I FINALLY got approved for Pegasys, and am to pick it up at the pharmacy by Wednesday.
My question is does the first injection happen in the Drs. office, or at home??
Were you given physical instructions for how to give the injection?
I have written instructions that were sent to me with the approval.
What if you have an allergic reaction if you take the first dose at home?
I was just given it by my pharmacy & took it home & read up on injection. I then discovered they were supposed to help you with first injection but my hospital didn’t. I put ice in a bag held it on lower stomach pinched the skin & injected at angle. No problems.
My friend who is a Dr told me it should have been supervised but mine certainly wasn’t . Like you I did think about reactions but just told my husband to watch if I passed out 😂😂👌. It’s a good drug good luck I take mine morning as better than night. No reactions now . If you have any it’s usually dose related. I do 45 monthly but on weekly I had bad headaches.
Dose being altered got rid of headaches 👌 Julia .
It is recommended to do the first injection in a medically supervised setting. This is just a precaution in the event of a very rare severe allergic reaction.
I did my first injection at my hematologist's office. One of the nurses trained me to do it. I practiced with a fake skin roll that she made by stuffing exam gloves into an exam glove. It made a handy practice skin roll. They had saline and spare syringes available. I did the first injection there and waited about 20 minutes to ensure there was no reaction.
There are many training videos online that you can access. There are some basic steps to follow.
1. Let the Pegasys warm to room temp.
2. Wash your hands.
3. Prepare the syringe to the prescribed dose.
4. Disinfect the skin in the chosen injection site. Let the alcohol dry,
5. Pinch an inch of skin and insert the needle. Depress the plunger. Let the needle stay in for 3 seconds. Let go of the skin and withdraw the needle.
6. Use an alcohol wipe to clean a drop of blood if one appears. Apply a bandaid if desired.
The injections are very easy to do and painless. The needle is quite small and I can barely feel it. Be sure to rotate the injection site each time. I find the belly the easiest location to use.
Wishing you success moving forward.
A man nurse in the day ward of my local hospital demonstrated how to jab myself. He was very helpful. It’s easy. I thought I’d never get the hang of it but I was wrong! I generally jab myself before snuggling down for a night’s snooze.
Thank you.
Hi,
I started on Peg Nov 2023. I picked up my first prescription from the hospital oncology clinic and, a specialist nurse talked me through the injection, and then watched me do my first. I was given emergency numbers to call if I had any concerns, 7 more injection packs and told to keep them in the centre of my fridge, + dressings to cover the injection site, for upto an hour after. I was only told to inject into the stomach and to alternate sides, to prevent a fatty build up. The nurse told me to pinch up an area and push in the needle at a 90° angle. My haematologist had said to take paracetamol 30 mins before my morning injection as other patients had said, this helped.
I am very interested to read others' comments and will be asking questions, when I speak to my haematologist in 2 weeks time. I think the first is the hardest one to do, but honestly, I was surprised how easy and painless it was.
I personally think, doing your first injection at your haematology/ oncology clinic, with support, is beneficial and reassuring.
Good luck, you'll soon feel very confident doing them x
Lynda
Thank you for the response.
I did my first injection in clinic with the nurse, both so I could follow her instructions and in case of any (very rare) severe reaction. If that’s not possible, maybe do it with someone else present who can support you if needed?
I did the first injection at home .As I already self inject a arthritis drug it was thought unnecessary for supervision
Thank you.
I did my first injection at home because with my insurance in America, they were going to charge me a huge amount if I had it done at the cancer center. I did have the nurse at the center show me how to do it but I did not even have the product there. it is really quite easy and for me, the Pegasys has been wonderful. I wish you all of the best.
Thank you so much. I think the nurse is going to show me how to do it, but not have me do the actual injection there. The Dr. acted surprised when I asked if I would have my first injection there.
Success! I picked up my Pegasys from the pharmacy yesterday, and went directly to the Drs. office. The nurse walked me through the steps for the injection, and then she had me do it, and I waited for about 15 minutes in their office. All went well. Didn't even feel the injection. Had only mild side effects of my head feeling like I had drunk some wine, and a couple of what felt like chest pains right in the middle of my chest. No flu feelings, and no injection site reaction. Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. My dose is 45 mcg. for now, as I usually react to all drugs. My new Oncologist is great! I'm so relieved, and so appreciate everything I have learned from all of you on this site.
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