Anybody have experience with injecting themselves with meds?

[TZ]

I have a new script (interferon) that requires once a week injection in either the abdomen or thigh..I am quite nervous about this, having a pretty good fear of needles. I imagine that a lot of diabetics have to do this so any advice would be welcome....:scared:

[raptor_rider]

1. My daughter is terrified of needles

to where it took 3 of us to hold her down to get a shot. December 2006 changed that when she was diagnosed type 1. Her schedule now is 5-6 shots a day. The stomach hurts the least of all injection sites. Just grab and shoot away. It also helps to have the small thin needles. They do not hurt that much at all. Hope this helps a little.

:hug:

[TZ]

6. Thank you.

I haven't got the meds quite yet but I saw the instructions on injecting and got nervous..:hi:

[ThomCat]

2. Ohhhh...

I'm very sorry you have to do that. :(

I hope it is somehow easier than I imagine it to be.

How deeply do you have to inject it?

:hug:

[TZ]

4. I don't know yet...

I have yet to actually get the meds (hopefully in the next day or two) but it says right on the script to inject once a week in abdomen or thigh...

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. I inject 6 times a day...

It is much much easier than you can imagine, and once you do it a few times, you will see what I mean.

1) Try your abdomen rather than your thigh first.

2) Don't be tentative, but don't be harsh with the needle either. If you have a fear of self-injection, try to remember that OTHERS inject you all the time, why not YOU?

3) Put the needle in as directed. You will barely feel it, or you will not feel it at all.

4) Trust me, when you see how easy it is, you will wonder why you worried. You will also get a nice feeling of accomplishment knowing that you overcame your fear.

Good luck. :hug:

[TZ]

5. Six times a day? Yikes..

Okay that makes my once a week seem like not too bad...:o

[LeftyFingerPop]

7. Post here for moral support....

I will most likely see your post, and I can talk you through it if you need help.

Don't psyche yourself out over it. Remember, once you do it once or twice, it will become easy.

Here's what i did in the beginning...and it helped me.

I told myself...."Jesus Christ...there are people getting their limbs blown off in the war, and I'm afraid of a little needle? Pftttt."

To be honest....the needles don't bother me at all. What gets to me emotionally however, is the amount of times I have to do it.

Once a week should be no problem for you. It will be OK....take it from someone who knows.

[Dr. Strange]

23. Wow, six times a day?

I'm gonna have to start referring to you as philman!

:patriot:

[LeftyFingerPop]

28. LOL thanks but it really is no big deal....

There are MUCH worse things. :hi:

[Tyler Durden]

8. Do the thigh.

I had to inject for allergies when I was exiled to Texas for a few years: it was either that, or don't breath.

[Midlodemocrat]

9. I had to give Mr. Midlo and BoyMidlo injections IM for quite a while.

Do it into the thigh muscle. It won't hurt as badly. The abdomen will kill.

[LeftyFingerPop]

11. Sue, here's a link....

http://hepatitis-c.emedtv.com/pegasys/giving-the-pegasys-injections.html

And try not to listen to flippant responses from individuals who do not self inject.

The abdomen does not "kill". You don't even feel it.

[LeftyFingerPop]

12. One other thing....

I read the link. This is not inter-muscular.

So don't use the thigh "muscle".

For fuck's sake... :grr:

[fight4my3sons]

10. I had to do injections in my abdomen and my thighs

I have a blood clotting condition that requires me to be on blood thinners during pregnancy. I had to do injections in my abdomen once a day of Lovenox. I found that icing the injection site before doing the injection helped.
I ended up having Gestational Diabetes and when diet did nothing to control my fasting numbers I was put on insulin. Those injections where done in my thighs since I was already doing injections in my abdomen. I found that those actually bothered me more. Maybe because I was so used to the others by then? (I had already gone through one pregnancy and was most of the way through another by that time).
The nurse who taught me how to do the injections told me to do them quickly, but I did them really slowly. My husband used to watch and cringe, but I just could not jab a needle into myself really fast. Sometimes I found that I would start and the needle would not go in and I had to take it back out and find another place. I did find that I bruised, but I was on anticoagulants, so that probably had a lot to do with it.
Good luck and if I can help you out at all PM me :)

[Cabcere]

13. I will probably have to do the same thing if I ever decide to have kids

Factor V Leiden sucks. x( Glad to hear that you did OK w/the injections, though. :hi:

[fight4my3sons]

15. It wasn't so bad once you get the hang of them.

I have APS - Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome also called Hughes Syndrome. Didn't find out until after I had two unexplained miscarriages. The anticoagulants plus a baby aspirin did the trick. Now I have three beautiful boys. The last pregnancy was rough and I had a problem with platelets that turned out to be HELLP Syndrome. The doctors said no more pregnancies for me. It was too much on my body and the risk was too high. Three is enough for us and twins were a blessing that we certainly didn't expect! :hi:

[LynzM]

14. Hi turtlensue

I've been diabetic for 18 years... so yep, lots of experience with needles. I'm presuming the doc's office will/would let you do the first injection there?

Philboy has good advice. Quick, but not harsh, works best for most people. The smallest and thinnest needle you can get should help. Some meds sting, some don't, but there's not much you can do about that aspect of the pain. The needle itself should not hurt very much. :hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

19. Good morning LynzM

You make an excellent point about the meds themselves that I hadn't considered. While the needle may not hurt, or hurt very little, it is possible to feel some discomfort when the med is injected. Good point.

I shoot the following per day:

1 Lantis (syringe)
3 Novolog (pen needle)
2 Byetta (pen needle)

Since they no longer insist that the Byetta be refrigerated, all my meds are warm when injected, and I barely feel mine.

Have a nice day LynzM :hi: :thumbsup:

[TZ]

20. Well...

The doctor who wrote the script is at the Mayo Clinic in MN..I am in Maryland..so no..I don't think I will be going to his office to practice..:D

[LynzM]

22. LOL, ok, never mind!

Hadn't realized that! Good luck to you! :hug:

[Flying Dream Blues]

16. I gave myself allergy shots once a week for a year. I agree that the thinnest

needle that will work for your med will give you the least discomfort. It helped me mentally to do the first couple of shots at the Dr.'s office, because like Philboy said, then it was like, "Well, SOMEONE is giving me this shot now, so why not me?" Also, I enjoyed not having to make the trip into the doc's office, so that was a motivator. I honestly got where I could practically do it talking on the phone, and it didn't bother me a bit.

Good luck and I know you can do it!

[khashka]

17. It'll be OK

Make sure the needle is sharp and thin and you won't feel a thing.

Be quick but gentle with yourself.

You'll find over time that the gross out factor and the fear goes away. It'll just be "Oh, something I do once a week. No big deal."


Good luck with this...


Khash.

[LynneSin]

18. I could find our foot friend and see if she could help you

I'm thinking that hole came from frequent intravenious self medications.

[Deep13]

21. You need experienced, qualified advice on this.

I suggest you Keith Richards.

[KitchenWitch]

24. I had to give myself insulin when I was pregnant

I am not diabetic but pregnancy makes me become diabetic.

I had to do four shots a day.

You do get used to it.

[tonkatoy57]

25. Define "meds"

n/t

[TZ]

26. heh. I was wondering if I was gonna get a response like this...

Doctor proscribed meds, for me anyway...;-)

[livetohike]

27. I do Imitrex injections for migraines

Have been doing it since 1995. No problem. I do it into my thigh. If I can do it, so can you :-).

Oh, I don't even see the needle - it's a "gun" type of shot thingy.