If you are one of them, how do you do it?

I have had a lifelong fear of needles. Now I have been self-injecting a prescription for the past two weeks. It was easier for me at first, than it is now.

You'd think it would be the reverse, that I'd be getting better at it. Instead my nerves are reacting more instead of less. I've cut way back on caffeine. I may eliminate it altogether. Occasionally I've been taking a valium to calm my nerves just to administer the injection.

It's a fine needle, I barely even know that I've given myself a shot once I do. It's the initial fear that seems to get me. Yet my initial resolve was fine.

Do you have any tips that help you per chance dealing with the difficulty of administering a self-injection? There is no oral equivalent of this medicine, or believe you me I wouldn't be needing this.

Do you use just the syringe and the needle, or do you have an auto injector? I have my husband give it to me normally, but when he travels I have to use one of those spring-loaded injectors, because once I load it, I can't see the needle. Then I just hold it in the right spot and push the button.

It's a bit more abrupt than I'd like, but I can handle it better than actually pushing the needle into my skin. I can't seem to ever push the needle quickly enough into my own skin.

Most drug companies that make the injection medications or the specialty pharmacies that supply it will provide the injectors free of charge.

Infrequent Observer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do you use just the syringe and the needle, or do
> you have an auto injector? I have my husband give
> it to me normally, but when he travels I have to
> use one of those spring-loaded injectors, because
> once I load it, I can't see the needle. Then I
> just hold it in the right spot and push the
> button.
>

It's the pen injector. (Is that the auto kind?) I push a button that releases the medicine. After I inject the needle into the skin.

> It's a bit more abrupt than I'd like, but I can
> handle it better than actually pushing the needle
> into my skin. I can't seem to ever push the
> needle quickly enough into my own skin.

That seems to be my problem. I've tried closing my eyes to help steady my hands so I don't flinch. Just feeling the needle makes my skin jump involuntarily, unless I take a valium. LOL, now I may need to keep taking that to take the other.

>
> Most drug companies that make the injection
> medications or the specialty pharmacies that
> supply it will provide the injectors free of
> charge.

I wish there was a simpler method than needing to inject a needle. So far I need to pay for the needles as they aren't covered by my insurance. The medicine is, but not the needles.

There are auto injectors that handle both the insertion of the needle and the release of the medication. You load the syringe into the injector and then just hold the end against your skin. When you push the button, a spring puts the needle into your skin and the second one pushes the plunger to release the medication.

Like I said, it's pretty shocking the first couple of times (there's a bit of force behind it), but for some reason, it's better for me than having to handle the actual breaking of the skin. When I'm home, I'll look at the name of the injector and see if it has anything that would be helpful.

I sympathize with you. As I mentioned, I much prefer my husband to do it, but that's not an option every day.

Thanks for that suggestion. I will be asking my medical care professional to see if that's an option. It sounds easier than what I'm currently using.

My DH does. He uses an autoinjector. I'm afraid that my hands would shake so badly at the very idea that I couldn't do it. He says that it isn't too bad with the autoinjector.

After checking w/pharmacy was told the auto injector isn't available with this particular prescription. It's too high a dose to fit inside an auto injector to get it all in in one shot. Plus I have to hold the needle in and count for six seconds before taking it back out to make sure the dose got where it's intended.

Bummer that won't be for this one.

My mom was a nurse and good at giving shots. I can remember several people in the neighborhood would come to her to have her give them their medicine. She was always glad to do it.

Your mom sounds like a saint.

Amyjo, I totally get where you are coming from! I don't have to do that every day, but because I am on blood thinners, I've had to inject lovenox into my stomach muscle a few different times for days before a medical procedure like endoscopy or colonoscopy. I had to sit there and psyche myself up for several minutes and my hand would also shake at the thought of pushing that needle into my skin.

I hope you can find a manageable solution to this so that it isn't such a dreaded thing to do.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2018 04:28PM by gemini.

It is dreaded, isn't it? I'm hopeful with each passing day it will get easier. The dose is incrementally going up. Yesterday it went up again, and will in another 7 days. I can tell a difference taking the injection at the higher dose takes slightly longer plus I still must count to 6 before taking the needle back out.

Like you, I tremble a bit. Mine is from a hereditary tremor, which doesn't go away. Which is why I need to steady myself before giving the injection.

I did for years, I tried the auto inject but didn't like the idea of not being able to control it, and yes it is abrubt.

I switched to prefilled regular syringes and much prefer that. Here is a suggestion, find a fatty area like maybe stomach or thighs and pinch it together to kind of stand out a bit, inject that part, I found it hurt less. Also with the prefilled syringes you can go slow which should help your nerves. Also the most painful part for me was just the initial stab, you can stab and wait a second or two to adjust to the idea and then slowly inject, that may help you mentally.

I have no suggestions for the auto ones other than grabbing a fatty area and holding it out a bit.

I was taking weekly Rheumatoid Arthritis injections, but have stopped as they really weren't doing anything as far as I can tell.

The auto inject isn't available with this medication. A nurse mentioned that about holding the skin between thumb and fingers while doing it. So far I've been using both hands to keep the pen steady lol.

My grandfather had adult onset T1, and my mother hand adult onset T1, originally I had symptoms of T2, but I have become adult onset T1 and have been injecting insulin 4 times a day for about 18 months now.

I guess I approach it looking at the alternative. I watched my mother die with severe complications of diabetes, I don't want to experience that, so I grit my teeth push in the needle and inject.

Your doctor should work with you at finding the least painful injection sites. Getting a routine down so it is almost automatic helps so you don't have to think about it a lot.

Don't fixate and obsess about it, just do it and find a small reward you can do aftewards. Goodluck, it gets better.

Thank you for your tips and advice. Anyone who can do this four times a day is my hero. Same for Saviorself, as he's been doing it 6 times a day for years. You're both my heroes. And for anyone else who's been subjected to this form of self-medicating ... role models to me.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing.

Yes, I did as part of my chemo regime. I have to admit that I braced myself each time I had to do it. Thinking of the benefits got me through but was thankful that it was a preloaded pen. I doubt I could have administered a syringe myself.

Take a deep breath, it only lasts a second.

Briggy

Hi, Briggy! Nice to hear from you! All these years, I thought that you got your chemo through IV. That's what they do over here. You are far more brave than I am!

Hugs to you and the family!

catnip Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi, Briggy! Nice to hear from you! All these
> years, I thought that you got your chemo through
> IV. That's what they do over here. You are far
> more brave than I am!
>
> Hugs to you and the family!


Hello my friend! Yes, I did have IV but had a post full chemo regime of what they called a maintenance dose. After each maintenance dose I was sent home with the pen with instructions to administer for neutralising of the drug. Complicated I know but I had a chemo regime for leukaemia called R/CVP which includes this little finale. Oooooh the joys of life eh?

Keep strong my friend and hugs to you and your family :-)

Briggy

Thanks Briggy, for sharing. And for being strong to get through your regime.

For me, it was the angst over how sick the medicine made me that created fear of the injection.

However, I found to twist my face into some awful, screaming (but not really), agonized, scary expression distracted me momentarily from the actual shot.

Or, to roll my toes up as hard as I could.

My dentist has me roll/rotate my feet in order to distract me whenever she gives me an injection. I've had a lifelong fear of needles and I can tolerate several injections while madly twirling my feet around.

Does the injection need to go into fat or muscle?

For what I need it for only goes into non-muscle, and is sub-cutaneous.

I can see that working to help to distract you, unless it's you administering the injection lol. The more I wiggle the harder it is to concentrate. :)

I gave myself weekly allergy shots for 15 years. Prior to starting I had been afraid of needles. Within a few weeks i was totally over the phobia.

I’d suggest you talk to your physician about this. Taking a sedative just to give yourself a shot sounds like a problem to me.

I agree. Especially if the sedative becomes habit forming.

Grab a gob of skin (works better if you're not too thin!) using all your fingers and thumb, with all fingers below and thumb on top (so, not just pinching a tiny flap of skin between two fingers). This helps with subcu injections (subcutaneous, just below the skin). Rotate the area you're injecting - don't use same spot over and over. Rotate sides; i.e. one side of abdomen for a while, in different spots, then switch to other side for a while, then back. Do it in a uniform manner so you ensure you're not sticking the same spot over and over. I assume you're wiping with an alcohol swab before you inject. Give it a few seconds to dry to avoid stinging. That will help to decrease discomfort. Take all precautions to maintain sterile technique with every step to avoid infection (that will cause more pain and misery).

Perhaps talk to your pharmacist about your technique. (We can do that up here, not sure about your area) and for any other tips.

Maybe discuss aversion therapy or some aspects or hints about it with your GP or ask for any other tips. I agree with the thought that having to take meds in order to give yourself an injection is not likely the best way to go.

My brother's like that. He has diabetes. He said he will do anything to avoid ending up having to self-inject. It's good. Keeps him on his good dietary habits.

Thanks Nightingale. I will see if the rolling the skin helps. So far been giving myself injections in my thighs. The abdomen is next. For some reason the thighs have been easier for me than the tummy area.

But after years of "Be a Man" to show no reaction to needles brainwashing, and years of sticking for diabetes blood tests, the auto-injector is no big deal. I stick myself in the thigh when I'm getting dressed, and I find the burning (slight) afterwards more annoying than the needle. Distracting yourself might be a good idea, put on the news and jab yourself when elected-official-of-your-choice says something stupid.

If I have the news on, I've found it becomes *too* distracting lol. I find myself staring up at the screen thinking out loud what new dumb thing just happened.

I did, three times a week for MS.....it was horrible and I was as freaked out as you.....the hardest thing was leaving the needle in for 10 seconds as the medicine was very acidic and hurt like hell....I'm sorry you have to go through this!!!

Six seconds here. As the dose increases incrementally, plus the added wait time, I'm still getting used to it. I feel for what you had to go through!

I am Type-1 diabetic and I had to start injecting insulin when I was 35 years old. I am now 76 years old so I have been injecting insulin 6 times a day for 41 years. That is a total of 89000 injections.

Before injectable insulin was invented I would have died in about three months. Six injections a day is the reason I am alive today.

Consider where you would be if your injectable medication was not available. Would you be dying a slow painful death?

My injections give me no pain. It is just an inconvenience that keeps me alive.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2018 12:18PM by saviorself.

If you can do it, I can do it. Thanks for the encouragement and hope. You are both brave and strong.

:)

I've learned two tips thus far besides the wealth of feedback right here on RfM.

My pharmacist recommended getting a script for licocaine. It's twice the strength as over the counter formula. So will work on that when my doctor is back in the office next week.

Then my phlebotomist recommended massaging the area to be injected.

I don't know if that's going to cure me or not, but am still working on my fear and anxiety to get through each needed injection. If it helps, then great.

Saviorself, I hear ya. That's the kind of resolve I need to have to be able to do this on a continual basis. I'm predisposed to having diabetes myself. My dad had it, and it seems to run in the family. This medicine helps to control blood sugar among other things.

I ❤️ you all ! Thanks for all the helpful advice and suggestions.

9 out of every 10 injections is made in vein.

Don't put the needle up to the site and slowly push it in.

Start back a ways from the injection site, like a golfer on his backswing. Or a conductor doing an upbeat before the downbeat.

Then zoom toward the site like a plane crashing into a mountain.

Did I make sense? It's hard to describe. It's sort of like feeding a toddler and doing the ol' "here comes the plane" routine.

I've been doing it the first way. I'll give it a try the other to see if I can do it that way without losing my nerve. It does sound about the same as when I get a shot in the doctor's office, for whatever. It would certainly go faster if I can master that technique.

Anything that helps weak bones causes me to have to rush to the hospital in head to toe pain and not remembering who I am or where I am. Prolia caused a different problem. I had severe joint and muscle pain which triggered blood results of acute arthritis for three years. Suggested dosing of one shot every six months is nothing but a rough estimate. The arthritis specialist has had several patients with this same long term unbearable reaction.

I'm glad for those who able to take drugs that help them. I wish I could be one of them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2018 02:14PM by Cheryl.

I’m the same way, Cheryl. All of my adult trips to the ER have have been the result of prescription meds. Combining Benazapril HCTZ with calcium put me in ICU for three days.

Diabetes meds? —-oh, Hell !

I've had a fear of needles since I was a child. It didn't help that it was a needle biopsy that killed my father 18 years ago. It's just something I deal with as best I can. Some days are better than others. I just steel my resolve each time, say a little prayer, and practice calming techniques lol. What else can I do? I haven't missed a day yet since I've been on the medicine.

Thanks for the great tips and ideas that can help make it go smoother. I tried doing the "here comes the airplane" and then hit the brakes as it reached the surface. It will probably get easier the longer I keep doing it.

:)

I think needles and shots are nothing to some patients but can be extremely upsetting to someone with differing experiences and temperaments.

It's fortunate if a child can manage and it's also good if adults can do it.

I had extreme trouble just getting used to eye drops. I can manage them now but it wouldn't have helped to be demeaned for having trouble in the beginning.