Shooting up in MDR?

[youngestof9]

I didn't read all the answers, but I'm type 1 diabetic and use my insulin pen right at the table. In most cases, it's almost under the table as I lean forward and inject. Nobody would ever know and I need to do it right before I eat. I can't do it 5-10 minutes before. Unless I'm wearing a dress, it's right there.

 

Honestly, I cannot worry about other people's squeamishness. I'm not saying "hi, I'm shooting up". If you didn't know, you probably wouldn't even realize. And my high blood sugar is more important than someone at another table possibly noticing. Sorry. I cannot help having a disease. I also never ever make a big deal about it.

[Seago2]

This whole thread is reminding me of breast feeding. My first two kids I went and nursed like a gymnast in tiny bathrooms. Then I didn't care any more. I did it plenty of times at the table with my 3rd-5th, but under a blanket, discreetly, and definitely not while sharing a table with anyone. Other public places- all bets were off but at the table - it's a whole different kind of intrusion. And on a cruise? No way. Why would I nurse out in the open when I would have been two minutes away from the cabin? I guess if you need to shoot up you'd be best to stay on the safe side and excuse yourself.

 

Just my rambling HO.

[PennyAgain]

Fundamentally you have to judge the people you are seated near to. Some won't care what you do one way or the other, others won't notice and some will be nervous.

 

I will bet that most people won't notice, but most would prefer you injected elsewhere.

 

As with much else in life, you have to make a judgment based on circumstances including your own.

[RockeyBullwinkle]

from reading these forums it seems a lot of cruisers are easily offended.. forget the restroom and forget your cabin and hoping you get seated and some rolls in 10 mins. can't see that happening often. without making a major production out of it simply do what you need to do. if by chance you have one of these wimpy guys who might pass out from thinking about a shot they could leave the table its their problem not yours.

[gumboroux]

Just excuse yourself and go to the restroom. That way it is timed correctly, private and you can rotate injection sites better.

 

You can be discreet. It depends on your dinner companions doesn't it? I would be leery taking a shot in the bathroom due to the germs that can be in that room.

[ldubs]

I have an extreme needle phobia. I cannot watch someone getting an injection, can't watch it on TV, can't even hold my dog at the vet when it is vaccination time. I would not be offended if someone administered a needed injection. I would be bothered. If I new it was going to happen I would probably need to look away or stand up or something. As long as you are OK with my squeamishness, I'm OK with you doing what needs to be done. If the person made a big production out of it, I would be moving tables (more because the person is being boorish than my discomfort with needles).

 

So the Op asked, should they. My preference would be no, but if it is about staying well, then do what has to be done. For all I know someone I've shared a table with may have already been doing this discretely and I knew nothing about it.

[notentirelynormal]

I don't need it anymore but when I did I simply lifted up the corner of my t-shirt, put my hand underneath with the pen, made a 5 second action and then was done. Sitting next to me was a person who would rather die than have an injection and her even worse husband across the table. They weren't freaked out because it was that easy. They can be, well beyond, ... can't find the words but suffice it to say, they don't go to the doctor unless they are dying. If I could do it with them sitting next to me, it really can't be that intrusive.

[Doug R.]

You can be discreet. It depends on your dinner companions doesn't it? I would be leery taking a shot in the bathroom due to the germs that can be in that room.

 

The dreaded restroom germ/bacteria factory :D , greatly exaggerated IMO, is not a problem as the only thing I did in there was lift the corner of my shirt and inject. Unless you conduct other business while there, you would never have to touch any surface or come in range of those dreaded jumping germs :rolleyes::D

[Sweetest Sin]

I personally don't have a problem with someone taking insulin at the dinner table. However, I will share my story. We had a family member with diabetes. She decided to take her insulin at the dinner table and accidentally pressed the plunger and her insulin went everywhere - in peoples drinks and food. Since we couldn't be sure where it went, everything at the table needed to be replaced. So for that reason, I would prefer to have a table mate excuse themself to administer a shot.

[GORDONCHICK]

We had friends over for dinner last night. The lady is on insulin and has been for quite some time. Recently, she was changed from a pen insulin to a different one not in a pen that works much much better for her. She has a tube that holds a syringe she's already loaded with insulin. She puts the tube in her purse or pocket. I know she has to take the shot, but I've only seen/noticed her do it once (been friends for 16 years). She doesn't make a big production about it.

 

When insulin has to be taken in precise timing with food, I have no problem with someone taking it at the table - and I'm no fan of needles. You never know how long it's going to be before the food appears, especially in the MDR.

[irishnyc]

Unless like a certain friend I know that makes a big show out of the injection, you would never even know I took mine. In fact, after a very exhausting excursion I was in no mood to walk over to the restroom and since I was wearing a polo shirt I discreetly lifted the shirt a tiny bit and gave myself the shot (from a pen, no drawing insulin from a vial into a syringe).

 

In as gently a manner as possible no flame intended, your view is considered narrow minded.

 

I'm glad you "no flamed" my opinion. :rolleyes:

 

I'm not unfamiliar with diabetes. I was diabetic while pregnant and had to inject myself every evening as well as monitor my glucose and adjust my dose accordingly. DH couldn't even be in the same room as me when I injected, just knowing I was doing it.

 

No flame intended, but I think it's rude to do it in a public space, no matter how discrete you think you're being. It's not all about you.

[Doug R.]

I'm glad you "no flamed" my opinion. :rolleyes:

 

I'm not unfamiliar with diabetes. I was diabetic while pregnant and had to inject myself every evening as well as monitor my glucose and adjust my dose accordingly. DH couldn't even be in the same room as me when I injected, just knowing I was doing it.

 

No flame intended, but I think it's rude to do it in a public space, no matter how discrete you think you're being. It's not all about you.

 

I have taken shots in public for years until I switched to the pump and have only been noticed on one occasion and that was in a restroom a kid about ten glanced at me smiled and hiked his tee up to show me his pump. I should not have to change my regmin just because the extremely remote chance that someone who has an irrational fear of needles might glance my way and actually realize what I am doing. I have as much right to treat my condition as a person with asthma has to use their inhaler in public, for example. My diabetes care is all about me :p

[cruisemom42]

I have taken shots in public for years until I switched to the pump and have only been noticed on one occasion and that was in a restroom a kid about ten glanced at me smiled and hiked his tee up to show me his pump. I should not have to change my regmin just because the extremely remote chance that someone who has an irrational fear of needles might glance my way and actually realize what I am doing. I have as much right to treat my condition as a person with asthma has to use their inhaler in public, for example. My diabetes care is all about me :p

 

I work in a medical field and can tell you that irrational (and sometimes quite severe) fear of needles and blood is much more common than some people suppose. Reactions can include fainting, extreme agitation and heart rate increase, hysteria, and nausea/loss of appetite.

 

I realize people with diabetes have to inject, and do it in a small window of time, but there are ways of managing it other than sitting at the table in the MDR, and they do not pose a risk to the person with diabetes if managed well. Yes, they may have the "right" to do it, but is it the right thing to do?

 

The general reason behind good manners and good etiquette is simple: one practices them in order to make others feel comfortable and avoid awkward situations. Good manners often involves thinking of others as well as of yourself. My original response was given after thinking how I would handle it, were it me.

 

Similarly, while I recognize that nursing mothers have the right to breastfeed in public (and most can do it pretty discreetly), it's not something that I felt comfortable doing, because I didn't want to make others uncomfortable.

 

I don't think that's being narrow-minded.

[MiamiSpartan]

I would think that if you were discreet about it, no one would care. I know if you were at my table during the meal, and explained that you needed to inject some insulin, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

me, too....Or if you are not comfortable, you could excuse yourself to the restroom just after placing your order....

[Doug R.]

me, too....Or if you are not comfortable, you could excuse yourself to the restroom just after placing your order....

 

Which is what I did 99.9999% of the time. Now I am not sure if I would upset the alleged multitude of those who go into panic mode over needles if I detach my pump from my belt to dial in my bolus of insulin knowing that the visible tubing leads to a cannula inserted in my stomach by a verrrrry looooong needle (removed after the cannula is inserted. :eek:

[MiamiSpartan]

Which is what I did 99.9999% of the time. Now I am not sure if I would upset the alleged multitude of those who go into panic mode over needles if I detach my pump from my belt to dial in my bolus of insulin knowing that the visible tubing leads to a cannula inserted in my stomach by a verrrrry looooong needle (removed after the cannula is inserted. :eek:

 

For me personally, even tho it really is none of my business to know, if I knew what the situation was, it wouldn't bother me...

[sirk25]

Which is what I did 99.9999% of the time. Now I am not sure if I would upset the alleged multitude of those who go into panic mode over needles if I detach my pump from my belt to dial in my bolus of insulin knowing that the visible tubing leads to a cannula inserted in my stomach by a verrrrry looooong needle (removed after the cannula is inserted. :eek:

 

Most people wouldn't have a clue what it was or how it worked. I often get asked what is on my belt, a pager? LOL .... I'm surpised some people even know what a pager is or remember them

[Doug R.]

Most people wouldn't have a clue what it was or how it worked. I often get asked what is on my belt, a pager? LOL .... I'm surpised some people even know what a pager is or remember them

 

I got a remark from a less than sensitive co-worker when she first spied the pump---"Look at the big deal with two cell phones! You dealin'?" :mad: I gave her the patented Master Sergeant glare of death that scared quite a few troops in those days. She went running to the boss whining who was aware of the pump (her husband is a pumper) who 'splained things.:rolleyes:

[Azure Moon]

Apologies for the long post, but I can not believe that some people say that others need to accommodate them by having someone leave their presence, or announce what they are doing and why they are doing it. :eek::confused::rolleyes::(

 

You do what you need to do.

 

My mother had diabetes for 42 years. She went from having to draw insulin from a vial to using an insulin pump to using a pen. She'd have been even more worn out and put out with the disease if she had to add extra time and steps to going to another room in order to take the insulin she needed. Needed - that is the key word. This disease isn't a choice, it isn't fun, it isn't easy. It's work. How easy to just plop down and stuff your face with whatever you want and not have to do anything more than that.

 

My brother is also a diabetic.

 

Both of them (Mom while alive and brother currently) took/take their insulin while at the table. They didn't/don't make a big production out of it. Mom, toward the end, used a blood testing meter that spoke the results out loud. Her eye sight with age and problems due to having the disease, made it harder for her to see well. The meter's voice could be heard by us at the table and those nearby, I wished it could have had the volume lowered, but don't think it was possible - at least on the model she had - but other than that I didn't find it to be a problem because it was needed. I've heard some cell phone ringing and conversations that were louder than the meter, and I bet many of those calls weren't even needed unlike the information the meter gave. Mom also had more limited mobility towards the end, so it would have been an added hardship to order then go to somewhere else then come back.

 

Brother used to faint while having blood draws, then he became diabetic. You do what you have to do...especially if you want to live.

 

I'm extremely squeamish, and have fainted due to a blood draw, and can't stand to watch shots given during news stories (flu season), or shots given on television shows and movies or drug use in television shows or movies. When I'd see Mom and brother doing what they had to do, I distracted myself by looking away, looking at items on the table, talk with others at the table. Even when she gave herself a shot with the pen while I was driving a car, I just concentrated harder on driving. My discomfort was and is nothing to the discomfort they had/have to endure.

 

I thank God for the medicine that kept/keeps my loved (family and friends) ones healthy as possible and alive. I thank God for all the advances in diabetes over the decades, and the ones that are coming about now. The advances have also helped those without the disease. And I hope and pray one day something comes up to prevent the disease and also that a cure is found to help the millions of people who have diabetes.

 

So, to all diabetics who find themselves sitting at the same table with me, or sitting near me, stay where you are and relax, you don't have to announce what you are doing or why (I'm a reasonably intelligent being and certainly I am not someone who feels they must be gotten permission from). Take care of yourself - for yourself and your loved ones.

[sirk25]

^^^^^ Thank you.

[caribsun]

I thought this was about whiskey.:D

[Thumpers]

Injecting yourself with a needle at the dinner table is rude and gross. I realize it's not gross to the person doing the injecting because they're used to it, but it is to me. I don't want to know your medical history or hear about the port you have sticking out of your abdomen right before I'm about to eat. TMI.

 

BTW, I'd be a little more forgiving if the person were a type 1 diabetic as opposed to type 2, which was probably brought on due to obesity and poor eating habits. So if you do decide to shoot up, at least tell us what type of diabetes you have so we can decide how annoyed with you we should be.

 

I file this under the same category as blowing your nose at the table, picking your teeth, coughing without covering your mouth, or changing your colostomy bag...all things that shouldn't be done around food.

[KrabbyKelly]

I sincerely pray that you never get a chronic medical condition that causes you to have to "offend" or gross out someone with it's lifesaving treatment. I can not believe you feel justified in judging someone on how they came to have it. Most people if given the choice would gladly not have diabetes or any other "offensive" medical condition. You however have control over how you react to it and others who aren't as perfectly healthy as I hope you are lucky enough to be. I would think a rational adult would not be so narrow minded, but I guess I was wrong. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round and unfortunately that includes people like you. I have it, and have had it for 13 years. I have never met someone that easily offended/grossed out-whatever you want to call it- by it as you and hope I never will. I don't advertise the fact I have it normally and I am discreet about my treatment of it. For someone on rapid acting insulin such as myself, the time it takes to get from the bathroom to the table and then have to possibly wait for the food to arrive can mean the difference between a hypoglycemic reaction or not. Some people pass out when their blood sugar gets low enough in that situation. I shudder to think how offensive that would be to someone as insensitive as you appear to be by your post. I hope your post does not portray the real you and just came off bad.

[Doug R.]

Injecting yourself with a needle at the dinner table is rude and gross. I realize it's not gross to the person doing the injecting because they're used to it, but it is to me. I don't want to know your medical history or hear about the port you have sticking out of your abdomen right before I'm about to eat. TMI.

 

BTW, I'd be a little more forgiving if the person were a type 1 diabetic as opposed to type 2, which was probably brought on due to obesity and poor eating habits. So if you do decide to shoot up, at least tell us what type of diabetes you have so we can decide how annoyed with you we should be.

 

I file this under the same category as blowing your nose at the table, picking your teeth, coughing without covering your mouth, or changing your colostomy bag...all things that shouldn't be done around food.

 

File it under the category you wish, however allow me to file you among the other people I consider boorish and insensitive. :rolleyes:

 

I have never ever discussed my medical condition with anyone at a dinner table on a cruise.

 

Your abject ignorance about Type 2 is appalling at best. :mad:

[RockeyBullwinkle]

Injecting yourself with a needle at the dinner table is rude and gross. I realize it's not gross to the person doing the injecting because they're used to it, but it is to me. I don't want to know your medical history or hear about the port you have sticking out of your abdomen right before I'm about to eat. TMI.

 

BTW, I'd be a little more forgiving if the person were a type 1 diabetic as opposed to type 2, which was probably brought on due to obesity and poor eating habits. So if you do decide to shoot up, at least tell us what type of diabetes you have so we can decide how annoyed with you we should be.

 

I file this under the same category as blowing your nose at the table, picking your teeth, coughing without covering your mouth, or changing your colostomy bag...all things that shouldn't be done around food.

 

interesting this rant as post number 2? obviously someone without the 'boys' to post under their real screen name. would love to be seated with this guy when he went into this rant.