Hi all,
I have a weird doubt. Some times when I inject insulin using my Novolet pens and take the needle out, blood oozes out. I fear that the injected insulin could be coming out of the body along with the blood. How serious/crazy is my fear?
i had the same trouble, too. unfortunately, i stopped injecting insulin for a couple of months now. i know it’s bad but i just had to reply because i had the same concern as yours. i wonder what causes the blood to come out and yes, if the insulin comes out with it, too.
If you’re insulin-dependent diabetic, please don’t stop injecting/pumping insulin at any cost.
I agree with Guruprasad, Emalene. Stopping injecting insulin is a very bad idea. I would talk to your doctor about whatever concerns you have.
Yes, sometimes when we inject we hit a blood vessal under the skin which causes the bleeding. It’s not dangerous. As for the insulin coming out, my guess is that the insulin goes in deeper under the skin and then the blood oozes when we pull the needle out of the blood vessal. Perhaps somebody can give a better technical explanation. But I’ve never noticed any difference in my blood sugars when I bleed and it happens a little more often with the set infusions now that I’m on the pump. But the answer is in your numbers. If your blood sugar is ok, then the insulin got in ok too!
Zoe, your explanation sounds correct to me. But the problem is, it is not always possible to check blood sugars because diabetes supplies, mainly test strips, are frighteningly expensive here in India and to check every time bleeding happens may not be a viable option always. 
Now for the past year or so, I am employed after completing college and I am better equipped to face this issue.
Coming back to the topic, my concern behind raising this question is that insulin dosage when injecting through a pen isn’t accurate because some times small drops come out after taking out the needle after injecting. Also same amount of insulin, same food, same amount of physical activities doesn’t produce same blood sugar level. So I was curious to know if the injected insulin comes out when there is bleeding, so that I could account for it and adjust the food, dosages and physical activities. Thanks for your reply Zoe.
I frequently have blood ooze out of the injection site when I take my insulin. This happens both with pens and syringes. It isn’t serious, like Zoe said, just watch your numbers. The small amount of blood and/or insulin that oozes out really doesn’t mean anything.
I agree with that, but there is no way to know if insulin is also coming out with the oozing blood except than through the blood sugar levels. Thanks for your valuable input 
thanks for the concern and for the info, too. was using humalog mix 25, by the way.
One thing I always did when I used pens was to count to 10 after injecting, before pulling out the needle, and that prevents the drops from dripping out. I was glad when someone on here told me that because on a relatively low dose of insulin I was worried about those drops too.
As for what causes fluxuation in blood sugars, I think that just kind of comes with the territory for many Type 1’s. Sometimes we can find a direct cause for it, but sometimes there doesn’t seem to be one.
I’m glad you will be able to get more test strips soon. It really helps to figure things out and fine tune dosing, and sometimes just give us peace of mind!
Yes, cheers to a better, happier and healthier and consequently a sweet life ahead. Yay! Cheers mate.
When I used the pen needle (before pumping), I had that on occasion. There’s really no way to know if insulin is coming out with the blood (except maybe to smell it?) and certainly no way to know how much. Often what I would do is wait 10 seconds before removing the needle, as Zoe suggested. Then, after removing the needle, I would keep my finger over the site for a few seconds with VERY slight pressure. Not enough pressure to squeeze anything out, but enough to keep it from oozing out of the hole, until it got absorbed somewhat beneath the skin.
What gauge needle do you use? You may have success if you can get a finer gauge needle.
I use Novofine needles that are available here. The product information says 31G/6mm. The protective sticker on the needle says 0.25x6mm