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    • 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
      atr likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      When I test positive, I increase my insulin dosage to a “sick day” level, which can be anywhere from 125% dosage to 400%. I usually start with small increases in dosage, and work my way up until my blood glucose levels even out. Also, increase my water intake. I would not call my Endo unless I was unable to get my blood glucose down over a lengthy period of time. That has never been the case.
    • 2 hours, 35 minutes ago
      atr likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      If I had ketones thrn I am sick. If mid to large I wd call my endo or if also vomiting or dehydrated from diarrhea. I wd go to the ER
    • 3 hours, 49 minutes ago
      Marty likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      If I were not feeling too bad, I would change my site, increase my insulin, drink more water and monitor closely
    • 3 hours, 50 minutes ago
      Marty likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      When I test positive, I increase my insulin dosage to a “sick day” level, which can be anywhere from 125% dosage to 400%. I usually start with small increases in dosage, and work my way up until my blood glucose levels even out. Also, increase my water intake. I would not call my Endo unless I was unable to get my blood glucose down over a lengthy period of time. That has never been the case.
    • 3 hours, 57 minutes ago
      KSannie likes your comment at
      Do you know how to test for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      None of the specialists I’ve seen have suggested, recommended or prescribed methods for doing this in the lovely 40 years I’ve been T1D. My 80th birthday is the summer. It will officially be half of my life.
    • 3 hours, 59 minutes ago
      Patricia Dalrymple likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      I'd most likely call my endocrinologist and ask their advice.
    • 4 hours, 13 minutes ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      I increase my basal and insulin ratios if I eat until I show no longer test positive. I do only test if I have been high for a longer than usual time.
    • 4 hours, 13 minutes ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      If I were not feeling too bad, I would change my site, increase my insulin, drink more water and monitor closely
    • 4 hours, 35 minutes ago
      Judith Halterman likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      I'd most likely call my endocrinologist and ask their advice.
    • 4 hours, 38 minutes ago
      Derek West likes your comment at
      Do you have a management plan if you test positive for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      If I were not feeling too bad, I would change my site, increase my insulin, drink more water and monitor closely
    • 19 hours, 47 minutes ago
      KCR likes your comment at
      Do you know how to test for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      None of the specialists I’ve seen have suggested, recommended or prescribed methods for doing this in the lovely 40 years I’ve been T1D. My 80th birthday is the summer. It will officially be half of my life.
    • 1 day, 2 hours ago
      Marty likes your comment at
      Do you know how to test for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      I have a blood ketone monitor. It works just like a glucometer.
    • 1 day, 4 hours ago
      Kathy Hanavan likes your comment at
      Do you know how to test for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      Perhaps only the poets who love alliteration could love the phrase, “killer ketones.” The ungodly pain experienced is your body eating and devouring itself. 🥵 Ketones are relentless killers. Do not give the bad guys a chance.
    • 1 day, 4 hours ago
      Judith Halterman likes your comment at
      Do you know how to test for ketones? Please share more in the comments.
      Perhaps only the poets who love alliteration could love the phrase, “killer ketones.” The ungodly pain experienced is your body eating and devouring itself. 🥵 Ketones are relentless killers. Do not give the bad guys a chance.
    • 1 day, 22 hours ago
      Anthony Harder likes your comment at
      Do you have ketone testing strips?
      Hi, Marty. Does your specialist have a source for that claim? It makes little sense that ketones would rise faster than BG since the metabolic pathway is much slower. If there's a source, however, I'd look further into the claim. FWIW, I've been a Type 1 for over 50 years; I can't remember the last time I tested for ketones. I possess no ketone testing strips.
    • 3 days, 1 hour ago
      Marty likes your comment at
      Does your insurance cover injectable glucagon, nasal glucagon, or both?
      Covers it with co pay
    • 3 days, 3 hours ago
      atr likes your comment at
      Does your insurance cover injectable glucagon, nasal glucagon, or both?
      It covers both. I prefer to have the the nasal version as I think it would be easier for someone else to administer.
    • 3 days, 4 hours ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Do you have a non-expired glucagon prescription?
      I’ve been T1D for 60 years. As a child my mother didn’t like needles or injections so she just fed me when low. In college, explained use to dorm mates and classmates would’ve been a waste of time. Now married, my wife assumed the role of my mother and doesn’t like using needles on me either. I don’t have glucagon.
    • 3 days, 4 hours ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Do you have a non-expired glucagon prescription?
      Yes, always have one or two nasal glucagon kits (Baqsimi) at home in easy to reach locations (ie at bedside and special container in living area) and always keep one with me when I go out ( along with glucose tabs or other simple carbs for treating LBS.). I apparently required injectable glucagon several times as a child and needed injectable glucagon only twice as an adult, both more than 15 years ago . More recently I needed my husband to give me Baqsimi after eating a difficult to dose for, high fat meal. The experience was terrifying so I don’t go anywhere without it now.
    • 3 days, 4 hours ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Do you have a non-expired glucagon prescription?
      I actually have 2 non-expired prescriptions. One for Baqsimi and one for Gvoke. I have not filled either of them because they’re $500-600 each.
    • 3 days, 4 hours ago
      Lawrence S. likes your comment at
      Does your insurance cover injectable glucagon, nasal glucagon, or both?
      My Medicare Part D essentially doesn't cover glucagon when any form is nearly $500!
    • 3 days, 19 hours ago
      Amanda Barras likes your comment at
      Do you have a non-expired glucagon prescription?
      Same here. Been as low as 19 (struggling with a vacuum cleaner bag and refused to let it win) but was still able to swallow food. I did used the “red needle” as my husband refers to it once when I went low but was scheduled for surgery and couldn’t eat or drink anything. Only once in 26 years. Fortunate.
    • 4 days, 14 hours ago
      Karen Newe likes your comment at
      Share some of your favorite T1D-related books in the comments:
      Marcus Aurelius Meditations for the benefits of stoicism. Dante’s Inferno for the nine levels of diabetic hell. Kristen Lavransdatter for the benefits of suffering. And best of all, Cervantes Don Quixote for the absurdity of tilting at so many worthless windmills of frenzied diabetic activity.
    • 5 days, 2 hours ago
      Natalie Daley likes your comment at
      Share some of your favorite T1D-related books in the comments:
      Marcus Aurelius Meditations for the benefits of stoicism. Dante’s Inferno for the nine levels of diabetic hell. Kristen Lavransdatter for the benefits of suffering. And best of all, Cervantes Don Quixote for the absurdity of tilting at so many worthless windmills of frenzied diabetic activity.
    • 5 days, 3 hours ago
      atr likes your comment at
      Share some of your favorite T1D-related books in the comments:
      Marcus Aurelius Meditations for the benefits of stoicism. Dante’s Inferno for the nine levels of diabetic hell. Kristen Lavransdatter for the benefits of suffering. And best of all, Cervantes Don Quixote for the absurdity of tilting at so many worthless windmills of frenzied diabetic activity.
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    Before giving an insulin injection or inserting a needle for a pump/CGM site, do you pinch the skin before injecting?

    Home > LC Polls > Before giving an insulin injection or inserting a needle for a pump/CGM site, do you pinch the skin before injecting?
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    Sarah Howard

    Sarah Howard has worked in the diabetes research field ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Marketing Manager at T1D Exchange.

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    27 Comments

    1. Becky Hertz

      Other, between sometimes and rarely

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    2. Ahh Life

      ( ͡❛ ‿●‿ ͡❛) Never. Needles are so microscopically thin and short nowadays, that even us slimmer people have plenty of room for them. In the good ol’ days? Not so much so, so you had to pinch the skin. ( ͡❛ ︹ ͡❛)

      3
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    3. Nevin Bowman

      Yes. I’m very thin and always hit muscle tissue if I don’t pinch first, and sometimes even when I do. That is extremely painful.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    4. brettsmith115

      I’ll pinch for the rare syringe injection, mostly out of habit. For CGM/Pump insertion I never pinch.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    5. Nicholas Argento

      No- pump with catheter, pinching increases the chance it will not insert properly because the skin can dimple more easily when pinched.

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    6. Meghan Larson

      I do, but only for my Dexcom G6 insertion, not for insulin injections.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    7. Lawrence Stearns

      Interesting. I always pinch for my cannula insertion, but never for my G6 sensor. Just the opposite of Meghan. I cannot imagine inserting my cannula without pinching. I’m thin and would otherwise be inserting directly into muscle tissue.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
      1. Sherolyn Newell

        I’m thin too, so I don’t get much of a pinch. But I do the same as you.

        5 years ago Log in to Reply
    8. TEH

      I don’t pinch but I do feel if there is a bump indicating lot of scar tissue.

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
      1. Sahran Holiday

        Scar tissue might be overuse of that area. Think if you should shift over a tiny bit.

        2
        5 years ago Log in to Reply
    9. Pauline Hess

      I only pinch the skin if using a syringe. Otherwise, I think it would affect the adhesive.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    10. Sahran Holiday

      If I can depending where I place the Omnipod. Insures that the canula inserts properly.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    11. connie ker

      I always pinch up the core skin for injecting insulin, I do not pinch up the arm skin for the Freestyle Libre sensor insertion.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    12. cynthia jaworski

      Often, I am injected insulin in my arm, using the other hand. I would have to pinch with my toes!

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    13. Tom Caesar

      When I used to inject, always pinched skin. Now with infusion site or Dexcon sensor, never. Would need to grab an enormous amount of skin!

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    14. Jennifer Franklin

      When I was on MDI, yes, I would pinch the skin. Now that I am on a pump, no, I don’t pinch. I also do not pinch the skin for CGM insertion.

      4
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    15. Sharon Lillibridge

      why would i do that
      ?

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    16. Sjoymex

      For an injection yes always. For pump/cgm never.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    17. Sherolyn Newell

      Interesting comments. I never thought about hitting muscle if I didn’t pinch. I just do it because I was told to pinch. I also didn’t know why it sometimes hurts a lot and other times not at all.

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    18. NAK Marshall

      Needles are so tiny and short now and I’m chubby so no need! : )

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    19. Mary Ann Sayers

      When giving an injection, I ALWAYS pinch. When inserting for the pump/CGM, I NEVER pinch.

      2
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    20. Molly Jones

      I chose sometimes although I never pinch or hold tissue up WHILE inserting my pump or CGM.
      It depends on where I am inserting, but the answer is 50% as even the 3mm cannula’s can hurt or the CGM not work as well , when inserted into the wrong tissue.
      Two of my four pump sites are less fatty and need pinching. When my CGM is inserted on my arms it needs pinching but not when inserted on my abdomen.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    21. ConnieT1D62

      Rarely. Don’t pinch for pump or CGM insertion sites, and no need to pinch with short pen or syringe needle tips. I just inject straight-on into the chosen site. In the old days of longer, thicker needle tips – yes. But that was decades ago.

      1
      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    22. Biagio Lamberti

      Yes, I always pinch my skin, and over a period 14 years that I have being using Omnipod and other insulin pumps I noticed that this practices is helping a lot with the absorption of insulin over the period of the 3 days.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    23. PamK

      I chose “Yes, sometimes” because I always pinch my skin when giving myself a shot and when inserting my CGM. Unfortunately, the insertion device for my pump infusion sets is too big for me to pinch the skin around it. Wish they’d make them smaller!

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    24. Isis Gregory

      Injection, yes. Pump/cgm site, no.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply
    25. mentat

      I do a lot of intramuscular insulin injections, definitely no pinching for those! I usually don’t pinch the fat either.

      5 years ago Log in to Reply

    Before giving an insulin injection or inserting a needle for a pump/CGM site, do you pinch the skin before injecting? Cancel reply

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