So anyway, it's done. Now i'll cross my fingers that ths stuff works. Nah, your not a wuss!!!!!! No one showed me either. So asked a friend of mine(who takes the shots to) She said just grab your fat role and plunge it in. I started laughing so hard that it really did take the sting out. One thing I do know from experince is make sure you get the needle in deep enough, you don't want the med. just under the skin. I did that not fun. left a scar. you will be fine.
I am surprised that your Dr. did not have you do your first shot in his office with some one to show you how to do it . Shame on that DR. ! At least you have a wonderful neighbor ( who is a nurse ) to help you with that. It does get easier as time goes on . You will be a pro in no time !If you're a wuss for that then I guess I'm a wuss with ya! My husband gave me my first Enbrel. And even after doing the Enbrel for months I was scared to start MTX injections. You'll get used to it. Not the being scared part, the doing it yourself part.
Iwent in to the doc's office for a sort of dry run for the Enbrel, but not the real thing.
Anyway, Deb, keep us posted on how the Humira works for you, hope it does what it's supposed to.
Glad you got it over with Deb, hopefully it'll be easier next time!!!
Katie, he's just the only one you can "stab" and get away with it!
Debra, you're not a wuss. I do the Enbrel shots myself, but for some reason I can't do the MTX ones. My hubby does them for me. I can jab myself at an angle but not straight up and down. Go figure!! I hope this med works wonders for ya!!
Mel, you don't use the Enbrel clicky pen? Is your enbrel shipped to you? Does it come in a vial like the MTX?Nah, I have the pre-filled syringes that I jab into my thighs weekly. I'm kinda scared of that clicky pen. Haha! I like to be in control of the med. Although, I have heard wonderful things about the pens.
The clicky pen reminds me of standing on the deck of a pool full of cold water. You know how you keep going..1...2....3..and then don't jump? And it takes like twelve times before you actually do jump? I do that every time I'm just about to click that button. And like the cold pool, it only hurts for a second. Unlike the pool, you don't swim around for a while after the plunge.
Don't be ashamed lol, i am the same way with needles.
They wanted to start me on bios but i have an infection and can't take it. But, the thought all while waiting was "oh no, i can't do it" with nausea etc.
I have a needle problem and always have, i went to give an in-law a shot about 5 years ago and literally passed out while the needle was sticking in their arm. I told them i couldn't do it, but they said i could.
So when i was going to go on the bio, we were going to get the self injecting needles and/or my husband would give me my shot.
I'm a total baby with needles.
Needles are just really long, straight saftey pins.......didn't y'all used to safety pin your finger tips together?????
It's just like that! A breeze!
But when you do that you only go through the first couple layers of skin. It's different with a shot.Naaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh. It's just a long, straight safety pin.........LOL
I'm kidding!!!
Katie, safety pin your fingers together? Holy crap, lol.
Thanks for the support!
Definitely not a wuss. See a wuss would run a mile and not go through with it at all. I haven't met a strong RAer yet who is a wuss. Just having this disease excludes one from all wussdom. We have to face things that most 'normals' would run a mile from. Giving yourself injections is just a yucky sucky thing. I was on Humira and have been through it all, I never got used to it but it's something you do to get yourself well, because you have too. I was given a whole lesson in the doctors office and then follow up support at home, you poor love not getting any help with it. If there is someone around who will do it for you or you prefer your doctor to do it and you see them regularly enough then there is no shame in that. This disease is not a competition in toughness. Do whatever you need to make the experience as easy on yourself as possible.
Snow, you're so right about it being hard due to the simple fact that you have to do it at all. On the other hand, and this is what I try to think about, is that if their weren't these shots, I might not be walking. So the dreaded thing becomes a thing that I'm very thankful for.
ohhh, i did hate at first doing it, actually i never stopped hating it, lol.
The first time, i didn't put the needle in all the way, and the liquid trickled out...
i had no clue, they cost 800 bucks, a shot!!!!!!!!!!! FAINT....
so next time, i did it before bed, and took a valium and went straight to sleep, that helped w/ the sting...
it didn't help me, but it has helped a lot of people... so like someone said, its worth the chance, of getting better...
but i'm a total wuss too!!! hate needles... but.. gotta do, what ya gotta do.. and when you realize its worth it, in the end... that makes it someone bettter.
good luck!
I'm a wuss.......... huge big wuss!!! I bullied my dr's nurse into giving me my enbrel every week. I did do my own Humira shots but hated it, the Barry did them for me and i hated him, so now the nurse does them and I hate her instead.lol.
Katie-------------Safety pins in the fingers?????????? Are you related to my youngest daughter?? You and her are soooooooooooo alike and have the same warped sense of humour.......lol
Thanks! I'll definitely do it because I'll do anything to get better. And I guess there is a funny side, my buddy told me to look at the pen to see the yellow marker to see when the shot is done. Are you kidding me? My girls are in the way. I told her I'll have to do it naked so my bra isn't hoisting them up and getting in my way. Once they drop to the ground I'll be good, lol. Anyway, thanks for making me not feel like such a loser!Talk about being a wus- I'm so scared to give myself a Humira click pen shot I haven't even agreed to use it yet.
I have needlephobia.
Let me know how you feel with it. Maybe it will "inspire" me.
Good Luck!
I was also a needle wuss.
Even though the Enbrel, and the Humira pooped out on me I am so proud that I became adept at self injecting..
It is such a non issue now. I used to faint at finger tip blood tests..Here is what works for me.
First thing give yourself time, this isn't a facial, but it is something you are doing for you. treat it like a gift. fix a cup of coffee, go someplace quiet, play calming music.
Make sure the syringe is WARM. your body is 98.6... room temp will be a shock. I rest the syringe across the top of my coffee mug. Then just before I inject I roll it between my palms.
Ice the area of your tummy you will inject. Get it REALLY cold. I have an ice pack in a light t shirt, and leave it there for a good long time. You want that area numb. Wipe your tummy with the alcohol pad and let it dry.. Completely. The sting is mostly from wet alcohol on your skin.
Pinch up a roll of flab about the size of your thumb and finger together, check the syringe, and gently push the plunger in a little to get the air out of the syringe..
Hold the syringe like you are throwing a dart, and slide the point into the skin you have pinched up. The ice will have numbed it so much you won't feel the needle slide in.
Release the flab, and shift your fingers on the needle holding it between the index and middle finger, with the thumb on the plunger.
SLOWLY depress the plunger..I depress to a chant..."My toes won't hurt, my ankles won't hurt, my knees won't hurt, my hips won't hurt, my fingers won't hurt, my wrists won't hurt, my thumbs won't hurt, my elbows won't hurt, my shoulders won't hurt, my jaw won't hurt...this shot stings but far less than my body hurts."
You should be finished then, remove the syringe, place the ice pack back on for maybe 30 seconds, and dispose of the needle...now finish your coffee.
You can do it
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com