The longer I have been taken Humira (about a year and a half now), the harder it is for me to build up the courage to inject it. I use the pen, and it makes this snapping sound when it pops the needle into my thigh. It happens so quickly and abruptly that it is painful, and over time I have become more and more of a wimp about it!
Now I find myself sitting with the needle poised on my thigh for about 15 minutes before I can bring myself to hit the button.
Do you all have any advice or tips that may make this process easier? Things I am thinking: Does temperature of the medicine matter? Should I inject it while it is cold or let it get to room temperature? Does numbing the skin with ice packs first help? Let the alcohol swabbed area evaporate first or do it while it still has a sheen?
These are probably silly questions, but any help would be appreciated! Do they make the syringes that you prep and inject yourself rather than an auto pen situation? Is that maybe easier and less painful?
Warming the med to room temperature always helps. ice to the injection spot does not help, and in fact can make the injection site hurt or bruise after the injection. I am not a fan of auto injectors, but that is a personal decision. I feel I have more control and and better angle (and thus less penetration of the nerve area) with a regular needle and syringe. You also learn with needle and syringe to find that sweet spot between the layers of skin for a true sub Q injection. It hurts a lot less in that spot because there is room for the med.
But I'm not convinced its the pain, I have been self injecting several meds for a number of years (including one the needle and syringe looks like am injecting a chicken for barbecuing) I every 18 months or so just flat don't want to do it and really start thinking about the whole injecting thing, and even have delayed or skipped an injection....
My wife is a saint she seem to know when I'm in the mood (she thinks its depression from the disease) She somehow or another convinces one of the Grand Kids how cool it is to see grandpa give himself a shot. its always on Tuesday (the day I use the really big needle) No one wimps out infront of the grand Kids.....
That is a really great point, doing it in front of the grandkids. I was most brave when showing my boyfriend's little boy how shots aren't that scary. Granted, it isn't always an option, and I am very guilty of skipping doses and delaying. I am finding that it happens more and more, which is my biggest concern.
The regular needle and syringe might be worth a shot if it is available for Humira. Do doctors just default to the auto-injector option?
Thank you for the input..I will give the room temperature a try (due for my next shot tomorrow). It sounds like you are very lucky to have such a great wife and family of support. Best of luck with the injections, as I can attest they are NO FUN (and I don't even have the super duper crazy chicken injector!)
Hi, Ella. I can really relate to your problem with the auto-injectors. I was on Enbrel for a couple of years, and when I changed docs the new one prescribed the auto-injector without asking me (I had been using the pre-filled syringes all along and prefer them). Darn injectors scared me to death! Click! Pop! Ouch!
So, when I started Humira a month ago, I was deflated when I saw that he had prescribed.... AUTO-INJECTOR! I used them twice, and went straight back to him and requested pre-filled syringes, and have no problems. (Yes, Humira IS available in pre-filled syringe.)
I prefer the syringe for several reasons:
* I control exactly when the "pin prick" of the needle hits.
* I can check that I haven't hit a blood vessel. That happened once with an auto-injector, and I had a bruise for 2 weeks.
* One time, I hit a nerve with the needle, and I just pulled back and re-inserted. Can't do that with auto-injector.
I've learned that, if I pinch up the skin at the injection site slightly harder than I used to do it, the pain from the pinch is just a little more than the needle stick, so I don't even flinch when it sticks.
So, if I were you, I'd talk to the doctor about whether the syringes might be a better choice for you, too.
Hi, have you tried injecting on the sides of the stomach?..I know it hurts for a few minutes, though. Seems less painful for me on sides of stomach than thigh