June 12, 2001
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from Manchester, England:
I am a family practitioner who has recently started nightly insulin for type 2 diabetes. My thighs are thin and fairly muscular, and I am doing well injecting my abdomen, but not so well with my thighs (it tends to be painful — probably because I have developed tension when I inject in my thighs). I am using a pen, so I have been told to stick to thighs and abdomen. Can you offer any advice?
Answer:
It is my recommendation that bedtime NPH insulin should always be injected, with pens as well as with syringes, in the same place — the upper buttocks. This minimizes the wider fluctuation in the absorption rate that occurs at other sites, and in that way stabilizes the fasting blood sugar. The abdomen should never be used due to its fast absorption rate.
MS
