My 6 year old daughter only want the insulin shot in the arms. We have been pushing her each day to do 1 in each arm and 1 in each leg. Does anyone have long term experience with giving the shots in the arms only? The belly is not a good option either, she does not have much fat there and she does not want to take them there.
I have always heard advice to rotate the shot sites so she doesn’t develop scar tissue or lipodystrophy. This can make insulin absorption difficult in the future if this happens and it will then have unpredictible absorption. Can you try a shot sricker chart or some other reward for site rotation? Have heard many parents have had success with this. You can also try injecting in the buttocoks - does she have enough fat tissue there?
It’s really important to rotate, but it’s important to make taking injections as painless and stressless as possible for someone who is 6.
That’s why Jennifer’s suggestion of sticker chart or other reward program makes a lot of sense.
Almost any “padded” part of the body works–outside of upper arms, thighs, abdomen, butt. Depending on the individual, absorption in each area may be slightly different. The important thing is to keep moving the injection site. The more comfortable real estate you find, the better.
Also, are you using the smallest, thinnest needle possible? The new BD insulin pen needle is only 4mm long. If you’re currently using syringes and vials, you may want to look into pens. Of course, that might not be possible because of cost.
Check out childrenwithdiabetes.com for lots of advice from parents and kids who have billions of shots worth of experience!
And best wishes! It’s pretty common to go through phases as a kid with diabetes. I went through a stage where I demanded a tiny round Band-Aid for each injection–I was polkadotted with various graying-around-the-edges Band-Aids for a while.
I forgot: Happy Father’s Day!
It’s a shame that your daughter is not keen on the abdoomen, I inject ther all the time as | cannot inject in my arms/legs or buttocks as I am too muscular and carry no fat there. ( I also have Diabetic lipodystrophy) which doesn’t help. I find the abdomen virtually painless and a larger area for easier rotation.
I’ve only given myself one injection in my arm because it hurt a lot. As the others said, rotating sites is quite important. She should have more fat around her upper buttocks & her rear than arms.
I’m really thin & use tiny needles–5/16" 31 gauge.
I remember this issue with my daughter when she was first diagnosed at age 7. We went from arms to legs to buttocks to belly (the last hold out). Getting the finest gauge and shortest syring/pen tip helps a bunch as has been suggested. I used a reward system for sure - inject in the leg 3 times this week and receive X - a few times before the reward in case the first time doesn’t go so well. Seeing other kids (in our daughter’s case at Diabetes Camp) inject into different areas of their bodies helped. Also, her nurse educator used an incentive program (gift certificates to book stores/toy stores etc) to encourage our daughter to try new spots and it was helpful that this came from someone other than a parent.
She’s young for my advice, but I became diabetic a few years older than her, and as soon as my parents let me, I wanted to do my own injections. The leg and stomach were easy and so much less painful! I only do the arm once and a while now (I’m on the pump).
A chart at home has worked well for kids that I counsel. She gets to put a dated sticker on a site each time she uses it, with bigger rewards when they cycle through all the possible sites. Also, I was more excited to try a new site (like my bum) when there was some sort of treat for me after!
Best of luck.
I started giving myself shots under my mothers supervision when I was 6. I hated doing my arms and legs because I’ve always been so thin there is almost no fat there. I always used my stomach area.
So, did the shots hurt in the leg? Would it hurt when you inserted the needle or inserting the insulin? We have managed to get her to use her stomach now 
So we only have to do her Levemir in the leg and it hurt tonight. I did open a new bottle so maybe that is why, not sure. It really sucks not know WHY it hurts. Did we hit a muscle or is it just the insulin. Did you have any experience with levemir in arm vs the leg. The doctor told me to do it in the leg but I have read other have done in the arm and stomach.
I would say to let her choose. She has very little control over her body with all the necessary poking and prodding, and if she prefers to have injections in her arms, I would say absolutely - give her as much control as she can safely have. You cannot let her decide to not test her blood sugar or when to inject, but you can let her decide where to inject. It’s a first step to independence. She’s only six, and this preference won’t last long. It will take many years of injections before she develops scar tissue - so I see no negatives and only positives in letting her decide.
IMHO, I think it hurts when you hit muscle and I’ve heard that injecting in muscle will speed up the insulin. I’m not sure this would apply to Levemir though, it works different than other slow insulins. You might ask your doctor about using the new Nano pen needles. They are only 4mm long and probably would never hit muscle no matter where you injected.
It was so easy for me to use my stomach that I never tired using arms or legs that much. I started on a pump when I was 11, today I use the OmniPod pump but I go off frequently and still use my stomach area. I sometimes set the OmniPod on the back of my left arm. It doesn’t hurt there.
Her butt works too. There is no magic to this except the arms is where the doctor puts shots and its not scary. The tummy can be…
Make sure you pinch an inch before you inject and she won;t feel it much at all. Make sure everybody does the shots and not ONLY you. Dad did them once in a while and HE did it best… my poor mother, did all the work and my father got the gold stars
Stuart
Stuart
This is a good advice. Always pinch an inch and raise the tissue (a little) before you inject.
I take it, if you cant pinch an inch you should not be doing shots at that location.
Yes, that will greatly reduce the pain of injection and also the chances of developing scar. I have been on shots for 18 years so i am advising based on my personal experiences.
Few more thing1.
The butt is the most painless place for injections in my adult body. It’s worth a try with her doing shots there when you are at home.