Injection question

So I am going to be on my 4th injection this evening and have already done both legs and 1 side of the tummy so the other side will be this evening. I still have arms and buttocks to do but not sure how to go about doing either of these myself.

I am on Extavia and the Auto-injector that comes with it is kind of large and I for the life of me could not get it to inject because of arthritis in my hand. For that matter though my hubby couldn't either (but he works in a machine shop and has no felling in his hands so that may be a factor also!) So anyhoo I opted to use just the needles and forget about the injector.

My question is how do you give the injection in your arms/buttocks? Do you have someone do it for you? The nurse did say if I wasn't having any adverse reactions that I could probably go with just rotating the two areas but to make sure that I was using all three areas of the legs and tummy. To tell the truth I can't even tell where I inject right after I inject it, so do you think that it is okay to just rotate with those two areas or not?

Thanks everyone,  MeLissa

[jensequitur]

It's very difficult to get your arms by yourself.  I had two blood blisters with the autoject, so I eventually gave up on the arms and stuck with the tummy, legs and hips.  The hips aren't too bad.

[Ginosmommy]

Okay out of nowhere this morning my first injection site started itching and when I looked at it it has about a quarter size red welt as well as the rest of my injection sites. Am I having some strange delayed adverse reaction?

I also have two raised dark red spots - one near the injection I did yesterday on my tummy and I have one on my breast (obviously nowhere near an injection). Anyone know what these are?

I feel like a goof after just saying I wasn't having any reaction, this is just bizarre to say the least that it would happen a week after the first shot?

[HVAC]

The itching is normal. At some point your body says hey this is a foreign substance, hence allergic reaction. It happened on my eigth injection. All eight sites blew up like peaches and itched. Taking an antihistimine and benadryl creme helps if you can take them. It gets better

My husband gets my hard to reach places. It it important to go in straight and come out the same way. It makes my husband feel good to help.

Check your depth on your arms. I once did a ten by mistake and hit a nerve, not fun.
Remember the orange cap. After awhile you forget and shoot with it on. Everyone has done that at least once.

Alex

[jensequitur]

I would recommend making sure your fingernails are really short, because you'll probably end up scratching the injection site in your sleep!  I did, and ended up with red marks like you describe.

[twopack]

I'll be giving shot #12 tonight.  I usually use the 'naked' needle too.  I just feel more in control of depth and speed of injection that way.  Like you, I've had very little reaction outside of the sting.  I find that direct pressure at the injection site (without rubbing) and/or a cold pack help get me past that 15-20" discomfort.

I have used the auto-injector twice.  The first time was to test my skill with it.  I used it on my belly.  I didn't much care for how much I had to depress the skin to get it to work (the nurse said you don't pinch when you use the auto-inject).  I also had my only itching reaction that time.

Last night I used it for my hip and set it to the deepest injection setting.  Sadly, I have no doubt that it was still well within the fat layer back there.  It worked much better on this second attempt.  The nurse said to aim for the area where I would slip my hand into a back jean pocket.  I don't think I could do it well in the hip or arm without the auto-inject.

I also have arthritis in my hands and they are often very weak.  That sometimes makes it harder to depress the syringe plunger.  That gives the auto-inject another plus.  The "trigger" works pretty easy once I was sure where to press.  If your gadget is the same as mine, you have to be sure the gray and blue sections meet before it will fire.  It's apparently a safety feature to prevent early misfire but makes it a little tricky at first.

I'm really trying to be sure to rotate to every possible site as I expect to be taking this drug for a very long time and I want to give myself the best chance at good absorption with the fewest skin/fat complications possible.  Although I don't anticipate these areas of my anatomy will be visible to the general population, a young woman like Gino's mommy might!

Hope something in my experience can help.  Here's to Number Five :)
Mary