Ok, this needle was huge (21 gauge) and the shot was painful and I bled quite a bit. I gave it to myself in my thigh, is there a better place?
Is there a way to make this less painful?
I have been trying to figure out a way to get my doc to give me an order for these shots, and finally she did. You know the saying, beware what you wish for, you just might get it!!
So, I really want to give this a good try. What are the best tricks to giving yourself the lest painful shots? I wish my husband or mother would give them to me, but they claim they can't that it would make them sick...........babies, they ought to try taking one of them!!!
Shalome
Posted by hezzer926 (Member # 17902) on :
a nurse does mine and its mixed w/lidocaine which makes it alot less painful... she does in above my buttox on the side, almost by my hip and its virtually painless
Posted by coltman (Member # 21272) on :
Like hezzer said mix it with lidocain - medication itself is the reason, not the needle. - I know that as I injected painless stuff and felt almost nothing , but abx without lidocain always caused pain
21 gauge is not actually all that big ,even 18 gauge doesnt not hurt - needles themselves don't cause pain unless you hit a nerve (and then you shouldnt inject -you may seriously damage the nerve)
Also make sure you use long enough needle - 1 1/2 inch at least - it goes subq it causes more irritation and pain .
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
You hit a vein. In my experience with IM ceftriaxone (never did bicillin), it's best to get the shots in the hip/butt area but you must be careful there too because you can hit an area that can cause problems (a nerve).
Please call your doctor's office and ask for instructions.
Terry
Posted by keltyl (Member # 14050) on :
My doc gave me a script for cream with lidocaine you rub on 1 hr prior to the shot. And personally, I would never attempt to give one of these shots to myself.
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
Sometimes I bleed, sometimes I don't. It doesn't really seem to correspond to location for me...though I always do it in the area I'm supposed to. (you can't just do it anywhere on the buttock)
If you did it in the right place, I doubt you hit a vein, I think that you hit a capillary, which is a tiny blood vessel.
Sometimes if I take aspirin, ibuprofen, or wobenzym, I tend to bleed more afterwards. Or it could be coincidence.
I have heard of people doing them in their butt, using a mirror. You may want to search on this site for peoples' desciption of how they do that.
Personally though, I would just tell my husband, "you are doing this." Don't ask. That is what I did. If I would have asked him, he probably would have thought about it, gotten scared, and said no. I just said to him, "you are going to have to give me these shots. There is no other choice. I know you can do it...it's not that bad."
You can tell your husband it is dangerous for you to give them to yourself, if you want to make it sound like there's some kind of necessity.
My husband would have been more scared, but I kind of sprung it on him, and once it was over, he realized it wasn't as bad as he thought. Just have him go to a doctor with you, so they can show him how to do it.
But it's very important it is done in the right location, so you don't hit a vein or a nerve, so be sure you guys get educated on that.
I had my doctor prescribe a cream to put on 1 1/2 - 2 hours beforehand that is part lidocaine and part prilocaine, a numbing cream. It helps the pain a lot. That would be an alternative to putting lidocaine in the shot. Just let it soak through your skin first transdermally. The longer the better.
Also, exhale right before the shot goes in, focusing on relaxing your muscles, so they aren't tense when the muscle gets poked. That makes the process more painful supposedly, tension.
One last tip, if your husband gives it to you...I prefer laying on the bed to standing, because it is easier to be completely relaxed and loose while laying down. He can pull a chair up next to the bed.
And it can take around 5 minutes to inject it, but I'm sure you know that already. The slower the shot, the less painful.
Hope that helps!
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Hoos wrote: If you did it in the right place, I doubt you hit a vein, I think that you hit a capillary, which is a tiny blood vessel.
I should have said blood vessel which would include both the vein and capillary. I was always bleeding when I was trying to use my thighs and sometimes a lot.
I wanted to use the thigh so I wouldn't have to ask my husband to do it but my doctor said the hip would hurt a lot less and he was right. I gave myself shots in the hip when my husband was on a business trip for a month but it was not easy. The hardest part was aspirating to ensure that there was no blood in the syringe but that is a step that cannot be skipped. Much easier to get someone else to do it.
Terry
Posted by coltman (Member # 21272) on :
The bleeding also could be avoided if experienced nurse doing it - with z-track and proper needle withdrawal (it has to come in and come out at same angle, otherwise it nicks the blood vessels on the way out ).
But when you doing it yourself I found it is impossible to follow those methods due to awkwardness of the position
p.s. 1 1/2 inch I meant was for the glutes, I dont know what you meant by "thigh" - but for those sites 1 inch is probable enough
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Your thigh muscle is probably too small to accommodate such a large amount of medication. Try using the dorsogluteal and ventrogluteal injections sites instead. Run a google search and you will find lots of pictures, diagrams, and videos on how to use these sites. If you know a nurse, ask them to show you.
If you cannot find someone to give you the shots you can learn to give them to yourself. Know the sites well, you don't want to hit a nerve or blood vessel.
Stand in the mirror and find your site, apply EMLA cream. That will numb the area and make the skin turn white. Apply ice 20min prior to the injection. Warm the syringe up in your hands. Sit down somewhere comfortable, twist around, find your spot, insert the needle, aspirate (Extremely important) to check for blood return, if no blood inject the medicine slowly. If you get blood pull out the needle, get another syringe and try another spot. Do not inject Bicillin into a blood vessel.
Try to relax your muscles when you give the injection, it will be less painful and your muscle will accept the medication more readily. If someone else can give you the injection, lay somewhere comfortable, turn feet toes in towards each other. That will help you relax.
After the injection try walking around to help, apply heat, and massage the site. These things help prevent/relieve pain and stiffness.
With time, you will get more used to the shots. Take care Posted by Amanda (Member # 14107) on :
I have found the shots don't hurt much if I get them in my hip. You really should have someone do the shots for you. Also, I woulkd call the MD office. I was told I should give these shots in my thigh....
go here for instructions on giving them in your hip area. You need to be careful and give them correctly, or you could do some damage to a nerve...
Sorry, meant to say I was told NOT to give these in my thigh
Posted by Need Lots of Help (Member # 18603) on :
Thanks for all the responses. The doctor showed me how to find the place on my thigh and gave me instructions. Also, I have given myself shots in my thighs B-12 and Glucosthamin (SP?) but I failed to mention in my nervousness that.....I now also take heparin shots in my tummy....duh. Hence the additional bleeding. Until today, I hadn't given myself shots in my thigh since I have been taking heparin.
Jez, I was hoping there was some way to put this stuff in a nose dropper or something like I heard you can do with heparin.
I will call about the cream you mentioned or ask the nurse if she will do them in my hip because it was very, very painful and still is!!! I can't believe how painful it still is, and it is nice to know it is the medicine and not the needle.
Thanks HOOS!!! Lived in Muncie for 12 years.
Shalome
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Hoos said... "Personally though, I would just tell my husband, "you are doing this." Don't ask. That is what I did."
Some folks may be able to talk their loved ones or friends into doing this for them.
Some people may have an interest in learning how to help too...
But others won't and will want nothing to do with it.
And if they don't want to give injections, for whatever reason they may have... and they have a right to say no and be respected for that decision ...
Please don't keep questioning them, prodding them or trying to push them into it.
And finally, don't try to make them feel inadequate or stupid about it if they don't want to do it... and don't get an attitude about it if they turn you down.
Not wanting to do this does not mean they don't care, it simply means they are not comfortable taking on that responsibility.
Posted by Need Lots of Help (Member # 18603) on :
Tincup,
Advice accepted. My husband is really stressed and doesn't want to do it. I am going to see if my local PCP will do it in my hip.
It is swollen up now and hurts like someone punched me really hard. Is that normal?
Thanks, Shalome
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Hey Needs,
So glad you are letting hubby off the hook. My bet is he will get me some ice cream for that suggestion!
I have not done IM injections myself on a REGULAR basis, only here and there years ago, so I am not qualified to answer that.
I've seen some nasty results from the injections, some done by professionals and some by others with little to no training.
Can you start a new post asking others that question?
Wish I could give you a better answer.. but my best is I just don't know how to make it better for you.
Also.. you might want to check with local churches, garden clubs, places that retired nurses might hang out. Even hospice might have some ideas for you.
They may be able to "do you" rather than having to go to a docs office and be exposed to the flu and who knows what else while waiting to get a shot. Plus it should cost less that way.
I've seen this arrangement work well and also not well at all, so chose wisely.
But for now, in MY opinion, the docs office is probably best. Good luck!
Posted by grandmother (Member # 19908) on :
You took the shot in the upper outer quadrant of your butt, right?
Ask your LLMD for a script for Lidocaine.
Posted by Amanda (Member # 14107) on :
If the area is swollen and still hurt, I would call the MD right away, just to make sure...
Posted by coltman (Member # 21272) on :
BTW any of you guys had it done by docs office and covered by insurance?- my PCP and LLMD are far enough and inconvenient enough that going to their office weekly is out of the question, but I have loads of medical places near my work- wonder if someone had that sort of arrangements
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
There is no way to tell what you did or did not hit over the internet people.
When you do Bicillin, do it in your hip, have a doctor or nurse show you or your loved one how to do the shot.
Inject in upper and outer quadrant of hip and inject for 30 seconds to a minute (slowly) and then put pressure on the site. After bleeding stops, its helpful to go into the warm shower to help it get absorbed.
Try not to dwell on shots, they are no big deal once you get used to doing them. Bicillin is great stuff.
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
I think my point was missed with the husband thing. My point was that doing the shot sounds really scary and horrible, but once the person actually does it, they will likely realize it wasn't as bad as they thought it was. That is why a lot of times the person administering it just needs to get past the mental aspect of it for the first time, and then hopefully it will get much better.
However, if he really does feel incapable, that is his call.
After doing it once, my husband actually started to enjoy it, and see it as something practical he could do for me, that would aid in my healing. But the first time, I'm sure he was super scared.
That was moreso my point, that getting the first time over with an convincing yourself to do it is the hard part, NOT that you should force someone to do something they don't want to do.
Posted by farraday (Member # 21494) on :
My doc taught my husband how to give them. She actually drew the spots on my hips in a spiral fashion so that each one would be in a new place.
It helps if he first pinches the flesh hard, holds it like that and then almost stabs it in like throwing a dart. Practice on an orange first. Give the shot(medicine) slowly. We let it sit out for a few hours so it is not so cold. It hurts less that way.
I do not use any lidocaine and do not really mind the shot if I slap an ice pack on it immediately and plan to keep it there for an hour.
The herxing is the worst part for me. My symptoms really flare, but I hear that is good news....means it's working.
My husband has given me more than 600 IV's in my port over the years. The nurses at the hospital taught him how to care for it, set up the IV's etc. He did it better than they did!
Tell your husband that it is really important to learn these skills. Doing it yourself is dangerous! And tell him he will be helping you in a most significant way! These shots are a blessing for us and he can be part of that blessing.
I think that my long (21+ years) illness has made our marriage very strong. I keep going for him and he is there with me every step of the way. I thank God for him every single day.
Posted by Need Lots of Help (Member # 18603) on :
Farraday......lovely words, I feel the same about me and my husband, but it has only been 8 years. His greatest fear is hurting me.
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