The Insulin Appointment
I got back from the Diabetes Clinic about 3:20 pm or so. I think. My mind is a bit hazy about things, and I'm still in a bit of shock.
Well, that was...unexpected.
I arrived at the Diabetes Clinic for the appointment with the diabetic nursing team around ten to 1, and didn't have to wait all that long at all. Which was good, I suppose, as it didn't allow me to start panicking and all that bad stuff. I met the team, exchanged a bit of small talk first, and then got down to business. We went through my diabetes history, the basic history of insulin and some definitions of terminology that is commonly used when talking about the drug. Also talked about some of the misnomers and myths about insulin and its use. Suffice it to say that was an insightful talk, and somewhat eased my apprehensions and the like.
Then we got down to the nitty gritty. The two diabetic nurses talked to me more about the specifics of the insulin that I would be on (Lantus), and then we got down to the information on how to give an injection, the mechanics of it, and then I got to administer a small dose of Lantus to myself for the first time. I wasn't expecting this, and balked when I realised what everything had been leading to. Nerves, for sure. I'll admit that I got to the point of plunging the needle into my abdomen, but couldn't bring myself to do it, though I had the point of the needle against the skin. (Scared about the pain.) The senior nurse said that I'd done good to that point, and then put her hand over the top of my hand, pushing the needle into my flesh. (We both had a good laugh about that afterwards.) There was virtually no pain, though I felt something like a hard pin prick I guess, and that was all.
The appointment went on for a bit longer, with waiting to see what happened from the insulin shot for some fifteen minutes, and I asked a few more questions. I thanked the nursing team for their time, and for fitting me in the way they did, and then made an appointment for December and got the prescription for insulin from the Nurse Educator. Had a lot of paperwork to go through and a few other things, but that's not worth mentioning here.
Got home, and made a simple lunch of a bowl of soup and some chicken for protein.
Well, that was...unexpected.
I arrived at the Diabetes Clinic for the appointment with the diabetic nursing team around ten to 1, and didn't have to wait all that long at all. Which was good, I suppose, as it didn't allow me to start panicking and all that bad stuff. I met the team, exchanged a bit of small talk first, and then got down to business. We went through my diabetes history, the basic history of insulin and some definitions of terminology that is commonly used when talking about the drug. Also talked about some of the misnomers and myths about insulin and its use. Suffice it to say that was an insightful talk, and somewhat eased my apprehensions and the like.
Then we got down to the nitty gritty. The two diabetic nurses talked to me more about the specifics of the insulin that I would be on (Lantus), and then we got down to the information on how to give an injection, the mechanics of it, and then I got to administer a small dose of Lantus to myself for the first time. I wasn't expecting this, and balked when I realised what everything had been leading to. Nerves, for sure. I'll admit that I got to the point of plunging the needle into my abdomen, but couldn't bring myself to do it, though I had the point of the needle against the skin. (Scared about the pain.) The senior nurse said that I'd done good to that point, and then put her hand over the top of my hand, pushing the needle into my flesh. (We both had a good laugh about that afterwards.) There was virtually no pain, though I felt something like a hard pin prick I guess, and that was all.
The appointment went on for a bit longer, with waiting to see what happened from the insulin shot for some fifteen minutes, and I asked a few more questions. I thanked the nursing team for their time, and for fitting me in the way they did, and then made an appointment for December and got the prescription for insulin from the Nurse Educator. Had a lot of paperwork to go through and a few other things, but that's not worth mentioning here.
Got home, and made a simple lunch of a bowl of soup and some chicken for protein.