Traumatic injection

[Hrosie]

I have been having injections for MD for several years with varying degrees of pain from very little to painful. My last injection has left me traumatised about my next one. The usual nurse I have confidence in did all the prep but then handed over to someone else who seemed very nervous and misfired at the first attempt but continued to have a second stab at it which was extremely painful and left me traumatised with the nurse half way through saying she was sorry. I know it can be dangerous to make sudden movements during an injection so gritted my teeth and tried not to react to the pain she inflicted. At my next visit would I be in order in asking who was going to do my injection?

[Koalajane]

At my eye clinic it is written on the board outside the treatment rooms. I always read it to see.

Last week I went for an Ozurdex implant which was a larger needle so I was very nervous. They gave me plenty of drops, I told the doctor doing the injection that I was nervous and she promised to be gentle.

I never felt a thing and I usually do when I have the Eylea injections. I am convinced it has a lot to do with how much pressure they use. This doctor was quick, gentle and amazing!

Good luck with your next injection.

[RP1944]

so sorry to hear of your bad experience, I feel every injection as anesthetic drops don’t work .

It does traumatize. Hope you have the usual nurse do your next injection. It definitely won’t hurt to ask who is doing it. Best wishes for a better experience next time.x

[Shimano in reply to RP1944]

Drops don’t work for me either. I now get a novacaine injection in my eye which needs to be left for 5 mins prior to eylea jab. It still sometimes hurts a bit but nowhere near what it was before.

[eyeglass in reply to Shimano]

Hi, when you say novocaine injection in your eye, do you mean around your eye area or actually into your eye? The idea of 2 injections in the eye sounds worse to me!!!! (I've put a hold on my injections as I'm traumatised by the experience but also in my case it caused more bleeding (PDR) as a direct result of the injection anyway...but I am still left with feeling traumatised about the pain and cant face further treatment).

[Shimano in reply to eyeglass]

Into my eye. It is a very fine needle and only a prick. Really does help. Unfortunately not uncommon to have a bleed after injection. Takes a week or so to clear. Really understand the trauma you’ve had and the fear of another injection. Don’t suffer silently. Speak up. All the very best.

[D_omeara]

I’m sorry to hear you had that experience this this is simply unacceptable by the staff.

You should not feel any pain during the injection procedure and if you do , they are clearly not applying enough of the numbing drops. You should highlight this and say you need more.

The staff should be aware of your sensitivity and need to help you feel comfortable.

I had similar sensitivity and explained it and they applied more prox (numbing) drops each time.

Hopefully things will improve for you

[RP1944 in reply to D_omeara]

Unfortunately I’m in Cyprus and they only use one type of anesthetic drops, nothing better so it’s always going to hurt. I now get given a tablet to calm me down before the injection due to having a bad panic attack caused by the worry of painful injections.

[tallyho]

Wow! Gosh that does sound horrid. At my eye clinic I don’t know who is going to do my injection and if they write it up I would not be able to see anyway and that’s even before the dilating drops are put in.

I know that as you would expect there is a lot of training and practice before the nurses or whom ever is injecting is able to do it on real patients.

I really do hope all goes well for the next one. I think out of over 150 injections only a couple have been difficultly one of which led to me having a corneal abrasion.

[Shimano]

it’s very difficult to complain but even harder to live in terror of the next injection. Sounds like it was a trainee injector. Can you let them know that, in view of such a traumatising experience, you want your usual injector if possible. Sometimes we have to make ourselves heard or continue to suffer. Good luck. I can empathise with your experience which has been part of my own.

[pinkperfection]

Absolutely I am horrified at your experience. At present I am not having injections as they haven't worked for me but you really need someone who knows what they are doing! I have a friend who has recently had injections in both eyes and had a similar experience.I know people have to learn but nobody should have to go through what you have. Wishing you a better time next time round.

[Lupin1587]

I'm sorry this happened to you. I've had 22 injections 3 of which were painful during or after injection due to dry eyes, a corneal abrasion and the last one in Dec which they attributed to a reaction to the iodine. My next injection is 9th Feb and I am a little nervous about it. I reached out to the ECLO and she was very helpful speaking to my injector and they will now use a different method for me.I would recommend reaching to your ECLO if you have one.

Also the macular society are very good in my experience.

I do hope things improve for you and wish you all the best.

[Carol_MacularSociety Partner]

Dear HRosie,

You should mention this difficult experience to the clinic staff before having your next injection. They should be able to reassure you so that you are not nervous about your continued treatment. As you have had many injections, you will know it is not normal to feel such pain and it is most likely due to the practitioner on this occasion.

If you would like to discuss further, please contact the Macular Society Helpline 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 0300 3030 111. Alternatively, you can contact us via: [e-mail]

Best wishes,

Carol

Macular Society

[Hrosie in reply to Carol_MacularSociety]

Thank you so much for your reply and advice on how to move forward with this. Very much appreciated.

[Annsandra13]

bless you Hrosie,

It’s dreadful when you have a dreadful experience, I too have them occasionally and going into shock and go very cold, so when I go in I say immediately, maximum anaesthetic please and if the marker is felt prior to the injection I will tell them. Usually they are very good at ensuring this. It’s the technique too of the injector that can cause it. Try not to worry I’m sure next time it will be better. Sending love x

[Hrosie in reply to Annsandra13]

Thank you so much for your reply and reassurance. Kind regards.

[ANO_Health]

I also feel pain from every injection. My Ophthalmologist is very sympathetic and tried several different things, including local anaesthetic in the eye after the drops. I frequently experience blindness for a short period afterwards, very frightening and nauseating with the anxiety it causes. If it lasts more than 30 seconds, he has had to withdraw some of the fluid from the eye, but it worries him as all this means many pricks in the eye. He has researched and now obtained a finer needle for the Eylea, and last week's injection sting stung at entry but otherwise had no further pain or complications. It is always encouraging to know we are not alone in feeling pain, as so many articles promise you won't feel a thing. I hope you have a better experience next time.

[Shimano in reply to ANO_Health]

Totally agree ANO. All the blurb says injections painless but for a small minority this is not true. They can be very traumatic. I also get aneAsthetic injection which helps and notice big difference depending who is injecting. Sounds like you have a very sympathetic doc which is the greatest help of all as opposed to being treated like a wimp. So glad you got help with your problem.