Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: February 14, 2020 03:46PM
Your sense of humour is intact, catnip. Sometimes that is all that can get you through. It is to be admired - a show of great strength in the face of ongoing adversity.
My own sense of humour has gone awol lately. I miss it. I'm fed up with everything, especially work. I'm complaining inside my head all day, every day, especially this week. I'm irritating myself but can't seem to stop. But at least so far I can refrain from irritating others IRL by complaining too much. For now I am managing to keep it inside myself (which may turn out not to be too healthy in the long run).
But meanwhile, this is about you. And you made me laugh with your conjugating verbs, etc. Thanks for that!
I was going to say yikes, I hope they gave you a lesson before expecting you to start doing injections. But I see I'm too late to comment before you had to go ahead - and you've already managed to overcome your understandable reluctance. It seems that every man (and woman) and their dogs now self-inject, and are expected to do it as easily as brushing their teeth. Sometimes, it's not so much.
Hopefully, you've had instruction and supervision for at least one time (although it doesn't really sound like it). I know you likely know this but the OCD nursey part of me can't help but say:
1. It's imperative to cleanse the area thoroughly before injecting (by using alcohol swabs) (sometimes I have found myself cleansing an area but then inserting the needle outside the swabbed bit - yow). Also, sometimes the crazy little swabs are fairly or totally dry, in which case, of course, they don't do their job. If it doesn't feel wet to you, use another one.
2. It's recommended to change locations, avoiding injecting the same bits too often or too close together in time.
3. Of course, you want to always double-check the dosage you're administering. In my nursing training we were conditioned to always check the label on any type of medication (especially injectables) every time. I still can't break that habit, but it's a good one, even if it's a bottle of pills or a vial of med that you use every day. Innumerable medication errors occur and many can be quite unfortunate. (I used to give my mom simple eye drops a few times each day for months but still, I cast an eye over the label every time, even though I was holding the familiar bottle so often - somehow, mistakes are so easy to make).
4. I assume someone somewhere must surely have shown you the mechanics but still I will say: Be sure to pinch up a little bit of skin prior to injection to make sure you are giving the insulin subcutaneously (i.e. not too deep). And watch your aim - no sense jabbing your own fingers!
5. Goes without saying: Don't re-use needles.
6. Perhaps when he's less wobbly, hubby can take over and do his own injections. Then you can stop being the nurse and go back to linguistics!
6. Feel good about how brave and helpful you are being. (Somehow people don't think of this when they vow "for better or worse" but it's what you are sometimes called on to do in the give-and-take, rough-and-tumble of marriage).
As always, it's good to read your updates. Best of luck!
PS: Re the cognitive state: This could simply be a combination of the prolonged illness, time in hospital (can be quite disorienting), and the diabetes not being ideally controlled (it can get out of whack quickly during illness). You may notice significant improvement once the medication is taking effect and hubby's meal and sleep schedule are back to a good routine.