Hi everyone. I’m a Type II Diabetic and 19 weeks pregnant. Before my pregnancy I controlled my blood sugars very well through diet and exercise. I continued to do so through this pregnancy so far, however my endocrinologist is freaking out b/c he’s afraid I’m not consuming enough carbs. I test my ketones and I’m negative but the endo is especially concerned b/c I am not gaining much weight.
So he gave me a Novolog pen and told me I could use it as a “fun pen” i.e. inject whenever I’d like to splurge on a carby meal.
So far I have not been able to use it successfully. I’ve used it on 2 occasions:
A dinner where I consumed a lot of bread. After injecting my 2 hour post prandial was 150. I checked the injection site and noticed a drop of fluid (insulin) after I’d injected.
Today I splurged on a bakery pastry. I injected but noticed that once I removed the pen there was still insulin coming out of the needle but I was afraid to inject more insulin b/c I wasn’t sure if I’d already absorbed some. I was 160 2 hours post prandial. I freaked when I saw the number so I gave myself 2 more units and tested an hour later and was 178!
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong as I'm calculating carbs to units. After inserting the syringe I flick it a few times to make sure there are no air bubbles. Then I pinch some fat in my abdominal region, hit myself with the pen (after dialing my units), and count to 10 before removing the needle. The second time I’d injected I was sure to let go of my skin I’d pinched while the needle was still in me, since I’d read this as a tip on the internet.
I do notice that sometimes when I dial the dose, it seems like insulin drops keep coming out of the needle even before I press the trigger.
I’m really frustrated and will appreciate any advice.
I've never actually used a pen, but I think I remember some people I know from another board saying that when you use a pen, you need to keep the pen on the injection site (with the needle still in) for several seconds after you press the trigger, so that all the injection will actually go in. Maybe you could try that and see if it works. It's probably like injecting with a basic needle...it takes several seconds for all the insulin to go in.
If not, you can also ask your endo to show you how to better inject with the pen.
Hi Ruth - Thanks for your response! I actually do keep the needle inside after injecting and I count slowly to 10 before removing the needle.
Either way, I probably need to just back off of the refined carbs altogether, and avoid even occasional splurges if I'm going to be serious about keeping my sugars under control. So that will be my approach moving forward...
Probably a good idea, especially during your pregnancy, when you want to do everything possible to keep your numbers under control. Good luck, and keep us posted on your and the baby's progress!
