General: Injecting yourself - Help!

up for anything

I've been taking Methotrexate in tablet form for several years but in the last year I became a bit lax about it with the result that I've ended up with a complete phobia about swallowing the tablets and that's apart from the fact that it makes me ill for 24 hours afterwards. I had my Rheumatology appointment yesterday and the consultant suggested I have it in its injected form and sent me off to the nurse to discuss it. It was only when I was speaking to her that I realised it meant doing it myself. It's only once a week and I'm to go next week to be shown how to do it.

I'm kind of low key freaking out and just wondering what other people's experiences are with this sort of thing.

FluffyCat

I have to inject betaferon every second day and, yes, it is kinda freaky at the start but you get so used to it so quickly! More injections now have devices to help, you should ask the nurse.
Injecting yourself isnt really bad but you cant physc yourself out of it!

byhookorbycrook

I agree with Fluffy. When I was on betaferon I used to put ice in a plastic bag and wrap it in a clean cloth to put on the site for injecting maybe ten mins before.Remove ice, use your prep swab and away you go.

I used to have a few friends who are used to injecting animals on stand-by in case I got a heeby-jeeby fit. The thought of a big hefty guy used to injecting bullocks or horses trying to inject me would normally give me the needed courage!!

robinph

It is a bit scary when your realise they mean that you have to stick that thing into yourself. But it really isn't that bad once you get the hang of it. They had me inject into an orange a few times before I actually did it into myself, but 27,000 + times later you really think nothing of it.


ignore any comments by me in another thread about being glad I don't have to inject 5 times a day anymore. It's just a different type of injecting I'm doing now.

Alanstrainor

The one bit of advice i have is to take your time when injecting yourself. I've infected myself probably in the region of 10,000 times, if not more, and i've found if you just take your time and insert the needle slowly it works out for the best. It's a bit scary when you think about it, but whether you do it super fast or slow, the end result is the same, so i've found that taking my time with it is best.

up for anything

Thanks for advice and it's nice to know that I'm not alone. I've decided not to think about it as much as possible until I go to see the nurse because I keep grabbing my stomach and thinking no way, which is silly and I'd give out to my kids for psyching themselves out like that.:) I'll be back to tell you how it goes.

xxshebeexx

robinph wrote: »

They had me inject into an orange a few times before I actually did it into myself

I never got the orange!! Everyone always said before, when you learn how to inject, they'll teach you with an orange. And after I left the hospital, everyone asked how practicing on the orange was! But no.. was handed an insulin pen and asked to stick it straight into my tummy without a nurse even showing me how first... that was scary. But, yes, you get so used to it.

robinph

I was injecting with a syringe to start off with and didn't get a pen for a few months I think so it could possibly have been something to do with that. They check that you can do the drawing up the insulin from the vial first so the orange is possibly more for somewhere to keep emptying the syringe to, rather than practicing the sticking it into yourself.

ElleEm

It might be a bit too "fluffy" for a lot of people, but I used affirmations and visualisations to prepare myself for injecting. I made an affirmation that suited me. I wanted to be calm and pain free while injecting so I repeated this to myself hundreds of times a day. I also visualised myself piercing my skin with the needle, but kept calm with the idea. I have to say, I was as nervous as the next person, but these affirmations and visualisations REALLY helped me. There is nothing to lose if you try them.

Good luck.

CramCycle

They injected my Mam before me, they showed me the Orange and at the age of 3 I told them that was ridiculous as to the best of my knowledge Oranges do not feel pain (actually I used more colourful language but we won't go into that).

So they had to inject my Mam first to convince me it was OK, never been a problem since, thank you Mamai.

up for anything

I did it. Very proud of myself which is a bit sad I know. I used the my going to the dentist technique - it will hurt but that will end and it's all for the best. The nurse spent a while showing me how to open the package, hold the syringe, open the needle pack and stick it on and then wriggle the top of the needle and then how to hold it. I was all thumbs but once I got it in the right position just stuck it in without thinking and was gobsmacked that it didn't hurt going in. It stung a bit when I depressed the plunger to inject the MXT but that stopped in a couple of minutes. Nothing to it in the end but I think I will always have that dentist feeling just before doing it - human nature to resist sticking something sharp into yourself.

Thanks very much for all the support and advice.

robinph

Well done.

ElleEm

up for anything wrote: »

I did it. Very proud of myself which is a bit sad I know.

It's not sad at all.
Today will be the 126th time I will inject myself and every time I do it, I am proud of myself.
I have been injecting my MS meds once a day since November!
You have a lot to be proud of- overcoming a fear is a very difficult thing to do.

Congratulations x

up for anything

It was all going too well.

Two weeks ago when I did my injection it really hurt piercing the skin (which it hasn't been doing) and while the needle was in there but I kept going. It left a horrible bruise which still hasn't faded completely but I've learned that's because I hit a blood vessel.

Anyhow, it freaked me out so much I missed the last couple and tried again today for the first time. As I pushed it in it hurt like f*** and I pulled it out because I couldn't go through with it. I tried again in a slightly different place but it hurt again.

I'm going to go with the injection tomorrow to the doctors and ask them to do it or supervise me doing it. Maybe I've got a bit blasé about doing it and am doing it wrong, or I'm too tense now or could it be a bad batch of needles that aren't sharp enough?

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them?

FluffyCat

I know what you mean! I was injecting fine, no bother at all but about one month ago I had one that went wrong. I just felt the most unimagable pain, it was like the needle was broke inside me! The pain in my stomach was awful and I couldnt sleep or anything. Ive had a lump on my stomach ever since which is still really painful.

But I have no choice and I have to continue with the injections. If I dont my MS will progress and I dont wanna think what will happen then!!

Ive been told that the pain and the lump will remain for a while yet but its a problem that can happen and you just have to plod on.

The injection sucks at the moment as the area to inject is greatly reduced but looking at the larger picture my disease is at bay and I wanna keep it that way!!

It really is mind over matter but maybe you can go back to tablets. After a break from them maybe it would be easier

Talk you options over with the nurse or doctor buy focus on suppressing the disease and not the physical nature of taking medication

up for anything

You poor thing. That sounds absolutely horrible.

The thought of going back on the tablets makes me want to vomit so I will persevere with the injections and get advice from the doctor/nurse.

Life is more than sucky sometimes.

Aurora Borealis

Ya poor thing. Hope it settles down again quickly for you. Starting injections soon too. I think we're all heros by the way!!

up for anything

The doctor did it for me today. He said I might have hit a nerve the first time it went wrong and then after that I would have been too tense and nervous so it would have hurt. He said there would be no problem about him doing it again for me next week if I hadn't regained my confidence.