# Newly Diagnosed Daughter cant seem to administer her own insulin pen



## Scotty49 (Mar 8, 2020)

My 10yr old was diagnosed three weeks ago and has coped with it all really well - I'm very proud of her - but she still cant bring herself to administer her insulin with her NovoRapid FlexPen.  She is great at the finger prick and at managing her little monitor unit. I would never force her of course, and I'm going into school every day at lunchtime (which I'm happy to do for as long as it takes).  Any tips on how to encourage her to try...she wont even try it at home.


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## Thebearcametoo (Mar 8, 2020)

She shouldn’t be expected to do her own at school. Has your diabetic team takes about going into school to educate a carer there? That’s what usually happens. School should have a care plan for her including administering her insulin if needed. She will get to doing it herself in her own time. Your nurse should work with you in increasing her confidence and might give you a sponge for her to practice on if that’s the issue or covered needles if it’s the sight of it that’s the problem. It’s very early day still.

(We have the opposite problem of my daughter not letting anyone else do any injections or anything which is mostly ok but sometimes creates issues )

How are you finding it all?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Mar 8, 2020)

Sorry to hear that your little one has hit a bit of a snag @Mary49

Kids are so amazing with their ability to adapt and flow with new challenges and overcome obstacles.

I'm sure she will crack this in no time. Is she able to explain what it is that she is thinking or feeling at the time?


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## Inka (Mar 8, 2020)

Ask her why. I personally was afraid of doing myself some kind of damage. I also hated injections and I think the added fear of ‘getting it wrong’ made things hard.

But it’s early days. I’d concentrate on allowing her to begin to get her head round the whole diabetes thing, and if she wants you to do her injections, then just go with it for now.


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## Scotty49 (Mar 8, 2020)

I am just letting her set her own pace - she does know that she will eventually have to do it - she just says she cant right now.....and I know that's normal.


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## Scotty49 (Mar 8, 2020)

Thebearcametoo said:


> She shouldn’t be expected to do her own at school. Has your diabetic team takes about going into school to educate a carer there? That’s what usually happens. School should have a care plan for her including administering her insulin if needed. She will get to doing it herself in her own time. Your nurse should work with you in increasing her confidence and might give you a sponge for her to practice on if that’s the issue or covered needles if it’s the sight of it that’s the problem. It’s very early day still.
> 
> (We have the opposite problem of my daughter not letting anyone else do any injections or anything which is mostly ok but sometimes creates issues )
> 
> How are you finding it all?


I'm going into school to administer it for her.  Her school have been very supportive - we did have a meeting with her teachers, staff members and her nurse from the hospital team to discuss her care plan and I feel very assured they are there for her.  I'm hoping she will let tme know when she is ready to try it herself.
I won't lie....it hit me hard.  I want to be informed, but it's a minefield of huge amounts of information to absorb.


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## trophywench (Mar 8, 2020)

Is there perchance any help with this in the Ragnar Hanas book?  I don't own a copy else I'd have had a look. Both @Northerner and (I think) @everydayupsanddowns have the book, does it assist?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Mar 9, 2020)

trophywench said:


> Is there perchance any help with this in the Ragnar Hanas book?  I don't own a copy else I'd have had a look. Both @Northerner and (I think) @everydayupsanddowns have the book, does it assist?



I don’t have a copy, but it is very well respected on the forum





						Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Seventh Edition: Amazon.co.uk: Ragnar Hanas: 9781859597989: Books
					

Buy Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Seventh Edition Seventh by Ragnar Hanas (ISBN: 9781859597989) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.



					www.amazon.co.uk


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## Thebearcametoo (Mar 9, 2020)

Definitely get the Ragnar Hanas book. It’s not a sit down and read it cover to cover kind of book but is great for in depth info for specific things. I used it a lot in the early months for things like checking sick day rules and stuff like that (in combination with the info from our team). In terms of a readable book I liked Think Like a Pancreas as it gave some history and personal insight as well as useful info (very detailed info re sports which you may not need yet). I found it helped me get my head around it. 

Part of the care plan with school should be so that you don’t need to go in. They should have plans for her care for the whole day.


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## SB2015 (Mar 9, 2020)

I have just looked up the advice that they give in Ragnar Hanas (well worth buying).  
In short some of the ideas are:
- let the child play with the pen and inject an orange
- let them give their parent (a saline) injection (but don’t share needles)
You may well have done these already.

Your daughter is already doing her own fingerprick tests, which in my experience hurt more than the injection.  It would be worth asking her why she feels unable to do the injections.  It is a lot to take on for all of you, and will eventually become part of your new ‘normal’ life.

I know that @Sally71 managed her daughter switching to putting cannulas in for a pump herself when the child wanted to go on a school trip.  She might have other tips on injections.

Keep in touch.


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## grovesy (Mar 9, 2020)

SB2015 said:


> I have just looked up the advice that they give in Ragnar Hanas (well worth buying).
> In short some of the ideas are:
> - let the child play with the pen and inject an orange
> - let them give their parent (a saline) injection (but don’t share needles)
> ...


I thought her daughter went on a pump soon after diagnosis as they were part of a trail.


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## Sprogladite (Mar 9, 2020)

I had a huge mental block when I was first diagnosed at 7, I could hold the pen, dial it up, pinch up skin (as we were taught in those days) but if I got within a couple of centimeters of piercing skin I just couldn't force my hand down any further.  I found it really useful for my parents to push my hand down for me - once the needle was in, I could press the dial to give the insulin.  It really helped to take the "mental block" away - might be worth a try with your daughter as that way the onus isn't on her to physically inject - all she'll be doing is holding the pen  good luck, it will come with time x


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## Sally71 (Mar 9, 2020)

Hmmm yes, I don't know now much help I can be with this one!  We were indeed only using pens for a week before we got the pump, and my daughter was only 6 then so we had to do everything for her.  She too learnt how to do her finger pricking very quickly, and because her test meter also controls her pump she also learnt how to do her food boluses very quickly, we just had to make sure she put the correct number in for the carb count. But I always did the pump refill and cannula change until last year when she was 12 and wanted to go on a school trip to France for 4 days. I couldn’t go with her, and she wouldn’t want me tagging along with her, so she had to learn how to do it herself. We started training straight after Christmas (the trip was the very end of March).  She's intelligent and perfectly capable of doing it for herself, and got the hang of the pump refilling very quickly, but had similar issues to you with cannula insertion - she could load the cannula into the insertion device, decide where she wanted it to go on her tummy but couldn't bring herself to push the button to fire the inserter, it had to be my finger on the button!  But I said she'd have to start doing them herself in March if she wanted to go on the trip, and with that incentive she succeeded and once we'd got over the mental block it was much easier.

Since she has been back she still prefers me to do all the refills, and I don't think it's entirely down to laziness!  But it's nice that she can do it if needs be, we now keep spares of absolutely everything at her school and we did have an incident recently when her pump ran out of insulin in the middle of the school day and she just went to the medical room and sorted it out herself and told me about it afterwards.  I was dead proud of her, not so long ago I'd have had to do a mercy dash to the school!

We only use pens once in a blue moon when we are having pump or cannula problems, and I’ve asked her a sometimes on those occasions whether she'd like to do the injection herself and she always says no.  But again there was a situation recently when she went high at her dance class and realised that it would have been much easier if she could have done a correction injection instead of having to take her leotard off to reconnect her pump, so then she decided that she'd like learn how to use the pen and she did an actual correction dose herself with it.  I've also noticed in the last couple of years when we are eating out that she now just gets on with doing her food bolus herself rather than chucking her handset at me and expecting me to do it for her! 

So really I think you've just got to let your daughter learn how to do things at her own pace, it's very early days for you and she's got a lot to take on board.  Maybe just do it for her for now if that's what she's comfortable with, then occasionally ask her if she'd like to try herself and if she refuses then don't make an issue of it and try again another day.  You also shouldn't have to be going into school every day to inject her, the law states that schools must provide a member of staff who is prepared to be trained up to do whatever is required for a child's medical condition.  Or does your daughter not want anyone else to do it for her?  In which case again that will hopefully improve with time.

Oh dear I’ve been rambling a bit, sorry for the long post, hope some of it might be useful!


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## Lucy Honeychurch (Mar 9, 2020)

JDRF UK sell a Rufus the bear for children to practice on with highlighted injection sights,..I know your daughter is 10 but it seems a handy tool to have with newly diagnosed children. You could try asking the hospital for help from a play therapist.
Perhaps see if her team will prescribe her an i-port whilst she gets to grips with injecting. @Bronco Billy might have some suggestions.


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## trophywench (Mar 9, 2020)

You have to insert them every 3 days, much like a pump cannula and if the latter are anything to go by, Lucy, the introducer needle will be one heck of a lot longer (and fatter I think) than a 4mm pen needle.


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## Bronco Billy (Mar 9, 2020)

Hi Scotty49. It sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing by letting your daughter take it at her own pace and not force anything on her at this point.

Has she said why she doesn’t want to do it? Does she resist when you do the injection?

Lucy mentioned Rufus, a toy bear sold by JDRF. You can buy one at here. My daughter has had hers since she was diagnosed aged 6. She’s 17 now and still has him, she wouldn’t want to be without him because of the connection she made when she was much younger.


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## Scotty49 (Mar 10, 2020)

Sally71 said:


> Hmmm yes, I don't know now much help I can be with this one!  We were indeed only using pens for a week before we got the pump, and my daughter was only 6 then so we had to do everything for her.  She too learnt how to do her finger pricking very quickly, and because her test meter also controls her pump she also learnt how to do her food boluses very quickly, we just had to make sure she put the correct number in for the carb count. But I always did the pump refill and cannula change until last year when she was 12 and wanted to go on a school trip to France for 4 days. I couldn’t go with her, and she wouldn’t want me tagging along with her, so she had to learn how to do it herself. We started training straight after Christmas (the trip was the very end of March).  She's intelligent and perfectly capable of doing it for herself, and got the hang of the pump refilling very quickly, but had similar issues to you with cannula insertion - she could load the cannula into the insertion device, decide where she wanted it to go on her tummy but couldn't bring herself to push the button to fire the inserter, it had to be my finger on the button!  But I said she'd have to start doing them herself in March if she wanted to go on the trip, and with that incentive she succeeded and once we'd got over the mental block it was much easier.
> 
> Since she has been back she still prefers me to do all the refills, and I don't think it's entirely down to laziness!  But it's nice that she can do it if needs be, we now keep spares of absolutely everything at her school and we did have an incident recently when her pump ran out of insulin in the middle of the school day and she just went to the medical room and sorted it out herself and told me about it afterwards.  I was dead proud of her, not so long ago I'd have had to do a mercy dash to the school!
> 
> ...


Sally71 - not rambling at all and thank you, it was very helpful.  We haven't discussed pump yet but we will see...
I think she just wants me to administer at the moment (but a teacher at the school did say she would do it if I couldn't get there for any reason).  I am absolutely happy for her to take things at her own pace for as long as it takes.


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## trophywench (Mar 10, 2020)

One of the nurses in hospital when I was newly diagnosed said that they were told to practice on an orange, so perhaps that could help me and I asked her whether she believed that said (random) orange would have the same communication with my brain that my leg does and hence would make me yell Owww! if it hurt? and looked at her.  The - we both burst out laughing at the idea.

She then agreed that no - it would NOT help me one little bit!

However when it's just practice for stabbing subcutaneous injection into patients and operating the plunger on a syringe efficiently, then yes, it most likely does assist.

They hadn't invented Rufus bear then and in any case I was 22!  LOL  (I might like him now I'm a great grandma though)


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## Lizzzie (Mar 13, 2020)

My kids aren't diabetic, but I think they pretend they're not prepared to do other things just to see if I'm going to try and 'make' them or not.  I don't think they're consciously aware that that's what's going on in their heads when it happens, though.   I'm T1 and have kids, but not as knowledgable as the folks who've posted above;  just superfluously wanted to add that I like your idea of being gentle and not pushing and that you're doing a really hard thing and well done.


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## Deleted member 27171 (Mar 14, 2020)

@Scotty49 we found it helpful to do things in stages with my son, so letting him prep the pen for injecting first, but not actually doing the injection and then prepping and plunging but still not doing the actual injecting then eventually he just added the injecting into the rest of the process. It is early days though and she's doing really well to finger prick herself which is often more painful. Like others have said though, the school should be able to do the injections for her until she feels able to it herself so that you don't have to go in everyday.


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## Pumper_Sue (Mar 14, 2020)

As  a youngster I refused point blank to do my own injections until...………………….. I wanted to go on a school trip. 
My mum very quietly said no you can not go as you wont do your own injections.
Funny enough I learnt within a week and got to go on the school trip 

Discussion is the way forward with your daughter, involve her in everything carb counting, insulin dosages, hospital apts etc and always ask her opinion. This way she will learn about and accept her condition so much better. You will both have a lot of ups and downs with your journey but you will get there.


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## brisr949 (Apr 5, 2020)

When my stepson was diagnosed at 10 he also refused point blank to do his own injections. 
As mentioned earlier in the thread we got round this slowly by him touching the pen as his mum injected him this slowly progressed to him gripping the pen to him then helping his mum push the pen in. Then one time as he was having his jab his mum released her grip slightly and he was carrying on with the pressure and involuntary injected himself and for a few days as long as mum had a grip on the pen he would do it himself until he no longer needed mums touch..you could also try always helping but slowly decrease how much pressure you put on until she feels comfortable on her own.


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## MrDaibetes (Apr 5, 2020)

I never had this issue due to being diagnosed at 19. I can understand why it can be scary. I think to find a solution is hard but maybe when she does it herself reward her with something.


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