I was diagnosed with Type 1 at the age of 12 and am now over 70. When the nurse at the hospital told me I would not be discharged until I gave myself my morning insulin injection, I told her I guess the hospital would be my new home. I was distraught with the idea of giving myself shots. My mother gave me my shots until I was 15 and wanted to go on vacation with a girlfriend and her parents.
Her mother was a nurse and assured them she would make sure I gave myself the necessary shots. My parents were sure I would be watched over carefully.
Over the last 50 years, my husband had administered most of my shots.
I participated in the AFREZZA inhaled insulin study trials for over 5 1/2 years. It is now on the market. I truly consider this a miracle drug for needle phobic people like myself and may work for your son too.
But you are correct, you need to find an endo who truly cares about his patients and is willing to work with your son.
You can get Afrezza off label if you can find a doc prescribe it,The kids are 14/17 approx and doing great. The parent understands what Afrezza is âŚand understands the science behind it⌠PK/PD is obvious
My almost-13 year old son does fine with needles but has tended to become panicked and irrational when faced with blood draws. I happen to be a psychologist. Using some basic strategies, he was able to tolerate his last blood draw without much trouble. Phobic fear, as someone else mentioned, is less about ârationalityâ and more about conditioning and physiology. Itâs very treatable in short order, assuming the individual is willing to learn and change.
I saw a product on Shark Tank that is intended to help those with needle phobia. The website for it is https://buzzyhelps.com/
I havenât used it and donât know much about it, but the presentation sounded worth exploring further for anyone who has a difficult time with needles.
In addition to therapy, I suspect your son would benefit from attending diabetes camp where he will be around other kids who are responsible for managing parts (including doing their own injections or pump site changes) of their own diabetes care. Encouraging and teaching CWD to become increasingly more responsible for their care is something that is emphasized at the vast majority of diabetes camps.
I want to thank you for your post. I have a horrible needle phobia and have had my ex-wife give me my shot for the past year. In the past I tried to give myself a shot but as soon as the needle touched my skin I would begin to freak out. Tonight with your help and Godâs I managed to give myself my first shot. Guess what? It didnât hurt! I tried your suggestion, I put on my favorite Christian song and sang along. I was still a little scared but before I knew it the needle was in my stomach and I didnât fill a thing. Praise God cause I am a wuss when it comes to needles.
Itâs interesting how the fear of something can be so dramatically much worse than the actual thing itself. Itâs characteristic of phobias in general. Live and learn.
Although I donât have any fear of needles, I get freaked over insect stings. True, those really do hurt, but life as I know it wouldnât be over if I did get stung. The thing we fear gets blown all out of proportion.
One good bit of advice I got early on was to treat the syringe like a dart. I think some PWD treat it like a gentle insertion and can feel the needle tip before actually pushing it in. By the time I feel anything, the needle is already fully inserted.
I joke with friends that after the first 100,000 shots, the fear goes away. For me, the bigger concern is forgetting that I took a shot and taking another. That almost never happens, but it has caused me to ponder from time to time. The whole process of determining dose, filling the syringe and injecting through my shirt is sooooo automatic.
I mustâve missed the first pass of this thread but glad it came back to the top.
Iâm fine with needles as long as Iâm holding them and theyâre going into me.
But going to the lab for a blood draw? Cannot watch. Someone on TV getting a shot? Cannot watch. So I certainly understand when someone has needle phobia, especially the visual aspect of needle phobia.
When I was diagnosed a kid I got started on urine testing then was âintroducedâ to home bg testing. Man I hated that for many years. Not so much the finger prick process itself, but just the idea that I had to do it, I hated it. But today I would no more leave the house without my bg meter, than I would leave the house without my glasses or pants on.
Oh, this is so appropriate for the thread. As a child I was utterly terrified of them. I would go to truly silly lengths to avoid the possibility (never mind details ). It was many, MANY years, well into adulthood, before I finally got nailed. And yeah, it did sting, all right . . . but nothing remotely close to what I had imagined. Not even in the same ballpark.
But, Murphy never sleeps and Iâm sure heâs somewhere laughing at me: the sting was less than I had always feared, BUT the allergic reaction that quickly followed took me totally by surprise. So now I travel with Benadryl and Epi pens. Grrrr.
Itâs as if you knew the consequence was severe and took those great lengths to avoid the sting. Albeit, not the consequence you thought you were avoiding.
LOL. Thanks for the gallant attempt to get me off the hook, but it really was plain fear; like the fear of being beaten up by the school bully. I think the allergic reaction was Murphyâs way of saying, âOH noâyou donât get off that easy!â
). It was many, MANY years, well into adulthood, before I finally got nailed. And yeah, it did sting, all right . . . but nothing remotely close to what I had imagined. Not even in the same ballpark.
I think the allergic reaction was Murphyâs way of saying, âOH noâyou donât get off that easy!â 