say things like "I could never do that" before. Of course, if I had the choice, I wouldn't be "doing that" either. Like I said earlier, there's a difference between having to to save your life and simply thinking you can't. My brother in law has mentioned several times he wants to get over his fear but isn't sure how to. I've offered to poke his finger before, but I don't think he's quite ready for that yet. Haha.
It's funny when you think about it... something as simple as a finger poke (simple to us) may cause others to hyperventilate. Though shots and things never bothered you before diabetes, just try to remember (or see it from their shoes) that if you had the choice, you wouldn't be doing this either. What makes you stronger is that you DON'T have the choice and still continue to live life normally.
...on a completly unrelated note... I'm watching "Revenge of the Nerds" right now and it's pretty damn funny.
I know what you mean. What I love is when we have our annual blood drive at my school, and my friends come back to class complaining about having to get their finger poked before giving blood. They always say how it hurt so much and it still hurts the next day...and I just make fun of them for it and remind them that I have to do it six times a day. (=
Sarah
After sticking ourselves so often over the years it can leave us a little unsympathetic to those not used to what we deal with. I tend to laugh when people complain about it. I mean yes we all get used to it, but it is still annoying. I mean if I could avoid the whole needle and finger test thing, I would, but it's our way of survival. Ironically, when your friends say I would just die if I had to do that all the time, you could respond well if I don't do it all the time I will die.
My favorite though is when I go to Labcorp for blood work. The nurse always kindly tells me, you may feel a small pinch, but it will go away fast. I mean they look to see what they are testing. Don't you think by now I know that it might hurt for a second and more importantly DUH! But I guess they are just on autopilot. For me the thing I hat most about blood work is the end result. I swear the nurses are evil vindictive women who have this urge to use as much tape as is humanly possible to stick the gauze on me. Just let me hold it and it will dry up in a second. It hurts more to pull the tape from my arm hair than it does for the entire needle process!
Actually, the funny thing is that when I am working as a counsilor at a diabetes camp, I can NOT watch my campers take shots! It really freaks me out seeing someone under about 9 years old take insulin. I get all squirmy and have to turn away, it really cracks up the campers though, lol they think I am very weird.... well, they are probably right =p
Oh, Brian, I know! the tape thing is down right evil. It rips off my skin when I take it off- one nurse actually got to witness swollen red and blisters that tape leaves behind on my skin, tape also keeps the skin from healing were the tape was supposed to protect! So she swore to never use tape on me again. She even wrote it in my chart and told me to tell other nurses never to use tape on me without the prep wipes that she was going to go order for the office as soon as I left :)
When people say they could never give themselves a shot, I always think, "So you'd choose to die instead?" I think people don't think things through. But, to be honest, I get the same comments so often that I've lost my patience to respond nicely, so I usually just ignore them. (:
stilledlife I know what you mean, I get an allergy to medical tape, too. They had to find some special tape to hold me together after my c-section. lol.
I dont even have to stick my fingers anymore. I can find a hole from earlier and still get a sample :) yeah i can think back to the school drives and the complainers about their fingers. And the oh so cute cotton ball and bandaid that everyone got. lol its pretty funny thinking back on it. I wasnt a diabetic then. but i also didnt complain bout the finger stick then either.
my friends are always like omg how do u do that doesnt it hurt? and im like no it really doesnt!!! your pricking and poking yourself all the time so it just stops hurting after a while!! the funny thing is that i cant watch people stick themselves!! needles just freak me out when i test myself i cant see the needle so im ok then but when im at camp and people are giving themselves injections i cant watch!!! its weird!!
when people say that, i think: yeah well, i used to be absolutly terrifiesd of needles. i was even more scared than you, but now needles are a part of my daily life.
the thought of bloodwork still freaks me out though. the reason i was scared of needles was because it was an object that doesnt belong in your body, poking thru the skin and putting something in you that doesnt belong there. but with bloodwork, its an object that doesnt belong in your body, poking thru the skin and into a vein(i think thats what it does. but dont tell me. then in october when i have to get bloodwork i will probably freak out big time) and taking something nessasary to live out of you
i find it funny when people cant watch the nurse poke their finger. then for the next 2 days they complain about it. at school physicals, me and the two other diabetic students are about the only people used to the finger pokes. its mean and insensitive of me, but i cant help but laugh when people say "ouch! that hurt". and when the nurse has to poke tehir finger where it bends cause she cant get enough blood from the tip of their finger.
i cant donate blood cause of my thyroid being underactive, i could, but i hate having blood drawn. my veins roll and they are too small to poke anyways.
i think that non-diabetics should live like a diabetic for a day atleast. they dont realize how hard it is living with it. i also think us diabetics could use a break every now and then. i think one would be nice. not having to give insulin for carbs you eat, that would be great!!! i would enjoy that!
i got off topic in a few places...
[quote user="Melanie Marvin"]i also think us diabetics could use a break every now and then. i think one would be nice. not having to give insulin for carbs you eat, that would be great!!! i would enjoy that
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I'm living on doughnuts and chocolate milk on my day off while laying on the couch watching "Leave it to Beaver" and "the Dick Van Dyke Show" re-runs.
EDIT" Puuuuulease. That was supposed to the DIK Van Dyke Show re runs. It's the guys name who happens to be one of the greatest physical comedy actors of all times for crying out loud.
I think it is funny when patients come in covered in tatoos and then freak out about getting blood work or getting an IV. Nurse humor.
Michelle
You could always say Richard Van Dam. (to cynical ex hippie)