So I am not a teenager but my son is a newly diagnosed teen....diagnosed with type 1 on july 10, 2009. he has very little fat on his body (5'7, 113 lbs) and complains that giving the shot in his stomach hurts. I usually do the breakfast and dinner shot for him in his arms but for lunch he is on his on. Any tricks/suggestions? I figured I would give him his breakfast shot in his stomach to see if maybe i can help him. Thanks for all the help!
drew's mom
I would suggest talking to your endo as soon as possible about getting a pump. As a teenager, it's a lot easier to have a 'normal' life with a pump, and the catheter only has to go in once every 3 days, so there's less needles and poking involved. (there's also an amazing little inserter thing I call the 'staple gun' that makes it easier to insert it in less fatty areas) You can also rotate and try the tops of the thighs and the upper part of the butt, there's usually more fat there. I have heard that you can get very small needles for insulin pens so that could be an option too. But I would definitely ask your endocrinologist about the pump/insulin pens as they seem better options unless you've got good control now. Being recently diagnosed his sugars are probably still weird so it'd be more of a 'less needles' option.
Hope I helped! If you have more questions, just ask... I've had diabetes for almost 7 years now, been on the pump for 5. (also sorry for the rambling at the end...)
Here's a handy trick to giving yourself shots in the arm. What you do is sit down; pull your knee up onto the chair; and then push your uppper arm onto your knee, which pinches up enough fat to be able to inject. This could also be done by pushing the upper arm against a counter, corner of a wall, or some other surface like that. Here's a picture so you have a visual.
Hope this helps. (=
When I took my shots at school I gave them to myself in the tops of my legs. It didn't hurt. I just pinched the skin up annd gave myself the shot. What I really suggest is talking about getting a pump. I've had one for almost 2 years and I've had diabetes for almost 3 years.
Thanks for all the responses! We asked the endo when we can get the pump and she said not for at least 6 to 8 months. She wants to get him through the honeymoon period. He is currently propping his arm on a table to give himself his shot. We also found out that a 45 degree angle is helpful (as opposed to the 90 degree). We are switching to the 3/16 needle size too. Hopefully all these things will get us through the next 6-8 months until we can get the pump! Thanks for the pic of the girl placing her arm on her knee, showing him this really helped him understand what i was trying to describe.
heey,
i was just diagnosed on july 20th, and i too have very little body fat, im 5'4 and 97 pounds. so i know how he feels.
he pinches his stonach right? also i hunch over... "the only time ill ever be allowed to slouch"
annd remind him, its only a few seconds, and then its over. i know its tough, but he'll get used to it, i already have :)
oh, you probley already know this buuut, incellin is better abosorbed through the stomach. soo... heres my trick. click the link. you can find certain spots in your stomach that dont hurt at all.
http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q344/dozy20/stomach.jpg
im not exsactly a great artist but i really hope this helps, it helped me :)
