Injection site issues

[sprzepiora]

Hello All, I have been diagnosed for a little more than a week, I take 1000mg Metformin and inject novalog before every meal and lantus before bed as per my Doctors instructions.

I have been injecting in my stomach as it seems to be the easiest place to do it, however I have received a few bruises from some of the injections. One of them is large, about the size of a half dollar. This was from a large Lantus shot and I have since decided to break them up into two.

Any way, is there anything I can do to limit the bruising, as it is freeking out my wife, and well, I frankly don't like it either.

[Stuboy]

Were you taught how to inject?

You need to go straight in, at a 90 degree angle to your body.
You will get some bruising sometimes, i have one from the other day.

You might consider different size and gauge needles. Personally i use the 6mm 32g needles, they are the Novofine type, really really thin an very rarely bruise from them.

Also, you will need to rotate injection sites a bit, that's not to say you can't always inject in your stomach, but just be sure to move it around a bit.

[morrisma]

When I was on injections, I sometimes got bruises but over 9 years, maybe 6 or 7 only. Are you using a new needle each time? I re-used them often but at least a couple of the bruises I got were from dull, overused needles.

Some other questions:
Are you thin or thick where you inject? (Thick is easier but I wouldn't gain weight just for this! :D )
Are you pinching? (if yes, then try without. If no, try with.)
Is the insulin cold? The bottle or pen you are using need not be refrigerated.
Are you jabbing hard? (The needles are very sharp and need little effort. Try gently using them in an orange for practice if you need to.)

Let us know!

[Chappo]

It's a good idea to squeeze a large-ish lump of your stomach as you inject. I've done that for all of my life and never had any bruising issues.

You also should slow down your injections as much as possible. The speed at which you inject can often causing lumps and mounds of insulin just under the skin, which take a lot of time to dissolve into your tissue and start to work. This can cause some quite nasty little bruises.

Another thing you should also do is change the guage of your needles every now and then. If you're constantly bruising, try a shorter and thinner needle. Once you stop, change back to your original size.

I guess this is coming from an Australia who gets all his pens and needles completely free (thank you Federal Government!), but please, if you can, try to use the needles once-only. They are single-use for many reason (and many people think profit), but also because the small about of lubricant on the needle is lost after the first withdrawal.
That means the second time you use it, there isn't nearly as much lubricant on the needle and the injection can be much rougher.

Hope it helps and your bruises go away soon! :)

[shiftzor]

You should definitely change injection sites otherwise you will experience problems later on, I normally do Novorapid at breakfast and dinner into my belly, and then dinner and Lantus into my thighs. If you find the sweet spot on your thighs it doesn’t hurt at all. I would say the sweet spot is in the middle of upper leg, between your waste and your nees. ;) Make sure you never inject Lantus into the same area as your Novorapid, if you are taking them together at the same time. ;)

[sprzepiora]

Wow, thanks for the response. I am using a new needle every time. I also am rotating within my stomach region, but I like the stomach area as I just have to lift my shirt so I have been using it since I started injections.

Maybe I am injecting to fast, I will try to slow it down and see if that helps some.

[Hammer]

I inject my Byetta into my abdomen, and the Lantus in my thighs. I've found that if I stretch my leg out and let it relax, the skin is more pliable, so it's easier to inject. I've gotten a bruise or two, but that's rare for me, so I must have done something wrong....probably had an unsteady hand with the injection and I moved the needle a bit. I now try to steady my hand on the arm of a chair....that seems to work well.;)

Oh, to those who offered suggestions to me when I was having a drop of blood bubble out of the injection site when I took the Lantus, I'm still using the longer ½" needle and pushing down harder on the plunger, and to date, I haven't had any more problems.:)

[princesslinda]

I often get bruising from the Byetta injections, but I always bruise easily anyway. If you take aspirin regularly, this may also cause easier bruising.