Injection questions

[MerrieJane]

Has anyone ever hit a nerve while injecting in the abdomen?  Did it feel like a killer bee sting?  I pulled the needle out and as I not pulled the plunger back yet, I injected it into another site.  Is that ok?  Should I have injecteded it into the "hit a nerve" site?  Anyone ever get a black dime sized bruise at the injection site?

How does it feel to do your thigh?  Is the abdomen better if you have a few inches to pinch?

Also, any thoughts on which causes less liver damage?  Vicoprophen or Vicodin?

[painintheside]

Hi,
I don't pull back the plunger. My doc said it was not needed. I read that if you do hit a vein, it will only make a bruise and also make the vein sore ( which it did ).

Sincerely,
Dana

[MerrieJane]

once the needle is in, do you release the pinched skin to pull the plunger back, and then inject?  I have kept the skin pinched during the plunger pull back, but then release the skin for the medicine itself. Anyone else find puling the stiff plunger back difficult?

MerrieJane

[HCA]

I got the info from a hepatitis nurse doing Q/A online.
The pinch is to present a firm surface to the needle
The release is to allow absorbtion of the liquid.
DOES NOT HURT-YOU DONT FEEL A THING.
Let the needle sit for a few seconds after plunging otherwise a little may dribble out when you withdraw.

[fresnoborn]

WHEN I GIVE MY INJECTION I TOO SLIGHTLY PINCH THE SKIN, THEN GIVE THE INJECTION. WHY DO YOU RELEASE WHILE THE NEEDLE IS STILL IN? WOULDN'T THAT HURT? I DON'T LET GO UNTIL THE NEEDLE IS OUT AGAIN.

[ann_h]

I never shot mself in the stomach because that is the quickest absorbing place to give yourself a shot.Thats why diabetics give themselves insulin in the stomach..it absorbs the fastest there.
When I was on TX  the first time.I drew  grid's on my thigh's to make sure I shot in a different place each time.The one that hurt or I hit a vein or whatever problem,I put an X in that box to not shoot there again.For me,it was better because the sides were slower to come on.

Actually now that I am writing this,I do now remember why I don't give shots in the stomach...first of all they hurt and second of all I did it One time only and got reeeeeeaaaaalllll sick real fast.It about knocked me off my chair.

Peace to all...

[avidreader]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I once accidentally dropped my syringe as I was about to inject and it stuck like a dart into my calf. I was so unerved that I just pulled it out and injected it right into my thigh. That was a couple of months ago and I'm still here to tell the tale. I prefer my thighs to my stomach--I find something unsettling about injecting into my stomach although I have plenty of fat ;-) I use the outside of one thigh, then the inside of the other, then the inside of the original thigh then back to the outside of the second. I just don't worry about hitting anything there.

I figure if they are foolish enough to let us all do it there can't be too much danger in messing it up a bit every once in a while.

Have a great weekend.

[SnoWav]

I usually do 6 in the stomach and 2 in each leg alternating.out of 36 only one stung and I think i had hit the same place in the leg I did the week before (brain fog) went ahead and pushed it in. Never had any marks so its hard to remember where Ive been.

[rifleman]

I recall a story by Johnny Ramone about a time he went to a big 3 day party in London in the late 70's.  Everyone was extremely wasted, naturally.  Ramone says he went into a bathroom and Sid Vicious (of the Sex Pistols) was sitting on a toilet with a syringe on his arm.  Ramone says that Sid used toilet water to dilute his heroin and booted it.  If that didn;t kill him right away, I wouldn't wory about double-sticking yourself with interferon.
DJL

[HCA]

Injection should be painless.
Insert needle at 90''-almost parallel to the belly.
Gently squeeze flesh whilst inserting,release when needle is in.
After depressing plunger leave in for a few seconds,so that all is absorbed.
Pain is caused by cold needle,so allow it to come up to room temperature prior to use.
The needles are made for one time use only,so that if you bodge your injection and re-use the needle it will be jagged and painful,although you would need a microscope to see it.
Insert needle confidently and decisively,and there will be no nerves or muscles for you to hit,just friendly old subcutaneous fat

[painintheside]

I just did shot #4. My 3rd one, I think I hit a vein. It stung and bruised badly. But I read that it is no problem to hit a vein. I won't go right above my belly button again though, you bet cha! Best of luck on all future shots!

Sincerely,
Dana

[Healed24]

Hey, Personally I think your okay but if your concerned you might want to contact your doc (just to be sure). I usually do the injections in my stomach (although my stomach is starting to take a beating with the scars). I tried my thighs once but it was a disaster (it was painful and it was hard to get the needle in). I am fairly thin and don't really have fat anywhere (I use to pride myself on that, but now I wish I had more fat. It's so weird to say that I actually want fat on my stomach, but tx makes us say crazy things). N-E-Way, when I first started tx my doc said that the needles where so small that the chances of actally hitting a vein was like getting hit by lighting (well he didn't actally use that meatphor but you know what I mean). To make a long story short I'd just stick with the abdomen. Sometimes it stings (like when you inject Procrit), and sometimes it doesn't. Hope this helps.

Brooke
GOD BLESS

[susan400]

I've had some problems over the years with all the hundreds of times I've injected.  I've had some bruising and I've had some tissue damage from injection site reactions, which then, turned into scars.  It's really a pain in the *#!+^  sometimes.  Most of the time, my injections are without event.  But, the bruising takes a long time to go away.

Susan

[cougareyes]

Sometimes I don't feel the shot and sometimes there is a little sting. After 15 shots I'm still anxious about doing it. Your other ?, both drugs have the same narc pain killer; one has ibrupropen and the other has acetemetaphine. If advil helps you more then use vicprophen(sp?). If tylenol helps you better and you are not concern w/acetametaphine then take vicodin.  Good Luck