Where to inject

[Andypandy30]

Hi I wanted to ask ? Where on the thigh is the correct position for self injections. Iv watched a lot of videos on YouTube . Some are on the front but I have read here that it is the side . How do you measure , exActly where also do I withdraw the needle to check if I’m in a vein that is a big worry of mine . What angle etc x

[Margaret-S]

Hi Andy. So pleased you are getting underway with self injecting. You are doing really well. I'm not able to help you with the info you need. I know that in my arm the nurse just seems to stick the needle in about two thirds of the way up my arm. Others put it in the joint at top of shoulder. Someone on here will be able to tell you about it. Sorry I'm not any help with that but sure am thrilled your going with the self injecting route. Sincerely wish you all the very best and will look forward to hearing how you get on. 🌞

[Andypandy30 in reply to Margaret-S]

Thks Margaret for replying I hope ur doing ok . I know you’re rooting for me xx

[Margaret-S in reply to Andypandy30]

You are very welcome. I'm not too bad thankyou Andy. Always would like to be better of course but some better days followed by more tired 'lazy' yuk days...Like today, can't be bothered. You know what it's like...wanting to do things but no zing..Can hardly remember what "zing" really felt like. The other thing is that often in my head I'm still about 40 years younger then my body has a sneaky nasty way of reminding me that I'm not and that really bursts my bubble 🤣. Guess we all feel like that! Will be waiting to hear how you get on and it will be good news as your body gets the boost it so desperately needs. You must be feeling a bit excited about it too?

[JanD236]

Hi Andy. It’s the middle third of your thigh, if you divide between the top of your leg and the top of your knee into three. Inject the middle third towards the outside.

The idea is to get it into the muscle so I usually tense my thigh muscles and relax a few times so that I can see the thigh muscle moving in that area. As you tense the thigh (the feeling is that I’m pulling my kneecap towards my hip) the muscles stand out better and then as I relax I can see the muscle slide down towards the outside of the thigh. Inject into the relaxed muscle.

When I first started si the nurse who taught me told me there is no need to withdraw so I never have (nor did any of the nurses who previously administered the injection).

Very occasionally I’ve hit a blood vessel, it usually hurts a bit in which case I mostly stop, put on a new needle and move a few millimetres. If I carry on the injection site bleeds a little but nothing a plaster doesn’t fix.

I rotate injection sites and find that my deltoid (shoulder) muscle is easy to do, no pain and I’ve never hit a blood vessel there.

[fbirder]

Most use the outside of the thigh, but I find that really clumsy. So I use the muscle along the top of the thigh. When I learned to SI the nurse watched me and was OK with that location. I sit on the edge of the bed and lift my bent leg into the air. I can easily feel the muscle running along the top. While the muscle is still erect I stick my thumbnail in about a hand’s width from the top of my leg. This marks the aiming point. Then I make sure the muscle is totally relaxed and inject.

As well as marking the aiming point the thumbnail mark lets me know where to apply the plaster, as there’s often no blood at all. Sometimes a small amount of blood oozes out. That’s almost certainly because I’ve passed through a small vein in the skin. There’s not a lot of large blood vessels in the muscles. Go have a look at a piece of ham. There are no blood vessels visible.

You can minimise bleeding by using the Z-Track method...

Here’s the Royal College of Nusing’s advise page. They mention Z-Track and that it’s not necessary for you to pull back on the syringe (aspirate) to check you’re not injecting into a vein unless you’re injecting into the bum.

rcni.com/sites/rcn_nspace/f...

[deniseinmilden]

wedgewood 's replies on injecting are really useful reading too.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

Made a pig's ear of the whole thing more often than not at first. I now think this was mainly anxiety, confusion and memory issues, because I did not have anyone to show me and too many contradictory videos with info which I then had to remember when I got home from watching them in the library. Difficult also to relax muscles if you feel like this. I also found having a relaxing bath just made skin more sensitive and bleeds more dramatic ! All these symptoms when deficient will make it harder to inject into a relaxed muscle with confidence and steady hands. Give yourself plenty of time, wind down and make a decision about where you are doing it before you start as deficiency can also make you more indecisive. Have a treat ready for after.

I use middle outer thigh between centre line at top and centre line at side. Tend to go more towards the side than top, and these days I seem to have got it right with no dramas or pain, no feeling like you've hit a rock, no blood beyond a little dribble and no sudden springing out of needle because a nerve jumps suddenly(!) I do it more slowly now, slow in, slow inject, slow out. Works for me. I also do that check for muscle by tensing it a few times first to get an exact position. Right leg easier than left when withdrawing needle- if you are right-handed.

Would rather have had a nurse show me what to do, and GP said to ask them, but all the ones I asked refused. The most disconcerting injection was an early one: when I pulled the needle out, blood spurted in an arc ! Luckily not for long. I still don't check for blood first- if it's in, I'm going for it.

Hope all is going well for you.

[boru]

Nurse YouTube is quite good