The Fear 😐😐

[lindabre]

Hi all I am sitting here nervously looking at a syringe and a vial of b12 which I received from Germany today. I know I have to self inject to get my level up from 185 but now I am here I feel scared. I received my last injection of one for four weeks three weeks ago and can feel cold tingling sensation coming back to my fingers again and a decrease in energy which was just starting to improve.According to my doctor i dont need another until September .I don't want to watch injection tutorial online so I have three quick questions,

Do I put needle all the way into my thigh or just a bit.needle size i ordered is 20G by 1 and half inch and it looks big.I have never looked at needle size before when getting injections as I always turn my head.

Do I start out with one every second day building up as recommended by pa society as I have had four separate ones already over four weeks .

What is best part of thigh to inject into muscle at front or fatty area of inner thigh and is there a recommended time of day.

I know all will be fine and all I have to remember is that this is about my health and well being .linda☺

[Karensleepyhead]

hey, how did it go? or are you still there looking at the syringe

[lindabre in reply to Karensleepyhead]

Hi I did it.took the plunge earlier today and it was fine.had to do it as my body is screaming today with tightness in muscles, this had gone for last two weeks and I felt myself sliding downwards again.😊

[Withattitude in reply to lindabre]

Congratulations! I still have to psych myself up every time, but it's worth it. I salute your bravery

[Karensleepyhead]

I inject in to the top of my arm, i find it less painfll than the thigh.If you do try your thigh do it in the muscle at front or side, not the inside Ouch

[fbirder]

20G x 1.5" is quite a large needle. Most people use a 23G x 1.25" needle, like these - amazon.co.uk/Sterile-Single...

The ones you have would be great for sucking the B12 out of the ampoule. They will work for injections, but I'd not go all the way - halfway should be better. And it may be a bit more painful as it's quite a bit thicker. You may be better off ordering the smaller needles and waiting a few days more.

If you've already had your loading doses then you shouldn't need to repeat that process. It's designed to get your levels up to somewhere reasonable, then you top up every 2 or 3 months (although that's obviously not sufficient.

What I did was try injecting whenever I felt the need, and keeping a log of my symptoms and injections. That way I could determine how often I needed to jab myself so that I didn't get the symptoms at all (although I still forget sometimes).

I inject into the muscle on the top of my thigh. Others inject into the muscle on the outside. I'm quite a big person so I stick my needle in all the way.

Do you have somebody you trust to watch you do it the first time? I was lucky and got my practise nurse to guide me while I was on my loading doses.

[engels]

Do not under any circumstances inject into your inner thigh as there is a danger you might hit the femoral artery.

I usually use the 23g x 1.25" needles suggested by fbirder but have also used 21g x 1.5" a few times and didn't notice any difference other than the needle obviously being a bit longer. The length of needle required depends on the depth of subcutaneous tissue and the volume of muscle. This is a useful little guide to needle size:

unionmedico.com/expanded-ne...

[lindabre in reply to engels]

Hi did injection today and it was fine,thanks for your advice 😊

[Babygodmother]

Hi I am a nurse and self inject as I am not getting the correct treatment - no matter what I say to the so-called experts, my dealings with docs have been extremely frustrating.

Use the large needle (usually green) to draw up the B12, then the smaller one to inject (usually blue). Inject into the upper arm (the deltoid muscle - google this if you are not sure exactly where this is). If you go too low down you will miss the muscle and you risk your arm swelling up.

You can inject into the outer thigh area, about halfway between the hip and knee. But use the longer needle. The needles are different sizes as they deal with different thickness of muscles eg the thigh is a bigger muscle so needs a longer needle. The needle should go in about three quarters of the way. Don't put the cap back on, just put the used needle straight into the sharps box. Otherwise, you may stab your finger with the needle if you try to re-sheath it.

B12 injections sting a bit and I didn't like it at first either. Just take a deep breath then go for it.

Best of luck

[lindabre in reply to Babygodmother]

Thanks for the detail.I did injection earlier today and as with most things we don't want to do the anticipation was worse than event.it was fine,woke up this morning feeling every muscle in my body was screaming and exhausted so had to proceed.😊

[fbirder]

B12 injections sting a bit

I find that it only stings if there's a bit of liquid on the tip. So I now expel air with the green needle, swap to the smaller needle and inject straight away. The teeny tiny amount of air in the needle couldn't possibly do any damage.

[pugdogs10 in reply to fbirder]

Great advice...Thanks.