Gestational diabetes: Giving yourself insulin shots
What does it mean to prepare and give an insulin shot?
Insulin comes in small glass bottles (vials) and cartridges. Each type of container is sealed with a rubber lid. One vial or cartridge contains many doses. To remove a dose of insulin from:
- A vial: You will use an insulin syringe
to get the insulin and to give yourself a shot.
- A cartridge: You will use a pen-shaped device called an insulin pen. The cartridge fits inside the pen and the dose of insulin is set with a dial on the outside of the pen. The pen (with the cartridge inside) is used to give the medicine. There are disposable and reusable insulin pens. Each pen works slightly differently.
Note: If you are using an insulin pen, talk with your doctor or pharmacist about how to use the pen correctly. Giving insulin with these pens is not covered in this information.
To give an insulin shot, the needle (attached to the syringe) is inserted through the skin. The medicine is pushed from the syringe into fatty tissue just below the skin. In pregnant women, insulin usually is given in the upper arm or thigh.
Your doctor may have you take two types of insulin at the same time. Most types of insulin that are prescribed to be taken at the same time can be mixed together in the same syringe.
Test Your Knowledge
To withdraw a single dose of insulin from a vial, I need to use a syringe.
To give a shot of insulin, the needle of the syringe is inserted into the skin, and the medicine is pushed into the fatty tissue just under the skin.
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Why give insulin?
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| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: December 4, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Lois Jovanovic, MD - Endocrinology | |
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