what would I do without you all

[Justified]

Recently I had written that I had hit a vein and had completely lost my confidence in SI. I meant to try before now but had to go and stay with my mum (98 years old) urgently as she had a serious chest infection. It was hard work nursing her, seeing to her medications, running up and down stairs a million times etc. I was literally completely and utterly worn out. My sister is also helping to look after mum with me. I came home yesterday too exhausted to even try to inject.

Today, even after a nine hour sleep, I was bouncing off walls, dizzy, exhausted and nauseated and I KNEW I had to do this today. Well, I lost two vials, as I just couldn't get rid of a biggish bubble at the bottom of the syringe. This happened with the second one I tried also. I opened my new batch and Hey presto, managed to get one bubble free. Needle went in smoothly and painlessly but my hand was shaking so violently when I tried to press the plunger I thought I would snap the needle lol. I paused, gave myself a good talking to telling myself to "pull yourself together" as I am now really ill again and the answer is literally in my hands. Went for it and got that red beauty in !!!

I would not have been able to do this again without all your help, information and encouragement. Thank you all for encouraging me to try again and get over that little blip ! xxx

[AngelaJG]

Well Done!

it does get easier

[Foggyme Administrator]

Hi Peggylally. So sorry about your mum...hope she recovers and feels better soon.

And well done for your bravery - soon you won't be scared at all - will be injecting without a second thought.

All here will identify with the utter exhaustion 😖. Get plent of rest and take very good care of yourself.

👍👍

[clivealive Forum Support]

"Needle-less" to say "Well Done Justified

[1capricorn3]

Hi Peggylally66. Just to suggest, if you cant get the bubble out of the syringe by flicking it (hard with finger) no need to waste the 'red beauty', just squirt it back into the ampoule (if hands not too shaky!) & draw it up again. Also, I'm sure you probably know this, (so forgive me if this is grandma/suck/eggs moment) but it helps to keep the tip of the needle right at the bottom of the ampoule in the fluid as you draw up then there's less chance of sucking up air. It can still happen, but the more you do it the more you sort of get the feel of it. Finally, well done you.

[Justified in reply to 1capricorn3]

1capricorn3 I wish I had known I could do that. I am phobic about air & contamination when doing SI. I had flicked really hard quite a few times. I wasted ampules ! I wondered if the consistency had changed as they had been in my car boot in very cold weather (car was frozen solid). They were the last two in that pack. Thank goodness I had a new pack in my room. If it happens again I will put it back in and draw up again. I felt like crying as it is so precious ! I was holding vial on the side with the flat part of needle facing downwards thinking that would draw it all up. I will do as you suggest. Funnily enough, that was what I did on my third attempt

[Pixielula in reply to Justified]

I keep mine in the fridge, so when I need one I just pop it in my bra for half an hour gets to body temp before I inject,

[Justified in reply to Pixielula]

Pixielula < I do pop mine in my bra for about 10 minutes anyway to bring to body temperature. I had to rush through to my mum's and hoped to do it there but left it in my car which froze up, even the locks lol. I usually keep them in my spare room without a heater on but fridge might be a good idea

[Pixielula in reply to Justified]

Another member said to keep in fridge although I think with hydroxy it's not essential ...

[jade_s in reply to 1capricorn3]

I also frequently end up with a large'ish bubble and am not able to get it out no matter what. But, that stubborn bubble seems to be just enough to nearly inject all the fluid out of the needle. Without it, there'd be even more 'wasted' liquid remaining in the needle after I've pushed the syringe all the way through.

And, yes, way to go! It gets much much easier and less nerve-wracking after just a few. Now and then I still get very shakey hands (sometimes from an unexpected sting), so I also just stop, take a deep breath, wait, and then continue. It's kind of weird leaving the needle in, not doing anything but 'waiting' and 'breathing' LOL!

[VickyB12 in reply to 1capricorn3]

Thank you for the tip... I didn't know, I thought it would be the other way round?

[fbirder]

To avoid a small bubble I deliberately introduce a large bubble.

I use a 2ml syringe with a 1ml dose. When sucking up I keep going when the vial is empty (like a kid with a milk shake and a straw). That introduces a lot of air - which forms one large bubble which is easy to get up to the needle end.

This isn't easy with a 1ml syringe. With them I used to scoosh it up and down, squirting solution in and out. That tends to get rid of any air.