Hello, My name is Jason and our son Stephen who is 1 now, was just diagnosed with diabetes. Its been a week now and my wife has another week off before he goes back to grandma house to be taken care of. The problem we are having is grandma is afraid of giving the shots. We are going to try and get on a pump but that is down the road and I still need her to know who to give a needle. Did anyone have trouble doing this? and how did you get over the fear? Thank you jason
When my daughter was diagnosed, my mom attended training with us in the hospital. She's also tagged along for pump training twice so far. I train my mom on all sorts of diabetes stuff but my mom definitely feels more comfortable when the information comes from an expert - I think her generation's attitude toward medical people is a little more along the lines of 'you do what the doctor says' and I think she liked having an outsider training her because she was so worried about messing up and having us not trust her (completely unfounded - she is still our number one backup 7 years later!) that being able to get comfortable with someone else relieved a little pressure. My mom also had to get over the guilt/fear of 'hurting' her grandchild. She knew it needed to be done but she was so emotional over it that she worried about DD's reaction. Can the hospital let her sit in on the next new diagnosis training? If not, perhaps you can sit down with her and walk through it, make her checklists and guidelines (my mom loved those!!) and let her practice on you guys? My husband was our pincushion - we all practiced on him Even the kids!
Get one of these http://www.amazon.com/Complete-need...+ease+automatic+injector+injections+made+easy worth every penny.:cwds: Good luck!
Hi Jason, First My heart goes out to you and your family. My grandson was diagnosed when he was 5. He is 9yrs old now. We started with the shots, and now he has the pump. For me, both are scary and I always have some fear, it just never goes away. I have dealt with both and imho, I find the shot to be easier than his pump. Changing his pump always scares me and trust me I've done this many times. Even after 4yrs, I still get nervous. So Stephens Grandma has a normal feeling. We did attend a 3 day training at the hospital when he was diagnosed and the people there made sure we knew how to do all of this. Maybe she could try this. If she ever wants to talk to me for support, I'm here.
Thanks for the reply, She has done everything with us, witch is great. She wants to be part of it, and knows she needs to do it, but its the first one that is getting to her. She has gone to training with us and next week we have a nurse coming to her house (because my wife will go over with our son) and train there. I told her I am more than happy to be a pincushion to (good for your husband for stepping up). I guess having her see us give it to him over and over will help. He is only 1 and he doesn't care about the shots, its the holding him down that he hates. I will keep you posted on what works, and thanks again for the reply Jason
Thanks for the amazon link, will this work on the smallest of amounts? We have a 1 year old and the amount we are giving him is tiny. If it does, you are a life saver. Thanks for taking the time to reply Jason
If it helps at all, we're 3.5 years in and I still get dizzy anytime the syringe or insertion set is changed. Our endo was shocked when I mentioned it recently. Just because our kids are diagnosed with T1 doesn't mean we - or they - like needles!
The inject-easy is just a plastic sheath that holds the regular syringe. You draw up the insulin into the syringe, drop it into the inject ease and then place the inject-ease against the injection site and push the button on the side and it (it's spring loaded) does the "stab" for you all the while hiding the needle from sight. No needle to see, no stabbing motion, then you just compress the plunger and done. ;-)
Get her a bottle of saline and have her draw it up and give the shot to you or grandpa or herself. She needs to be confident and matter of fact when dealing with a small child. There will be many shots and for long term success they should be a positive experience and not a dreaded fearful one. Children pick up on emotions and echo them back. She loves him so she will find a way to get over her own fears. An insulin pen is often an easier choice over a syringe for various reasons.
I know for my mother, the first shot was the hardest one. She practiced plenty, but the first real one was the worst. (just like I'm sure it was for all of us parents. that first one, kills you.) After that, it really wasn't a problem. Assure grandma that every parent has some fear at first, and none of us start out with any more skill than she has, but we aren't offered a choice. We just have to do it. If she wants to continue to be your son's caregiver, which I suspect she does, she will also just have to do it. Tell her to not let it overwhelm her. It's completely normal to have some trepidation at first. Just let her practice a LOT to get the technique down so that when she finally does have to do that first shot, she is really confident in how to do it. And I think once she sees your son getting not minding the shots, I think she'll feel a bit better about it.
Thanks for all the help and feedback. My mom had a break through with the needle. She practiced on an orange and the next day she was able to give the shot. SHe did go out side and cry and had a smoke but she did it. I went over today and she was like a pro. I would of never guessed it but I am so proud of her. I really love this site and all the people willing to help Thanks again Jason
Sounds like good progress! My heart broke reading about. Grandma crying; I'm sure it was emotional for her, but kudos for her being so willing to push through.
Kudos to Grandma! It is such a blessing to have family members that are willing and able to help with the little ones. Don't forget to thank her for being such a blessing to your family.
