Doing 1ml b12 injections twice a week. My doctor told me it's totally fine just poke yourself with it (intramuscular) and the only danger I could make is if I "injected it into my eye, heart, lung etc" haha. I've done probably 10 so far and sometimes they hurt super badly and I can't walk on my leg for the rest of the day and other times they'll bleed sort of more than they should. Other times it's perfectly fine! What do you guys do? I always ice first. Maybe I pulled it out too slow/ or too fast right after I pushed the plunger! I guess just maybe I'd like some tips. I know some who pinch their skin but I don't do that I just have my leg relaxed. I'm very sick right now and have a fever and was just probably extra nervous because I have such a bad cold and don't feel well at all!
Hey guys, quick question. I don't asp... - Pernicious Anaemi...
Hey guys, quick question. I don't aspirate? Should i?
Ice? Never heard that before!
Having washed my hands and laid out my kit I load the syringe, swap to the finer blue needle and squeeze the plunger until the solution appears at the tip of the needle.
I sit on the side of my bed and make sure my leg is relaxed. I just put the needle tip on my skin in an area on the outer top part of my thigh about a hands-width down from the top.
Unless it hurts sharply, in which case I reposition it, I slowly and gently push it into the muscle until it is nearly all the way in. Once in, I draw back on the plunger slightly to check I haven't got a vein (I have once out of over 300 jabs and just tried a different site).
I press the plunger very slowly until the syringe is empty. I then pull the needle and syringe out gently and press my finger on the hole for a couple of seconds. I rub the area to heal the skin and off I go!
Very occasionally I need to dab it with a tissue and I think that happens if I catch a blood vessel nearer to the skin.
A few times I could feel it hurting for a while afterwards when I first started doing my injections but that hasn't happened for a long time now my nerve damage has healed a lot. It probably helps that I now do it as I look forward to getting on with my day and I've got so used to it I am truly relaxed, rather than just trying to be!
I like the fact that I'm well practiced now so it's easy but do remember a time when it wasn't so straight forward and only did it because I knew it was my only option.
I'm fairly ambidextrous but slightly prefer my right hand and find my left leg will be the one to have problems if I do have any.
Another point - if for some reason my symptoms come back I can struggle horribly to do my jab at all so it might be that you just need more B12 and cofactors so given time with treatment it will all be easier.
Whatever you do, keep going! It will get better.
Good luck and ask again if you need to!
Thank for for the reply! I use right hand left thigh. I just ice it so it's easier to do. I don't mind pain what so ever hence all the IVs I willingly get by my dr a month but it's just something about doing it to yourself is the weird part!
Hi, ladyawkward,
Which B12 do you use? I SI with methyl, well, my husband injects me.
He never aspirates. I read where it wasn't necessary and even if you nick a vein, b12 is also given intraveneously so it is not dangerous. If you haven't done so, you might want to look up injection site info on the internet. That helped us a lot to see exactly where the "injection zones" are.
I, like deniseinmilden, do not ice my arm or glute and I keep those muscles relaxed, do not pinch the skin. He gently but quickly jabs it in and slowly plunges it in and the waits about 10 second before pulling it out. I read where this keeps the site from bleeding and makes sure B12 stays in. Seems to work.
Methylcobalamin does not have to be refrigerated while I have read on this forum that hydroxo does have to be and so should be warmed up (by hand, I suppose) in order for it not to hurt when injected.
Also, do you flick the syringe to make sure the air bubbles go to the top so you can get rid of them?
Having said ask that, is it possible to make an appointment with the doc to let him see you give yourself an injection? To make sure you are doing it correctly? I'm just asking because I never get soreness to the point of not being able to walk or use my arms.
I hope you feel better soon! 
Methylcobalamin does not have to be refrigerated while I have read on this forum that hydroxo does have to be
Other way round. hydroxo needs to be stored below 25ºC. Methyl should be refrigerated.
Hi fbirder, I get my methyl from a formulary pharmacy and they say NOT to refrigerate it. It should be stored in a cool place, less than 74 degrees Fahrenheit, which I do. Maybe different pharmacies formulate it differently?
Formulation wouldn't make much difference unless there was some preservative in there. I know sodium benzoate used to be used, but EU regulations banned it. Perhaps it's still used in the USA.
Now I'm curious! If I can't find it on the bottle, I'll ask the pharmacy what is in it. Thanks!
I thought that too!
Hey! I don't know the name because it's very long but it's like.. cy... something. Haha. Yes I don't refrigerate it. I only ice it because I'm doing this to myself. I don't mind pain hence the b12 and magnesium IVs I get frequently, but doing it to myself is a lot different so I'd rather not feel it haha. I do flick the syringe Im very careful about that. Yeah bringing one in to him and showing him how I do it is probably a good idea. This one didn't hurt my muscle at all just bled a lot. Okay see I stab myself. Shoot it sort of slow and pull it out instantly because it just sort of freaks me out
lol... I did my second self inject today... This time it stung a bit, and although I put needle all the way in and left a few seconds before pulling it out I either had a dribble of blood pop out the hole or b12? I quickly wiped it and it stopped... I'm wondering if I am cut out for it lol... I use hyrox and nurse said they keep that in the cupboard... I don't know I will ever want to aspirate, as I want it all over with... Plus as I only bought 1ml syringes there's no room for anything else... I think you are doing well 💉👍
Haha yeah just want it over with! Yeah every time I removed the cotton ball more blood poured out and I was like OH GOD I'M GONNA DIE. LOL. But I'm here!
I'm hoping because it seemed watery it was the b12.. I also have a small bruise today... I hope I'm not getting worse at it lol.. It's my second stab at it... Ouch x
My mother, a retired nurse, is the one who taught me to do IM injections. She pointed out to me as she was teaching me that, because the B12 is red, it would actually be kind of difficult to tell by aspiration if you're in a vein. Personally, I've only ever hit a vein once, and I knew that I had without aspirating the needle because I could feel a distinctive little tug as the vein moved. (Sorry if that sounds kind of creepy. It did *feel* sort of creepy.)
I doubt that the ice is helping your process much. The needle prick itself is really not that painful. I do recommend warming the B12 with your hand before injecting though. I have found it does make a difference.
I also keep a piece of gauge or cotton in my hand as I slowly pull out the needle after I've injected so that I can press that against my skin and keep it from bleeding.
Thank you! So I'm supposed to be pulling it out slowly?
You don't have to withdraw the needle slowly. It's just my preferred way of doing it. I found that I had the tendency to bleed more if I withdrew it quickly, but that's just me.
Lady awkward 20June The buttocks are a more fleshy part to inject intramuscular ly and in the upper outer quadrant.Try not to dwell too much on the fact you are self injecting.if you do this in one quick motion then slowly inject the contents of the syringe and withdraw the needle quickly you should not have a problem.Plus rub the site with a clean or sterile swab.Try and practice on an orange or some such item to gain confidence.Hope this helps.I was once a ward sister .old fashioned terms now.
I've never had a problem with bleeding since I started using the z-track method - nursingcrib.com/nursing-not...
Interestingly, this set of instructions say - Do not massage the site - and it's in bold so it must be important. I've read several people suggesting it's a good idea to do so as it's supposed to help the dose diffuse through the muscle tissue. This implies that massaging the site can squeeze the dose out of the muscle into the subcutaneous layers.
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