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BD answers
questions about insulin
injection during pregnancy
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This
page is sponsored by BD
Diabetes Educators recommend BD syringes
to their patients more than any other brand
because of the fine, thin BD needles
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1. Pregnant
women with diabetes seem to prefer to use the stomach as their injection
site but are afraid they will hurt the baby. Is this possible?
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Diabetes
and Pregnancy - Insulin Injections in Stomach:
It is very unlikely
that a needle will ever directly hit the baby and cause a problem.
However, it is important that injections be into the fat just below
the skin and pregnancy can make that harder.
In early pregnancy,
you can inject as you normally do. But in late pregnancy, the skin
of the stomach can become very stretched, with little fat below
the skin. If you can pinch up the skin, you can continue to inject
into the pinched up area. If you can't pinch up, choose an area
at the side of your stomach that has more fat. If you use an insulin
pen with a 5 mm pen needle, you may not need to pinch up in this
fattier area. However, if you use an 8 mm or 12.7 mm needle, you
will still need to pinch up.
2.
Can stomach injections increase stretch marks?
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Insulin Injections
in Stomach During Pregnancy:
No
3.
What injection sites can be used during pregnancy, and which are
the best?
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Pregnancy
and Insulin Injections:
During pregnancy
you can use the same injection sites that you normally use. However,
you may not be able to inject into the front of the stomach when
it becomes very stretched.
4.
What are the best types of needles to use based on body types?
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Insulin Injections
and Needles:
You should always
contact your health care provider, who has specific information
about your diabetes care. In general, thin women can use very short
needles (such as 5 mm pen needles). Women with a larger build can
use 8 mm or 12.7 mm syringes or pen needles, with pinch-up.
5.
Is it okay to switch between needle types (i.e., long, short, thick,
thin).
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Insulin Injections
and Needles:
You should always
contact your health care provider, who has specific information
about your diabetes care.
- Some insulin
syringe users prefer short needles because they find them to be
more comfortable. Other people find that the longer, original
needle length is more comfortable. If you are overweight, you
may not be able to control blood sugar as reliably with short
needles. If you give shorter needles a try, you'll need to check
your blood sugar regularly to ensure that the short needle isn't
affecting your blood glucose control. Some people prefer 30 or
31 gauge needles because they're thinner, but other people prefer
28 gauge needles because they're less flexible. Once you find
a needle length and gauge that works well for you, try to stay
with that size to help keep your insulin absorption as consistent
as possible.
- With insulin
pens, if you are pinching-up you can change needle types. If you
do not want to pinch up, use a 5 mm pen needle.
6.
What do I have to know before flying with my diabetes supplies?
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Flying with
Diabetes Supplies:
With proper
planning, you can still enjoy the experiences of traveling to new
places or visiting family and friends. Part of that planning includes:
- Discussing
your travel plans with your doctor.
- Asking your
doctor for written prescriptions for all your medications and
diabetes supplies.
- Getting a
travel letter from your doctor describing your diabetes plan.
- Packing the
proper amount of diabetes supplies that you'll need for your trip.
To make it easier to get through airport security, keep your insulin
in the same box that it came in with the original Rx label on
it.
Prepare a diabetes
kit for traveling. It should contain the same items that are in
your regular diabetes kit, but enough of them to last you for the
length of time that you'll be away. Keep the kit close by you at
all times - NEVER check it in your luggage.
Your total insulin dosage is designed to work for about 24 hours,
so if you change three or more time zones when flying across the
country or overseas, you might need to adjust your injection schedule.
Learn the latest
airport security guidelines for people with diabetes:
http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/yourinsulin/living_traveling.asp
7. What
do I need to know about planning for pregnancy?
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Planning
a Pregnancy with Diabetes:
If you have
diabetes, with some advance planning you can generally have a successful
pregnancy and a healthy baby. The most important step you can take
is to keep your blood glucose tightly controlled and your A1c on
target for several months before the baby is even conceived.
Learn more about
planning for pregnancy:
http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/understanding/pregnancy.asp
8. How will
diabetes affect my health and my baby's health during pregnancy?
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Diabetes
and Pregnancy - Fetal and Maternal Health:
Low blood glucose
generally does not cause health problems for your baby. However,
even an occasional episode of high blood glucose can affect your
baby. The first trimester is a critical time for your developing
baby's health. During the first three months of pregnancy, there
is a higher risk of miscarriage. In months four through nine, the
major risks are an overly large baby (called Macrosomia) or a stillbirth.
During pregnancy, diabetes-related health risks to the mother include
vision and kidney complications, hypoglycemia (very low blood sugar),
and childbirth difficulties.
Read more about
diabetes-related pregnancy complications:
http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/understanding/pregnancy.asp
9.
Do you offer any resources for women with gestational diabetes?
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Gestational
Diabetes:
BD has published
an award-winning brochure on Gestational Diabetes. Download in English
or Spanish:
.
You can also
find detailed information on diabetes care at http://www.BDdiabetes.com/us.
Learn about
insulin, how to draw and inject insulin properly, meal planning
tips, and more.
10. If my
doctor doesn't specify a brand, my pharmacy always gives me the
store brand of needles. Is it necessary to have the doctor ask for
a specific brand?
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Insulin Syringe
Prescription:
Yes, it is necessary
for the doctor to prescribe a specific brand of insulin syringe
or pen needle, along with instructions that no substitutions are
allowed. If the doctor only writes "insulin syringe" on
the prescription, then the pharmacist can dispense any brand of
insulin syringe or pen needle, including a store brand. Also, the
pharmacist can decide what syringe size, needle length and gauge
to dispense, which may not always be the best choice for your specific
needs.
11. What
benefits are gained from having a good quality needle?
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Best Insulin
Syringes:
BD is constantly
seeking to improve syringes and pen needles to make them more comfortable
and easy to use. Some of our many product features include:
Scale Alignment:
It's easy to hold a BD syringe with the flanges or wings side
to side with the scale markings facing you. On some other brands,
the scale is not always located in the same spot, and you may
have to turn the syringe to see it.
Flat-top plunger: Attached to the plunger in a BD syringe
is a black rubber stopper that's lined up with the scale markings
in order to draw up a dose. The top of a BD rubber stopper is
flat so that it's easy to line up with the scale marks.
Latex-free: Recognizing that latex sensitivity is an issue
in the healthcare environment, BD insulin syringes and pen needles
do not contain natural rubber latex.
Smooth needles: Other needles can have microscopic burrs
or imperfections in the steel, which can cause injections to be
painful. BD's manufacturing processes have virtually eliminated
such imperfections.
Lubricant: BD needles are coated with a low-friction lubricant
to create a smoother edge that makes injecting easier and less
painful.
Quality Control: BD inspects each and every one of our
needles during the manufacturing process to ensure the very highest
quality.
When insulin
syringe users were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with
their chosen brands, BD users rated BD products higher than did
the users of other brands on these important characteristics:
- Ease of penetrating
the skin
- Overall quality
of the syringe
- Sharpness
of the needle
- Ease of dispensing
the total dosage
- Ease of measuring
to the correct dose line
- Ease of reading
the scale on the syringe
- Consistent
quality from syringe to syringe
- Comfort of
injection into the skin
- Smooth action
of the plunger when drawing up insulin
12. Do you
offer coupons or other ways to cut down on supply costs?
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Diabetes
Supply Special Offers:
Special offers
on BD diabetes products occur throughout the year. Visit http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/news/update.asp
and sign up to receive
promotional announcements from BD.
13. Many
pregnant women with diabetes are afraid to inject insulin. What
products or tips can you offer for people who are afraid of shots?
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Insulin Injections
- Fear, Anxiety, Scared, Afraid....:
For people who
are nervous about sticking an insulin needle through their skin
or uncomfortable watching the insulin go into their skin, an automatic
injector - such as the BD Inject-Ease® Automatic Injector
- is a solution that can make the injecting process much easier.
BD Inject-Ease®
Automatic Injector works in five easy steps:
- Draw up
the proper insulin dose with your syringe.
- Place the
syringe in the injector. (When loaded, the needle will be covered
by the injector.)
- Place the
tip of the injector against the injection site.
- Press the
button. A spring-loaded mechanism quickly inserts the needle into
your skin and out of your sight.
- Push in
the plunger to inject the insulin.
This product
can be ordered by your local pharmacy.
BD Catalog # 328245
NDC/HRI # 08290-3282-45
INJECT-EASE is a trademark of Palco Laboratories.
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