Enbrel sureclick - thigh or stomach | Arthritis Information

 

Hi

I'm with you Cathy.  I just can't make myself inject my stomach.  I put it in my thigh.  It stings, sometimes more than other, but it's only for 20 seconds.  I don't love it, but I can handle it.Are you guys putting into the front of the thigh? Is it a subQ injection or an intramuscular injection. You have to be careful about the site depending on what kind of injection you are giving. If your sitting down and you put your hands on your lap, one on each thigh, that's the area you should use to inject subs, which Enbrel is.  I haven't tried injections in my tummy yet although I hear they hurt less.  But to tell the truth, after using Imitrex Injections for migraines for the last 15 years, I gotta say the Enbrel injection is a breeze.I inject mtx into my stomach.  I know that is nothing compared with enbrel, but I hardly even feel the needle. Having had 2 kids and lots of padding definitely helps!  I may have to do enbrel or something soon. I am not in shape and don't really carry fat in my thighs (i am apple shaped so really try to watch my weight).  I feel like my bone is right there on my thigh, I would worry about injecting there on me.  I feel like I have lost muscle mass there too since the RA.  One of my first symptoms was my thighs were weak going up stairs. Well, I learned self-injection by using Imitrex for migraines and you can only inject those in your thigh or arm.  There isn't much to my arms so I always opt for the thigh, it just seems meatier, even when I was super skinny (those were the days, lol).  But now each leg on top of my thighs has a slight dent or impression where I have given myself so many shots.  I've seen that happen to diabetics so I kinda knew what was causing it.  So now I have a double whammy with shots, Imitrex AND Enbrel.Just had my shot for the week and kept with the thigh.  I may get up the nerve one of these days to try the stomach.  For now, I'm good for another week. I have injected every time but one in my stomach.  I never feel it.  It tried my leg once, got a knot at site and it hurt like heck.  I guess it helps if you have extra flab to pinch, I have plenty. :-)

I have learned the sure click has a safety mechanism that will not let the injection occur if you are not shooting it into a firm surface.  I had to call the nurse line because I had 2 pens jam up on me.  I was told to not try my stomach until I really had the process down, so I stick with the thigh.

I know you asked about people who use the sure click pen and I don't but I thought I'd give my 2 cents' worth anyway in the hope it might help. You might want to consider trying the regular injections---that's what I use. I've been on it for about 2 years now. The first couple of times I used it, I couldn't believe I would ever get used to it but after experimenting a bit I find that I can easily control the stinging by simply injecting the Enbrel very slowly---sometimes it takes as long as nearly a minute but I have no pain and no stinging. I even slide the needle in very slowly (in my stomach) and I've gotten that so it no longer hurts either.  It's a piece of cake now to inject myself, just took some getting used to.I opted for the sureclick because I was told by my nurse that when you inject yourself like you do charlie brown that you have to actually push the needle in, pull back to make sure there's no blood and then inject.  That just didn't sound appealing to me.  Is that how you have to do it?I opted for the needle because the pen hurt more.  Since I'm a nurse it doesn't bother me to give myself a shot but I do use the leg.  For me it's easier.  Some people say that the needle hurt worse than the pen but it was just the opposite with me.  Good luck with whatever you choose.  LindyThanks for the suggestion Charlie Brown, but I did do mtx injections for about 6 months and gladly moved back to oral when my dose went down.   It was a struggle for me to push in the needle.  I just never got the "jab" down very well, so it was very frustrating.  I think it's the "not seeing when the needle goes in" that helps me, I'm so afraid to waste an injection that it makes me hold it firmly in place no matter what therefore I never pull back when it goes in.  It's really not that bad, the dread prior to the shot is worse than the shot itself.  After the initial prick I really don't feel the fluid going in so it's pretty quick and over with.Cathy, a quick, sharp jab and hold the syringe still and don't move it.  When you use the alcohol wipe make sure the alcohol has dried before you inject.  Enbrel and MXT didn't hurt when injected but Humira does hurt.  LindyI've been using the SureClick since last December.  The stomach is BY FAR the least painful for me.  Most of the time, I can't even feel it.  The thigh stung like crazy.  Two shots in the thigh was enough for me to try the stomach.
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