I have always been fearful of giving myself injections. I'm not sure what this stems from. I have good veins and have no problems giving blood and/or getting vaccinated so I don't have a problem with other people using needles on me....I just have a problem using them on myself. (I could never have become a heroin addict.) I do have a funny story about my fear of giving myself an injection though.
When I was in law school I was ecstatic to find out that I could go abroad for the summer to take classes. I never got the chance to study abroad in college because I played two Division 1 sports, so this news made me very happy. I researched a bunch of programs, including one to St. Petersburg, Russia, but ended up choosing Buenos Aires, Argentina. I could work on my Spanish, take two classes, and enjoy the summer in a foreign country. In addition, the study abroad fee included a plane trip to Iguazu Falls!
 |
| Cataracus. Sadly the first day was cloudy and rainy. |
 |
| Thankfully the next day was beautiful! This is Devil's Throat. |
 |
| Part of Cataracus on the second day. |
As you can see from the pictures, Iguazu Falls is absolutely amazing. Part of our trip there included a zip lining tour through the rain forest. I was really excited while others on the trip were nervous about the heights. I got out my camera and filmed my zip through the rain forest. But I started to get turned around on one of the lines and headed with my back towards the platform. I freaked out and did the worst thing possible- I reached up to where the zip line met the wheel in hopes of turning myself around. TO THIS DAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I DID THIS. Unfortunately, two of my fingers on my left hand got run over through the glove.
After we finished zip lining, my fingers still hurt a bunch so I took off my glove and sure enough, my fingers were bloody. I didn't think too much of it, just rinsed them off with some water, however, the blood soaked through every bandaid the guides gave me and my fingers were pulsing and getting swollen. It was suggested I head to the hospital. Now when I say hospital, I mean a small building in the middle of a rainforest. I sh*t you not, the instruments that they used on me were held in a FISHING TACKLE BOX. I was pretty sure that my fingers were going to fall off at this point from an infection. After we left the hospital we headed over to the pharmacy. This trip was early on in the summer, so my Spanish was still VERY rusty. I had a law school professor who put together the trip and a guide who accompanied me. Both of them spoke fluent English and Spanish.
When we arrived at the pharmacy, the person working behind the counter looked all of 13. She was talking pretty quickly in Spanish and I wasn't catching all of it. What I thought she was saying was that I was going to have to give myself a tetanus shot IN MY BUTT all by myself. I started crying thinking "I don't know how to do that! Don't you have to flick the needle to get out the air bubbles? That's what they do on tv! I'm going to kill myself with an air bubble!!" Thankfully a few minutes later the professor realized that I didn't catch what the girl was saying and clarified that I wouldn't have to give it to myself, but that the 13 year old girl would. I was incredulous that she knew how to do it (she claimed that she had been to school for it). But I headed to a back room with her, she gave me the tetanus shot, and I still have my fingers.
I'm sure that I will be thinking of that story tonight as I give myself my very own shot. :-)
Any tips ladies?
18 comments:
Oh my God, that zipline injury sounds awful!! thank GOD you kept your fingers!!!! Unfortunately, no tips for self-shooting. I know you can do it though!
p.s. fer realz? ipad tutorials? yeesh huh!
Oh wow, it IS a big day! It sounds so odd to say it, but it's so great when the sticking starts because it means you're actually doing something for the cycle.
I have always hated needles, but I also preferred to give myself my own shots. I did a "1, 2, 3, jab" type of thing. Don't forget to take an inch of skin, leave the needle in for 5 seconds and then pull it out. BTW, I was surprised that the Lupron shots never hurt. The needles are small and short.
Anyway, I'm probably writing this after you gave yourself your shot, but hopefully it went well! If you need more tutorials, check youtube. There are quite a few out there.
Take your time. I freaked myself out with the first injection and there really was no need. As you are not injecting in to veins don't stress over air bubbles like I did lol clear the large ones but tiny ones are ok. The more you do the easier it gets. Good luck xxx
OH my god, apologies but I have to say I totally giggled reading this!! I too would have been shitting myself!! Glad you kept your fingers ;)
No tips yet on the self inflicted shots, look forward to stealing tips from you though ;)
If its on your belly, pinch the skin between your fingers then give the shot, you can barely feel the needle between the pinched skin. Also wait a moment after squeezing out the Lupron before pulling the needle out. I would pull it out too fast and a drop of the Lupron would squeeze out of the puncture and I would get paranoid that I was missing some of the meds. Alsonletvthe alcohol swabbed area dry completely before you stick yourself. If it is wet it wil l sting! Good luck! :) it's not bad and kind of fun!
Oh and stop pinching before you oil needle out, which will help the upron stay in.
Sending so many thoughts your way!!! Good luck!
I have no tips, never having done it before. For some reason, though, I think it would be easier to do it myself, than to have someone else do it. Something about being in control, I think
Good luck!
Beautiful pictures! Yay for starting lupron. Hoping things go smoothly for the next few weeks..
That story is so funny but not.
Can't the pharmacy show you how to do it? I bet they could.
Hi from ICLW. That's a crazy story! To be honest, if you survived the 13 yr old pharmacist I'm sure you'll be a pro, but I can understand the hesitation. Sending you all the best!
What an exciting day! You can do this!
We had to fork out $200 for our injection teaching class when we went through our superovulation cycle. I would have loved to just watch some tutorials and spend the money for something else. I guess there is always pros and cons for everything.
FX that you your injection goes well and that you won't suffer from any of those nasty side effects!
Congrats on getting started! I have no tips for injections since I STILL haven't given myself one. 3 IVF's and my husband has done every single injection. I just can't bring myself to do it.
Yikes, what a story!! Thank god you still have all your fingers... and trust me, you'll get used to sticking needles in yourself -- it'll become easy-peasy after a while, just as long as you don't over-think it. Don't let yourself hold the needle over your skin for minutes at a time, just prep it and stick it!
You'll be a pro in no time! Grab a good roll of skin, put the jab in slowly and not on an angle. They really don't hurt! xx
Don't hesitate! Just jab it in there!
Ew ... I'm grimacing at the idea of your finger being run over! But you are right - a good story to keep in mind as you do your first shot.
We went to Iguazu on our honeymoon - fantastic. I could have stared at Devil's Throat all day long. Did you see it from the Brazilian side too?
I'm really glad you still have fingers and that you didn't die from air bubbles or some crazy thing! But at least you got to experience a bit of paradise!
Post a Comment