Day 1
So today is the first day that I start injecting myself with Gila Monster Spit. And you have a front-row seat. Gather round little chitluns, if'n you wanna hear the tale as I stick myself with a 31G needle for the first time in what should become a long run.
I take the injection pen out of the refrigerator and break the seal on the box.
The pen itself looks pretty innocuous, kind of like a children's toy from some nightmare Howard Johnson's, all orange and blue and oversize made for big clumsy hands.
I remove the cap, and fiddle with the new needle. It has a couple of caps (an inner and outer shield as it says in the directions); I screw it on and remove the caps. And there it is, the pointy end of this thing. 5/16 of an inch long, and tiny, it looks like a perfectly straight hair.
I dial the injection dose. I have to burn at least one injection before sticking it in my skin to get out any air bubbles. I burn one, and nothing comes out, so I burn another until I see a tiny drop form at the end of the needle. I turn the dial again until I see the little 5 show up in the dose window, and it's showtime.
I pinch up a roll of skin between my left thumb and forefinger, and rest the needle ever so gently on the surface of my skin. I can't feel the needle, I can only see it. A small touch, and I see it travel beneath my skin, up to the hilt, and I still can't feel anything.
I use my thumb to depress the doser until I hear a faint click which means the dose has been injected. I wait the requisite five seconds, and pull out the needle. There is no mark, no blood, no burning, no pain.
Kind of anticlimactic.
20 minutes later, I feel just a touch light-headed, and I drink a Slim-Fast shake. I know it's not enough, but I'll eat something more in a bit. I take the rest of my meds and prep to take a shower.
If anything more of note happens, I'll write about it... but honestly, this is nothing like I expected. It's less trauma than checking blood glucose. Far less.
I'm a go work on the truck now.
I take the injection pen out of the refrigerator and break the seal on the box.
The pen itself looks pretty innocuous, kind of like a children's toy from some nightmare Howard Johnson's, all orange and blue and oversize made for big clumsy hands.
I remove the cap, and fiddle with the new needle. It has a couple of caps (an inner and outer shield as it says in the directions); I screw it on and remove the caps. And there it is, the pointy end of this thing. 5/16 of an inch long, and tiny, it looks like a perfectly straight hair.
I dial the injection dose. I have to burn at least one injection before sticking it in my skin to get out any air bubbles. I burn one, and nothing comes out, so I burn another until I see a tiny drop form at the end of the needle. I turn the dial again until I see the little 5 show up in the dose window, and it's showtime.
I pinch up a roll of skin between my left thumb and forefinger, and rest the needle ever so gently on the surface of my skin. I can't feel the needle, I can only see it. A small touch, and I see it travel beneath my skin, up to the hilt, and I still can't feel anything.
I use my thumb to depress the doser until I hear a faint click which means the dose has been injected. I wait the requisite five seconds, and pull out the needle. There is no mark, no blood, no burning, no pain.
Kind of anticlimactic.
20 minutes later, I feel just a touch light-headed, and I drink a Slim-Fast shake. I know it's not enough, but I'll eat something more in a bit. I take the rest of my meds and prep to take a shower.
If anything more of note happens, I'll write about it... but honestly, this is nothing like I expected. It's less trauma than checking blood glucose. Far less.
I'm a go work on the truck now.