Woah, Needles? Say What?!
When I was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I was well well aware that my body could no longer produce insulin, but I was expecting my doctor to tell me that I was going to be on pills just like my dad and that I was going go be feeling better in a month or so, but little did I think that I would be on insulin shots 3-6 times a day. When my doctor first told me that I was going to have to learn to give myself needles, I broke down. I was terrified of needles and always had been. My grandmother is a type 1 diabetic and i would cringe at even the thought of seeing her do it because it always felt like i could feel her pain for a spit second whenever she would inject herself. Learning to give myself needles was probably the biggest hurdle for me being newly diagnosed, as they were always my biggest fear. I couldn't even lance my finger when i first found out i was diabetic, so I didn't think I'd be able to do insulin shots. The first time I did a shot on my own without the nurse guiding my hand was a Lantus shot of 20 units before bed. This was probably my biggest mistake. For anyone else who is diabetic and on Lantus insulin, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean by the "Lantus Sting" that has you crippled over in pain for an hour.When I injected myself, I immediately felt that horrid sting that makes you want to throw up, which obviously made me scared of it. Psyching myself out with Lantus became a problem and when i came home from the hospital, i would put it off or sometimes not even take it at all. Then when I checked my sugars, they were noticeably high again.
My biggest suggestion to any diabetic is to 1) never skip insulin shots and 2) tell a doctor right away about discomfort. Here i was thinking "Wow, I'm gonna be in pain twice a day everyday for the rest of my life", which of course would give anyone a negative outlook on diabetes. But your not stuck with that pain! Once I informed my doctor that I was in that amount of pain, he switched me to a new long acting insulin called Novalin which is cloudy apposed to clear like Lantus. I no longer feel that sting nearly as much anymore, the only thing that worries me sometimes is when the cloudiness separates from the clear part of it and it freaks me out a bit. Insulin injections are a mind over matter situation though. To this day i still scare myself with needles from time to time, you just have to remember that your body needs it to function properly. Developing bad habits is never a good idea when managing diabetes!
Jenn :)
My biggest suggestion to any diabetic is to 1) never skip insulin shots and 2) tell a doctor right away about discomfort. Here i was thinking "Wow, I'm gonna be in pain twice a day everyday for the rest of my life", which of course would give anyone a negative outlook on diabetes. But your not stuck with that pain! Once I informed my doctor that I was in that amount of pain, he switched me to a new long acting insulin called Novalin which is cloudy apposed to clear like Lantus. I no longer feel that sting nearly as much anymore, the only thing that worries me sometimes is when the cloudiness separates from the clear part of it and it freaks me out a bit. Insulin injections are a mind over matter situation though. To this day i still scare myself with needles from time to time, you just have to remember that your body needs it to function properly. Developing bad habits is never a good idea when managing diabetes! 
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