can anyone enlighten me about taking insulin,?

Hi - I have been in your position. Was on tablets, went onto insulin, now back on tablets - may soon go on a mixture of both.

If you really do not have to go onto insulin injections - do not - please seek an alternative opinion, because the longer you can keep off it, the better. Try another kind of tablet first and really really try to loose weight and go and keep a strict diet...you will do yourself good and feel a lot lot better.

As for insulin - although I believe in the dietary tablet approach, taking an insulin injection is actually easier than swallowing some of the pills I have. Its also easier to control the blood glucose readings, but you can easily put in too much and cause a low sugar attack.

I was on very high insulin injections some 4 years back....I spoke to a new doctor - took his advise on diet and different tablets and have not looked back since. Insulin injections should be taken as a last resort....Something tells me you could make an extra effort on diet...Am I right? I bet you I am. Work on the diet, and go the insulin route only if you really have to but believe me the injection side is the easy part of insulin care. Insulin is not the magic potion. You still have to watch what you eat and insulin helps store fat - so it is harder to keep you weight down and we all know what happens when we put on weight.

I had to take Insulin injections while I was on Prednisone because that drug raised my blood sugar so much.

What I found was that the needle is so fine now days that it didn't hurt much when going in...it was really comfortable. The needles are not very long either. Now I was told that you can use the same needle more than once (I would use mine a couple days in a row)...but, everytime you do that the needle dulls more and more and will start to hurt. So, my advice for you is to change your needle everytime. It will cost more for your syringes but, will remain comfortable.

I took Humilin and once the needle was placed I didn't feel the rest of the injection.

I don't want you to think that you will not feel it at all, it feels like a small pinch...not bad...not as bad as pricking your fingers at least to test.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions.

I hear your fears though, I was scared the first time too.

I'm a big baby to but luckily I dont have to take insulin. My cousin, however, is a type 2 diabetic and I used to observe her when she first started using needles. She got diabetes at about age 15, and is now almost 24. She used a tester that looked like a pen, which just pricked her finger and didnt seem to hurt her that much. I think a nurse and her mother at first helped administer the shots and eventually she was able to do it herself. She never liked the idea of them but got used to it by reminding herself that it was necessary for her to live. She had to alternate places to put the needle because she would get sores. The biggest problem I saw was the fact that she had to do this everytime she wanted to eat and try and figure out how much insulin she would need. So I think the shots you will get used to, its the meticulous care and effects on other parts of the body/wounds that can be demanding.

Eventually my cousin got an insulin pump inserted in her side and it seems to make her life so much easier. She just dials in the amount she needs and shes good. It looks likea beeper and doesnt seem to bother her. I think the pump would be a good idea if you hate shots, so talk to your doctor. Good Luck.

You're not a baby. You're just going through something difficult. If you're really afraid try an insulin pump. That way you have a pump with a needle in all the time (you don't actually feel it) and you aren't constantly putting in a new needle. Plus when you first put it in you can use numbing cream. But be warned you can't start using it right away. You need to be on needles first.

You're not a baby, needles are scary and phobic for most people. What's funny is I've been taking shots for 24 years, and when I first started it was horrifying, but I managed to psych myself out that my insulin shots weren't really needles. I still pass out if I get a flu shot or something! I guess I'm saying you'll get used to it. The needles are very thin and short, and you will rarely feel them. Don't let your phobia keep you from giving your body what it badly needs to stay alive as long as possible.

Have you looked into a pump? You only jab yourself once with an ejector every few days instead of several needle shots a day.

It does not hurt. The needles are very small and the amount to be injected is small, too. You just choose a place where there are proper muscles, take them between two fingers and pick into the top. By the way: it is a question of time only until the Insulin will be transferred by ultrasound.

It doesn't hurt. I give myself injections in the belly and the upper thigh. It didn't even hurt the first time I did it. Once in awhile there will be a little sting because I didn't let the alcohol from the swab dry completely before doing the injection, but that's about it. I think jabbing my finger for a test is worse. I was on oral meds and they quit working for me, too. I have to take insulin now. It's easy and doesn't hurt. Just don't keep using the same injection site over and over. Move it around. You can do it !!!! SMILE for me !!

baby girl!! you can get over it. it hurts much less then the finger prickings several times a day.

You put the needle next to your skin on the tummy area and if it hurts a bit, move it over. Pinch up some skin and slide the needle into the skin. I rarely have any bruising (for hitting a blood vessel) and it almost never "feels" when I am doing it.

I am taking Lantus in the early morning and metformin morning and evening for the insulin resistance.

Honey, I have been doing this for the past 5 years!! It is ok to be afraid to begin with. You do get over it. Sorry they took the inhaled insulin off the market because the dosage was not accurate and doctors weren't prescribing it enough.

email me privately for pep talks on this. I was afraid too at first even tho I used to see my mother doing it.

Needles are very scary to many people. I used to be super afraid of them. Then I got one and it wasn't too bad. Then another, and it was even better. Now, they aren't a big deal at all.

You will definitely get used to needles. After a little while, they won't be a big deal at all. They will be just like getting a tiny pinch.

Think about it this way: your life could depend on you getting insulin. Would you rather die than get a needle? I doubt it. Your life is worth way more than the tiny amount of pain that comes with getting a needle.

well it feels like a bee sting if done right it you already prick yourself to test how high your blood sugar is it shouldn't hurt more than that also when they put you on insulin they make you take a class on how to prick yourself with a needle so they can make sure you are doing it right also they lend support until you feel ready to begin on your own and also the smaller tip of the needle the less it hurt that is what I have been told by many who take insulin. hope this helped a little and good luck.