Not feeling secure about last nite injection

[charm27]

Im not a worry wart, but Im not feeling sure if I absorbed the Peg last night being I didnt pull back on needle to see if I hit a blood vessel. Also there was blood at the injection site after I pulled needle out. Cant speak to a doc till Moday.
Anyone ever have blood when taking needle out? DO you all pull plunger back to see if there's blood?  Im very concerned this was a wasted shot.
IF anyone has had any knowledge of this please let me know.
Thanks. Im not making a bif thing out of nothing but am very concerned and worried.

What if it d id hit a vesel what do I do now?
Thanks again

[sfwandwow]

my DR told me u dont have to pull back needle.. the worse case u hit a small vessel and makes a bruise.I have a bad one right now.. it makes my leg look ugly..oh well for shorts this coming spring..lol..looks like i got in a fight..lol..but at least tx will be over by April.. i think..Another thing i get these weird pains in arm and then later in  other areas..Tx makes u feel strange at times and i think that is what causes anxiety and panic attacks..But we arent going anywhere until the LORD calls us home.. what a graceful day one day.. But Iam praying for all.. I slept so good with tylenol-pm last night..never woke up not even to pee.. LOL.. well yall be good.. have a great day

[mremeet]

Well I'm not exactly a "peg expert", but I've done my time (still have a sharp's container chock full o' needles sitting on top of my fridge). As far as pushing it in slowly, I don't think that's technically really "required", I just took a little extra time (a whole 15 seconds), because I wanted to give the IFN a few moments to become absorbed into the fat and tissues it was being introduced to. And that's also why I'd leave it in for another 15 seconds before withdrawing it too. The IFN would have a little more time to infiltrate into the injection site and be less likely to come bubbling up to the surface (and leaking out) as many people have described after removing the needle quickly. If you just poke yourself under the skin with minimal penetration, quickly pump it in and then quickly retract the needle...I could see where it would be much more likely that the IFN could end up leaking out. So that's why I did it that way, and I'm pretty certain it is a good way to do it (although my nurse gave me my first shot and it was a slam bam thank you ma'am affair, without any trouble or leakage that I noticed).

And yes I'd warm mine up everytime. I think this is usually advised simply for comfort. That cold liquid being injected might feel less confortable than a pre-warmed shot. Also, I would imagine it would thin a bit after being warmed and would be more likely to be absorbed into fat/tissues more readily (just a guess). And yes, as far as I know injecting sub-q into fatty tissues is best. Plus with that little needle it'd probably be hard for most people (especially Americans) to get much penetration into actual muscle anyway. ;-)

[Lady Lauri]

   I also insert it fully, but with Peg should you push it in slowly ? Also read where someone said to warm it up (rub in the hands) 1st, not do cold? And last but not least.....also read here to not go into muscle, but fat only?

  These things true, important or not?

                                                                              LL

[mremeet]

Vessel schmessel. If you fully depressed the plunger so that it bottomed out and the IFN didn't dribble out of your injection site when you removed the needle, rest assured that interferon is now in your body. What I did to help ensure that the IFN didn't dribble out was to insert the needle fully, all the way to the plastic part. And then slowly inject taking no less than 15 seconds to push the plunger all the way down. Then hold the needle in that position for another 15 seconds to help the IFN "sink in" before withdrawing the needle. I did this everytime and I never had any appreciable IFN dribble out afterwards. All in all sounds like you did fine, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. This treatment can be a real drag, but on the other hand it's the beginning of an exciting journey that can very well be the beginning of a hep C free life.

[Lady Lauri]

You said at the site, 'after' you pulled it out. I'd thought that was pretty common, like most shots. Mine have,  do more than not.
  I also was in a panic over 'what if I hit a vein'.....until I read, ( here of course :}, what jmjm said, still okay if we did hit a vein. I do still pull back, just not stressed on it.

  I'm telling ya' ! Apricot nector for the nausea/quesy stomach, especially if you can't stomach food at the moment. Soon as the stomach get's upset, do a glass -even sip on it. Thus far, crackers and that have worked for me.
Also agree with Merrybe to have something (med wise) around in case. Nausea bites !!

  You did good : } Glad their doing the next with you. Did my 1st with them, steps and all questions asked. Made the next one easy.

                                                                               LL

[jmjm530]

From your description, the Peg went in just fine. Even if you hit a blood vessel, the Peg still gets into your system so not to worry. What probably happened is that you hit a little capillary on the way in or out. That is very common, happened to me several times during tx, and is nothing to be concerned about. I "pulled back" the barrel at least forty times and never had blood in it once. Others have reported the same, so the chances of hitting a vein with a sub q injection is very slim. But even if you did, the Peg still gets into your system..

_ Jim

[merryBe]

always inject in your fattiest thigh tissue, your thigh gives you more control.

all fat has blood vessels going through it, they are small however, and so assuming you were in the fat, and going subcultaneous only, like they told you to... I'm assuming, a little blood is no big deal.

In future, you can pull out, and continue at a second spot. remember to just try to get the shot a quarter inch to a third inch under your skin...not an inch down, that's a bit much and the deeper you go the more chance you are nearing the blood rich muscle tissue.

even if you did get into a major vessel, unlikely, it would just me more would absorb at first, but most will still remain at the tissue site because it's in a base material that's intent on remaining tissue bound (where injected) and is in a time release medium.

I'd go easy on what you do eat, try broths, or a little oatmeal, provided water is no problem.
If you can't get a doc (weekend) you can buy dramamine at the store with no rx  wchich will help with nausea.
the doc can also prescribe this for you, or compazine, which works for me less headaches.

you may be fine, but I'd get something for nausea just in case just to have around, and don't over worry....that will only intensify any symptoms.
be well
hope that helps

[charm27]

Thank you all for your support. I appreciate it you are all amazing.
Charm

[Teufelhunden]

I followed the instructions about pulling the plunger back to see if there's any blood for about four shots, then didn't bother the rest of the time. Number 1, if there was blood then I'd have to pull it out and restick, and 2, I figured it was going to go where it was intended anyway sooner or later.

[Xenigma]

You'll be fine.  You got your whole injection in , no leaks.  Sometimes I get a drop of blood when exiting the needle but other times nothing.  I think sometimes we don't pull out in the same angle we inject, or we hit a cappilary or something.  I do go over the injection site before and after my shoot with an alcohol pad.  (I also wipe the needle for any drops of PEG before the shot)  Bandaids make me get a rash so I just leave my shirt up for a bit,(Belly shot) and lay in bed and watch a little tv.  Sometimes you can feel some pain in the injection area, sometimes nothing.  I think every shot is a bit different with the outcome and the sides.  I hardly had any this past shot, but truthfully I only got hit hard 2 times in 13 shots with the Peg, now again I say --- the Procrit is a whole different ballgame.  (I no like that shot!)  

You know, my doc never showed me, I read the board (Archives) and watched the video and did some searching on the net before my first shot.
MKAndrews.com    has a nice pic layout of step by step of injecting but his site has been down for quite awhile now and I miss it greatly.  Not that I'm a pro, but if you are nervous big time, and live in Broward County, I will come support you when you inject next.  I sometimes wish we could all have a shootout at someones house and then watch a good movie and we take out tylenol and drink our water.  Now that's support! (And probably a bit crazy too!!  hehe)
You'll be OK  :-))
enigma

[Robin_Fla]

Hi Charm,

Just to reassure you further, it's fairly common to have a drop or two of blood. One time I had a good bit even though I had pulled back on the plunger first and there was nothing. Yes, I do pull back a little to make sure, but in the 40 weeks, I haven't hit anything but fat. ;-) They give you options as to where to inject, but for me, I have found that alternating between one side of the belly and the other has worked fine.

After a couple shots, you might get more comfortable with pulling back on the plunger slightly. I just line up the little finger tabs so I can pull with two fingers once it's in. It doesn't hurt at all since the needle is so tiny.

I got a video in my kit that showed how to do it, but the guy on the tape was sooooo nervous (shaking like a leaf!), it didn't help much! Mainly I used the old technique that they show on tv of people learning to inject on an orange. After the first self-injection, I realized that it wasn't a big deal, and after a few weeks, I was an old hand. You will be too!

I was so worried about doing it all correctly that when I realized that I had forgotten to "warm" the first couple of shots by rolling in my hands as recommended, I really freaked! I asked the NP about it and she just laughed. I am not sure if she even knew why it was supposed to be warmed up but I figured it out (it's easier to get the air bubbles out at room temp than when it's cold). Anyway, it didn't affect the meds.

Hope it all gets easier for you. Just relax and be calm, and picture the drugs doing their job.

:-)

Robin_Fla

[Proactive]

I actually had such high aniexty over doing the shot my np gave me a script of something to take an hour beforehand to calm my #ss down!! (lol)...took me about 3 months to get passed the heeby-geebys...And even now, a whole bunch of shots later, I still do them in the early am just to get it over with so I don't worry all day about the act of doing the shots!!!! Just take it easy today...and relax

[H20Lover]

I just started too Charm and I felt the same way on the first shot.  Felt it was wasted because it "did not do anything to me".  But it did not come out, so it must have stayed in!  The second time was much better and I took the advise I read here and left the needle in for a count of 10.  Then I felt much more confident.  I also read there is not much harm you can do with a needle so short since major vessels will lay much deeper.  

I'm sure we will get much better at this since practice makes perfect!

Have a good weekend!

[charm27]

No symptoms just feel slightly spacey..no fever, no aches.-somewhat nauseas.t.hats it.
Thanks Proactive.

The stress of no drawing back n plunger and the blood added to my stress level. Doc called back and said its okay.

THANK YOU

[Proactive]

I see your doc called...I'm surprised they didn't give you a training session prior to beginning the meds...I had to go to a 1 hour class prior....even got a fancy little kit from Schering (g)

[Proactive]

Sounds like you did just fine..Sometimes you will see a small droplet of blood at the injection site, sometimes you won't...I use the redipen, so you don't even have the option to draw back the plunger before injection. If you're still worried you can call the drug maker hotline, they generally have a 24 hour nurse on...but again, sounds like you did fine to me....relax.....otherwise how'd you do last night? sweats, fever,leg aches,headache,
..anything?

[charm27]

My doctor caled and said having a few drops of blood after pulling ot neeedle is okay. Im going Friday for them to show me the proper way of doing this injection. AFter the fact...........
He seemes to think I got all the Peg in my system...he said its hard to hit a blood vessel.
whew............
thanks for listening.