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Original poster

Would you be able to inject yourself?

185 replies

UltimateWednesday · 07/07/2020 18:36

DH has to have daily injections. The District Nurse has been coming to do it but obviously they'd prefer he did it himself.

He really can't. I've done it today and will do them from now on but I'm not sure I could do it to myself.

OP posts:
amusedbush · 07/07/2020 22:54

I give myself a sayana press injection every three months (contraception). It’s a tiny needle but I still need to psych myself up with heavy breathing before I stab Grin

I used to get it from the nurse at the family planning clinic but a balls up with my appointment time forced me to get it from the GP and administer it myself and I realised it was much more convenient.

Houseplantmad · 07/07/2020 22:56

I'm needle phobic but recently had to do this for six weeks. It was fine once I had a good talk to myself.

Houseplantmad · 07/07/2020 22:56

I'm needle phobic but recently had to do this for six weeks. It was fine once I had a good talk to myself.

QueenCT · 07/07/2020 23:10

@barberousbarbara GCSF? that's what I inject. I just hate the side effects

Hippopotas · 07/07/2020 23:12

Yep and I do with my immunosuppressants

monkeyonthetable · 07/07/2020 23:13

Yes. I had to for IVF. You get used to it after a while.

Princessdebthe1st · 07/07/2020 23:16

Yes. I am a nurse so obviously have the skills to do it. I had to give myself multiple GCSF injections during chemo and then I gave myself the heparin injections and GCSF whilst in hospital with sepsis. I was much more comfortable doing it myself than letting someone else do it. The nurse just had to open the packaging as the peripheral neuropathy meant I couldn’t easily open them.

ForeverBubblegum · 07/07/2020 23:38

No, I had daily injections after c-sections and DH had to do it. One time I tried (DH was sleeping) I ended up sat on the kitchen floor, needle in hand crying for about 20 minutes.

Spanishmama0114 · 07/07/2020 23:48

Yes.
My dd is type 1 diabetic and since the day we got out of hospital she had done every single injection herself, this can be 6+ injections daily and she has not complained once. Very proud of her but as she says if she makes a drama about it she'll still need the injection so there's no point, she just gets on with it

Minai · 08/07/2020 00:01

I didn’t think I would be able to and the thought of it always made me feel all funny and a bit ill but after I had ds1 I had to take 10 days of blood thinning injections and do it myself at home. Once I’d done the first one it was ok. I was really glad when they were all done but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

happyjules · 08/07/2020 00:45

Yes, weekly biologic drug for RA now for five years. It's more convenient than a four weekly infusion at the hospital. The needle is so fine it's not a problem once I got over the thought of it.

geojojo · 08/07/2020 05:42

Yes, I had to do those blood thinning ones for 12 weeks after birth. I just look away. By the end it was easy.

ImAncient · 08/07/2020 08:24

@loopylindazdaughter

Yep no problem at all first few times ware abit odd but it's second nature now (blood thinners die to a rare clotting disease found in last pregnancy)
Do you have APS? I found I had that after miscarriages - & then had a host of other autoimmune diagnoses which I’d been going to the doctors for years about.

Sorry to digress OP.

I do hope your dh is ok & getting the treatment he needs.

TreestumpsAndTrampolines · 08/07/2020 08:32

I had the blood-thinning ones after my second c-section. They didn't even show me how to use them (!)

I did one, and absolutely hated it - I'm not normally squeamish about anything, but something about it made my skin absolutely crawl. If it was life or death I could do it to myself, but I gave up on the blood thinners because I just couldn't persuade myself (and I hadn't had them with the first c-section anyway, is how I justified it to myself)

frazzledquaver · 09/07/2020 01:37

@peoplearepeople

Yes. However my son has been a TYPE 1 diabetic since the age of two. When he was first diagnosed his injections were always done using syringes, not the easier pens that he uses now. I know it's not fair of me I really do, but I always struggle with grown adults who cause a big fuss about injections when my child has been injecting himself multiple times a day from such a young age. Blush
Yeah, me too. Can't help but get irritated as my DS started doing his own at diagnosis when he was 8. I understand that it's not fair to feel this way, but really I just think "whatever, get on with it" when an adult is worrying about giving themselves an injection. It wasn't easier because he was a kid, btw, it was actually harder because he had no fat on him, and wasn't shown the correct injection technique for months, so was bruised all over his abdomen and legs from injecting himself several times a day. Sometimes he'd bleed through his shirt (still does from time to time with his pump cannulas). But the NHS is a bit short staffed, so there wasn't a specialist nurse to show him and we didn't realise that it wasn't supposed to be like that. He never had his sites checked, nor a single home visit. Crazy really. So, OP, I do think your DP can do it himself. It's like diving into a pool. Sometimes you just need to get on with it.
KickAssAngel · 09/07/2020 01:49

Yes, through several rounds of fertility treatment. There was one needle an inch long that had to be done slowly and even that was fine. Doing them in a rush during a toilet break at parent teacher evenings was the least fun, mainly because I had to do them by the sinks in the teachers toilets. I have absolutely no fear of needless now.

Jullyria · 09/07/2020 03:16

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ContadoraExplorer · 09/07/2020 04:42

I had to for about 10 days after giving birth. I was fine getting the needle in myself but I had wrist problems during pregnancy and several months after so I struggled to push the plunger down (it was tougher to do cause it had that automatic spring thing to stop the needle getting stuck inside) so my DH had to physically push it.

It wasn't actually that bad; straight into the stomach which was pinched to let the needle in without bruising much - I barely felt it.

squeekums · 09/07/2020 04:45

Nope, not a chance
Other people cant either
Needle phobia

PhilCornwall1 · 09/07/2020 05:29

I always hated injections when I was a child and tolerated them in adulthood.

I now have to inject myself weekly and every second week twice with Methotrexate and Adalimumab. I vary the injection site from legs to stomach.

The Methotrexate is fine, stings a bit after. The adalimumab is a bugger and does hurt. It's stored in the fridge and you have to bring it to room temp, but it was still to cold after 30 mins. I leave it out longer now and it's not so bad. It's sat on the fireplace here waiting for me to bang it in after my shower.

It's not a great thing to have to do, but you do get used to it.

Silvercatowner · 09/07/2020 05:56

Nope, not a chance
Other people cant either
Needle phobia

What would you do if you were diagnosed as type 1 diabetic? OH was diagnosed when he was late 40s and now injects multiple times a day. The alternative is - well - him dying. It wouldn't be practical for me to do it.

Like a few other posters, I do find myself slightly frowning at the 'no never could' attitude.

Dozer · 09/07/2020 07:55

Yes, there’s true phobia, and even that can sometimes be treated successfully, and not wanting to do it.

People of all ages have to have unpleasant but essential treatments for their health.

squeekums · 09/07/2020 12:32

@Silvercatowner

*Nope, not a chance Other people cant either Needle phobia*

What would you do if you were diagnosed as type 1 diabetic? OH was diagnosed when he was late 40s and now injects multiple times a day. The alternative is - well - him dying. It wouldn't be practical for me to do it.

Like a few other posters, I do find myself slightly frowning at the 'no never could' attitude.

Its actually something be and DP discussed and ive said we would have to build a restraint chair or have KO gas on hand.

I couldnt even have blood taken in pregnancy, was deemed unsafe by the hospital, even under hypnotism as i "woke up" i guess youd call it, jumped across the room and didnt know how i got to the door till i was told id lept, roaring from the chair (dp words) and ran for it. I was out of it enough i couldnt figure out how door opened so i cowered in the corner, if i did open the door, id have kept running. I was 7 months pregnant at the time

Rosebel · 09/07/2020 12:56

I did it for 10 days after my son was born. Not pleasant but better after I'd done it once.
If you are okay doing it for your husband then I'd carry on. Tbh I don't think I could do it to someone else (not a phobia but I'd worry about hurting them).

Belowwreck · 09/07/2020 13:02

Yep, I was on bloody thinners for months. My mum did the first one then I got sick of the fannying about and her being scared to do it and just got on with it.

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