Injecting Insulin

[kingleonidas]

I take my lantus on the sides of my tummy, is it normal to sometimes have it burn a little while injecting or get a small bump resembling mosquito bite as a result of injecting the needle into your skin?

I pinch the skin and then inject.

[enigmalady777]

I used Lantus for several months and finally had to switch to Levemir because I would get very painful burning, swelling and bruising from Lantus.

I tried using a longer needle (1/2 inch, instead of 1/8) but the problem persisted. I finally gave up on the Lantus.

I've had no problems with the Levemir, except that I need a higher dose of it to get the same BG control I had with Lantus, but it's a small price to pay for not having to deal with the discomfort.

[jillrapp]

I get that often, even with Levemir, I just push and rub the bump until it goes away :) it's just a pocket of insulin :)

[kingleonidas]

I mean after a day or two, there are 2 or 3 little bumps under my skin that I noticed. I guess thats because I am new to injecting.

I have been moreon the sides closer to my hips, should I go closer to the middle?, but I know to stay away from the navel.

[Luke]

I get it at times.

The sting is from Lantus being acidic, or so my Endo tells me.

The bumps are from constant use of the same injection area, so he tells me again!

[Penny]

I find I just get the burn when I inject into muscle....like on my thighs. I try to change sites often, because I get bruises if I don't. Usually, start at the top left side of my tummy and then the bottom left, then move to my left thigh and then start on the left side the same way. This seemed to take care of the bumps and the bruises.

[kingleonidas]

Thanks alot ! Good advice !!

[Bountyman]

I've been injecting Lantus for 3 months now. First with a syringe and now with the SoloSTAR pen. The syringes got to be a little fumbly and I struggled to purge that one last bubble from the syringe. Told my PA I was tired of the syringe thing and wanted off the diabetes ride. He smiled and showed me a demo pen and how to use it.

The syringes I was using were BD 1/2" 29G...way too big for my liking. I did a search on the internet and found out that BD makes pen needles in 3 different sizes; the 1/2" in 29G; a 5/16" in 30G; and a 3/16" in 31G (for children and skinny dudes). Although I weigh 250+ I ordered the 3/16" 31G needles with my spanky new box of SoloSTAR pens. What a difference. Anybody that's still injecting themselves with a horse syringe needs to come into the 21st century.

For a while I was confused by the statement "Don't inject in the same spot!" Well, dang, if I'm going to be injecting this stuff once a day for the rest of my life eventually I'm gonna find myself back to square one, right? The suggestive spots I found on the web were the stomach; your sides at the same latitude as your stomach; your thighs; and a spot behind the top of your arm (where I suppose I'd either have to be double-jointed with eyes in the back of my head, or have one of my sleepover girlfriends inject me before bedtime, which I doubt she's going to consider foreplay!)

I tried a few spots on my thighs. Ouch!! Not a user-friendly area. Went back to my stomach. I finally told my PA that I need to know a little more about this don't-inject-in-the-same-spot regimen. How often can I come back to square one and how close to the previous injection can I actually get? He told me that since I'm injecting 25 units that that amount spreads out about the size of a 50¢ piece and my next injection should be at least twice that distance away.

The Lantus pen carries 300 units of insulin. It says that if you have any Lantus left over at the end of your last shot to use that in your next injection and then inject yourself with the new pen minus the amount from the old pen. Yeah, right, like I'm gonna inject myself twice in one sitting when I have to twist my own arm in order to inject myself once! Well, I've lucked out. My nightly injection calls for 25 units of insulin. The pen instructions tell you to clear each new needle with 2 units of insulin. That's 11 days of 27 units equaling 297 units. The other 3 units go into the sharps container along with the pen. No "double stickin'" for this cowboy!

So, I made up a chart of 11 injection sites and Scotch taped it to the side of my computer. I also wrote down on my calender next to my computer table the number of shot according to what day it is. Today is the 30th and tonight I inject at spot number 3. Here's the chart:

http://people.delphiforums.com/b0untyman/injection.jpg

I'm about 100 injections into this Lantus regimen and I think I've only experienced the "burn" two or three times...and I attribute it to still having traces of alcohol on my skin. The burning went away in less than a minute. As to little bumps, you shouldn't get those unless you're just slamming the piston down on your injection device and the end of the needle isn't completely past the facia layer that divides the layers of skin from the fat. Push the piston down s l o w l y.

If you're pinching your skin and slanting the needle at too acute of an angle this can happen, also. Remember, the more you slant the needle the more shallow the injection.

Good luck.

[kingleonidas]

Am I supposed to pinch or do it on flat skin with no pinching at all? That's what I am a little confised about. Thanks.

[art]

When I was on Lanthus same problems. I hated the bumps and never figured out to get out of them appearing. The burning may be from the Lanthus being cold. Fill the syringe and let it sit for about 15 minutes before impaling yourself.

Art

[kingleonidas]

Thanks, my lantus is always at room temperature. I keep the unsused ones in the fridge. thnaks alot !

[jtausch]

Lantus can burn when injected. Its is the PH of the insulin that burns. Sometime it does sometimes it does not.

[Bountyman]

Where you're supposed to inject yourself is where you have a considerable fat layer. Lantus is only absorbed and reacts with your fat cells. I would guess that if you're getting a pocket of insulin then the site where you're injecting it is between your muscle and your skin. If it were into the fat layer, it would disperse into the fat when slowly injected. Bumps appear when the fluid has nowhere else to go but up.

Do your injections ever weep a few units after you pull the needle out?

[kingleonidas]

Not really, maybe once I noticed a small drop, but I immediately place my finger on top after pulling out needle.

[kingleonidas]

Will the little bump of insulin disperse itslef later on and interfere with the next day's insulin?, giving me too much at night?

[jensw61]

Bountyman, thanks for the tip re injecting 2 50c's away from the last site! Loved your diagram and will copy that in a slightly different way. Do you really hang that up beside your computer???!!!

[kingleonidas]

Yes !! That diagram was great. Thanks for the tip !

[michelby]

I have the same problem as you! I noticed that if I injected slower, it minimized the burn, but I still get it sometimes.

Practice makes perfect I guess!!!

[aaem]

lantus is acidic medium , and the sc tissue is neutral medium , so lantus perecpitate in the sc tissue leaving a burning sensation or a sting as u said , and this mode of action is like human insulin , but levemir is different , it is albumin binding

[dbaratta]

I take my lantus on the sides of my tummy, is it normal to sometimes have it burn a little while injecting or get a small bump resembling mosquito bite as a result of injecting the needle into your skin?

I pinch the skin and then inject.

Get used to it. :T Try an area with more fat? Maybe? I was told to inject closer to my belly button with Novolog and with Lantus inject in my outer thigh which can be pretty painful at times. I just poke a little till I don't feel the poke and then push it in. ugh. LOL what a life huh?:nurse:

[gary.keith]

I find it fascinating how we all seem to react to the same things just a little bit differently. For me moving to injecting Lantus in my outer thigh has been a great experience. There's no more burning, no more weeping and no more bleeding.

Am I supposed to pinch or do it on flat skin with no pinching at all? That's what I am a little confised about. Thanks.

I inject into flat skin. Always have. When I was in hospital the nurse never suggested I pinch so I never have. Not for Lantus and not for NovoLog either. Unlike most I don't get a subcutaneous bump. I get a dimple that goes away in a few hours.

[Subby]

I find it depends on what padded areas I've got and where I am injecting. In the interest of injecting in more places with slightly less of a layer of fat, I will sometimes pinch but just a little - I'd call it slightly raising the area with a wide "gather", rather than a good pinch. It may depend a little on how much real estate you have to go on. Without this I'd be re-using sites more than I'd like. I think this need to maximise real estate really hits home after a few thousand shots/few years and seeing/feeling a bit of scar buildup if you overuse.