t see mentioned, yet, is the possibility that your son might need to find some new injection sites, or possibly do a better job of rotating injection sites. It is well known that overused injection sites can eventually cause poor absorption of injected insulin, resulting in poor control of blood sugar levels. After many years of injections, some areas may we worn out. You should consider this and try injections in areas of the body that have not previously been used.
My sister also has type 1 and takes lantus at bedtime and then takes humalog for correction AND to cover food with carbs, so in her case, if her BG is not High (if it IS under a particular number that she and her doc have discussed), then she does not need a correction shot AND if she was not going to eat anything containing carbs at that time, she would not need humalog to cover food, HOWEVER, she would still take her lantus shot at bedtime.
I can recommend that you split the humalog into a number of injections and inject at different sites to give a more predictable absorption. The recommendation is for not more than 6 units/ injection. So if you will take 10 units of humalog to cover food then you should inject 6 units in one spot and 4 units in another. IF you take 13 units, then do one injection of 6 units and 1 of 7.
ALso recommendation to avoid injecting into legs. The absorption can be uneven.
So, in essence, you make it even more difficult to insert an injection. So, by alternating your sites, you lesson that possibility, because you give each area a longer recovery time.
I can understand the difficulty in trying to give yourself the shots on the back of your arms, or on your backside hips. If my wife (who is afraid of needles and normally passes out at the sight of a needle) did not give me those shots, I couldn't do it myself.
d appreciate experienced opinions. My Support Services weekly injection map/planner has only 4 sites for each arm, 8 for the hips, 10 for the thighs and 19 in the abdomen. That seems excessively burdensome for the arms and not using the abdomen enough. For some of us, sadly, there is SO much adipose territory in the abdomen I'm tempted to consider the upper and lower row of the abdomen two separate 8 site zones and go there twice in a rotation.
Hi BamaBelle,
You seem to be very observant about your responses and patterns to your meds, and so I'd encourage you to trust your instincts here.
While insulin allergies are not common, plenty of folks have them. Folks may not be allergic to the insulin per se, but they may be allergic to the buffering agent or preservative or some other component in the vial of insulin.
I used this site to read about possible side-effects of insulin aspart (Novolog):
http://www.nlm.nih.
You didn't mention this, so I'll also suggest you consider taking shots in your "butt" or upper hip area. The more you'll consider rotating injection sites, the better overall absorption you'll enjoy and the less "abuse" any one area will feel.
I know what you mean about avoiding areas that HURT HURT HURT! I never did find a good region on my legs, but while I have skinny arms, I can take shots there easily.
Larry, I would recommend that you make an appointment with a diabetes educator so he/she can watch your technique, injection sites, etc. as I never heard of these problems with Lantus. Lantus is a 24 hour basal insulin that starts to work in an hour after injected and lasts most of the day without peaking. Also, I have never heard of a Lantus pen but have a call into our local rep to ask. My teenage son has Type 1 diabetes and there is never a dull moment with diabetes, is there.
I have been a type 1 diabetic for over 16 years and have always been taking around 6 units of R in the morning with some N. That has seemed to work fine until recently my lunch blood sugar levels have been sky high. I keep adding more R (i'm not at 10 units) and it seems like the R is not working at all. I have even changed the bottle just in case there was something wrong with that vial and nothing has changed.
Some diabetics I have spoken with about injection sites mention that, after years, some areas develop either a slight raising of tissue (almost like a large lump) or in some cases, some tissue atrophy in areas where injections are given. In order to give each area a rest, most doctors do recommend rotating injection sites. However, if you are not comfortable doing this, just watch carefully for any changes, and if you see changes, alter your pattern. Rotating around the area is a good start.
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