# new type 1



## sarahbee (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi I'm 19 and was diagnosed with Type 1 on Thursday and have recently been diagnosed with epilepsy too. I am terrified of needles and feel very down. Need to chat to this group for help and advice. My finger tips are bruised due to the finger blood testing , does anyone have any ideas? Thank you xx


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## Kaylz (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi there @sarahbee and welcome to the forum 
We are a very friendly bunch here and there is always someone around to offer advice 
What finger pricking device are you using? Have you tried changing the depth setting on it? Also which part of your fingers are you actually using? its much more comfortable to use the sides but can still bruise and be painful xx


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## Matt Cycle (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum.   As Kaylz said you can adjust the setting on the finger pricker.  In terms of needles there are covered insulin needles so you don't have to see the needle going in. May be worth speaking to your DSN (specialist nurse) about this.  What insulins have they put you on?


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## Ljc (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi again Sarahbee.  Ouch , ouch   It sure sounds like your devise is on a too higher setting , try the second setting and when about to bodge your finger , don’t press the devise to hard against *the Side* of your finger .
Have a read of this blog
painless-pricks by Alan S


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## sarahbee (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi Kaylz and Matt I'm using ACCU-CHEK Performa Nano, should I use depth 1? I ve been using 3. I ll try the sides tomorrow . I'm seeing the nurse on Wednesday so Ill ask about the needle covers. I'm going for CBT to help me inject as Mum is having to do it for me at the moment.I'm on Degludec insulin 6mls Thank you both x


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## Kaylz (Apr 23, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> Hi Kaylz and Matt I'm using ACCU-CHEK Performa Nano, should I use depth 1? I ve been using 3. I ll try the sides tomorrow . I'm seeing the nurse on Wednesday so Ill ask about the needle covers. I'm going for CBT to help me inject as Mum is having to do it for me at the moment. Thank you both x


Try it on 1 and if that's not enough to easily obtain a sample put it up to 2, the sides are definitely better to use! , you can, if you google insulin injection aids you will get results for the kind of thing Matt is talking about, I myself do 3 injections a day but my mum does my 4th for me as it goes into my hip xx


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## sarahbee (Apr 23, 2018)

I'm dreading having to do so many.


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## HOBIE (Apr 23, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> Hi I'm 19 and was diagnosed with Type 1 on Thursday and have recently been diagnosed with epilepsy too. I am terrified of needles and feel very down. Need to chat to this group for help and advice. My finger tips are bruised due to the finger blood testing , does anyone have any ideas? Thank you xx


Hi sarabee. Make sure your hands are warm. Skin is softer. Welcome


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## Kaylz (Apr 23, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> I'm dreading having to do so many.


It gets easier and dare I say it just becomes natural instinct xx


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## Matt Cycle (Apr 23, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> Hi Kaylz and Matt I'm using ACCU-CHEK Performa Nano, should I use depth 1? I ve been using 3. I ll try the sides tomorrow . I'm seeing the nurse on Wednesday so Ill ask about the needle covers. I'm going for CBT to help me inject as Mum is having to do it for me at the moment.I'm on Degludec insulin 6mls Thank you both x



There are a number of covered pen needles on the market for those such as yourself with anxiety about injections.  This is one from Novo.

https://www.novonordisk.com/patient...-and-injection-support/NovoFineAutocover.html

Degludec (Tresiba) is a basal or long acting insulin.  Are you injecting a bolus (short acting) insulin e.g NovoRapid as well before meals?


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## sarahbee (Apr 23, 2018)

I'm only injecting 6mls in the morning to cover me as I'm struggling with these needles. It will go up but after 5 hours of trying to inject myself on Thursday, the nurse felt id had enough and I'm going back wednesday


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## Matt Cycle (Apr 23, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> I'm only injecting 6mls in the morning to cover me as I'm struggling with these needles. It will go up but after 5 hours of trying to inject myself on Thursday, the nurse felt id had enough and I'm going back wednesday



That's understandable. It's a massive shock at first but try not to worry as in time things will become more straightforward and do mention the covered needles when you see the nurse on Wednesday.


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## sarahbee (Apr 23, 2018)

Thank you Matt


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## Kaylz (Apr 23, 2018)

Feel free to use the forum for all of your questions, to have a little rant or anything else that may be on your mind and keep us updated on how things are going with you  xx


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## Lucy Honeychurch (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi and welcome 
You could ask your team about an i-port, a device you can inject into eliminating injecting into your skin. Let us know how you get on


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## TheClockworkDodo (Apr 23, 2018)

Hello Sarah and welcome 

I'm needle-phobic too and I'd be completely and utterly unable to inject myself with needles I could see.  I use the Autocover ones in Matt's link and they make it easy, it's just like pressing the end of a pen against your leg, you don't need to see the needles at all.  The only downside with the Autocover ones is they are slightly longer than the standard needles for diabetics - I think there are other makes of covered ones which are shorter - but we're talking mms here, so it makes very little difference.  In fact I now find injecting myself so easy I sometimes choose to have an extra injection, if I want a snack or something!

Definitely turn down the finger pricker!  You should barely feel it and it shouldn't leave bruises.  I have mine set to 2.  It sometimes takes a few goes to get it to work, if my hands are cold, but that's much better than having it turned up more!  And only ever use the sides of your finger tips, there are nerve endings in the front of your finger tips so it will really hurt if you prick there.  Also, you may have been told to only use your middle two fingers, but most of us forget that and use all our fingers and thumbs as well, in turn.  So long as you only use the sides it shouldn't matter (it might if you use the fronts, which is why they tend to tell you just to use the middle ones).


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## trophywench (Apr 23, 2018)

You can use any of your fingers,, I've never had much success with my thumbs or my index fingers, but it's quite a distance between the top of the nail bed to the bottom of it, and if you don't go too deep in future, you won't get bruises as long as you constantly rotate where you 'bodge'.

I'm not familiar with your fingerpricking device, I use a different Accu-Chek one that uses cassettes of 6 individual lancets - the ends of which you never have to see.  It may well be less 'vicious' than the one they supply with the Nano and it's certainly worth asking if you can try one.  If your nurse hasn't got one, if you ring Accu-Chek you can ask them to send you one - explain you are a T1 and 'new' and having probs, with a bit of luck they'll send you one free.  I only have mine set on 1 and I've regularly been making many holes in my fingers since  they invented meters!  This one, you can adjust in 0.5's - so if you need 0.5 or 1.5 etc it's no prob.  (The maximum 'depth' is 5 though - wonder iwho, apart from elephants, needs that!)


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## sarahbee (Apr 24, 2018)

Thank you.


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## sarahbee (Apr 24, 2018)

Thank you.


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## sarahbee (Apr 24, 2018)

Thank you.


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## sarahbee (Apr 29, 2018)

Hi it's me again. I'm struggling with these needles. My nurse told me about InsuJet , does anybody else use it and does it hurt?


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## SB2015 (Apr 29, 2018)

I have heard of Insujet but never used it, I hope someone who has come along soon.
Glad that the nurse is working with you to find a solution.


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## sarahbee (Apr 29, 2018)

Also she told me about Libre system, does anyone use this?


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## sarahbee (Apr 29, 2018)

Thank youSB2015


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## SB2015 (Apr 29, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> Also she told me about Libre system, does anyone use this?


I use the Libre all the time.
I find that with the trend line alongside the glucose level I am more able to head off high and low BGs.
The graph that shows my reading s over the past 8 hours also helps me to spot patterns and any problems that are common to each day.  
It is also fantastic when diong fasting tests to check basal (background) insulin.
The collective data which I download to my computer shows me the trend over a period of time that I specify.  I use theseto make decisions Bout any changes I need to my carb insulin ratio and correction ratios (sensitivity).

I hope that this helps.


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## sarahbee (Apr 29, 2018)

Does it hurt putting it in? Do u have to be careful in case u catch it?


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## HOBIE (Apr 29, 2018)

sarahbee said:


> Also she told me about Libre system, does anyone use this?


The Libre is an excellent tool for seeing what's going on. It gives graphs & 24hr numbers. Mountains of info from them.


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## trophywench (Apr 29, 2018)

Does it hurt? Not as you might expect - but it is quite a big extremely sticky 'plaster' (big in comparison to most plasters) being 'slapped' onto your arm very quickly with a bit of force - so it's more surprising than anything.  I think the 'slap' effect quite likely dumbs down any pain you might get from the cannula bit in the middle.  However it's a tiny depth so I shouldn't think there are that many nerve endings in what, 2mm? depth of skin.

Depends how many rather thin doors you tend to squeeze through - the bathroom door in our motorhome is thin narrow and at an angle - so of course yep I caught the end of the ruddy thing on the edge of the door one day and ripped one off and out - but not on 'normal' doors either at home or out and about.

I'd only stuck one foot in there with a new tube of toothpaste after we went shopping, so I wasn't really taking much care, although I am a clumsy oaf anyway so if anyone was going to do it, it would be me!

However - I don't actually recall anyone else ever saying they've done it - and there are A Lot of users all over the internet and in Real Life, these days!  I hesitate to tell you as it could easily put you off them for life LOL - Teresa May uses them and is often seen in warmer weather with a patch on one of her arms.


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## khskel (Apr 30, 2018)

Never managed to knock one off yet.


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