Overview

Insulin is normally made by the pancreas, a gland behind the stomach. In people with diabetes, the pancreas no longer makes enough insulin or it stops making it. Without insulin, your blood sugar level rises to dangerous levels. When this happens, you need insulin shots to keep your blood sugar in your target range.

You may be nervous giving a shot at first. But soon, giving yourself a shot will become routine. Your care team will show you how to draw up insulin into a syringe and give the shot. The needles you use to give the insulin injections are very thin. Most people who have diabetes say they don't even feel the needle enter the skin. Even if you do feel the injection, the sting of the shot doesn't last long.