I'm interested to know if those of you who self inject aspirate before injecting. I was told it it necessary to pull back to check for blood before injecting, but a search online suggests this is not necessary (unless in the glute area). Has anyone had an issue with this? Also, I am curious which sites you use when rotating SI for frequent injections. More specifically, how long and wide of an area of the vastus lateralis do you use for injection?
Thanks!
SQ
I use the middle outer third of the thigh ( Vastus Lateralis ) certainly within an area of 2 inches . I’ve been doing this for 6 years without any problem . I alternate thighs . I inject weekly and do not aspirate . This really quite a large area compared to say the arm . Hope this is helpful to you .
This is very helpful. I am a bit paranoid about misjudging the area of inclusion for the vastus laterals and how much latitude I have to use different parts of the muscle. Good to know I don’t need to fret about aspiration.Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
You do have plenty of latitude , so please don’t worry about it . Make sure that you have a fine needle - say 25G x 1inch ( 25mm) I also use a robust Ampoule snapper since I cut myself badly on glass shards. The snapper breaks off the ampoule very cleanly without making shards . This may not apply to you , as I read on this forum , that in the US , you often use several dose vials , as opposed to the single use ampoules that we use in U.K.
I use a trick when injecting in alternate gluteus maximus twice weekly. I push a penny onto the skin at the planned injection site. This allows me to feel hard spots from previous injections. Once I locate a suitable site, I press the penny for 10 seconds which leaves a nice red ring on the skin. I then clean the area in the ring with alcohol wipes.
Injection goes straight in without drawing blood back first. I place the tip of the needle inside the ring and press gently. If I feel pain, I expect a blood vessel under the spot and reposition the needle inside the ring. If the needle goes in with a lot of pressure, I expect that I hit a blood vessel and I will have a bleed when I withdraw the needle. I don’t use the dart throw method to insert the needle just gentle pressure with a slight shake of the hand.
I have heard some people can inject in gluteus maximus but I think it's required to watch in mirror in order to find proper spot for the beginners like me. I think gluteus maximus has more nerves than vastus lateralis and more skills is required like dividing that muscle in four quarter and the upper right for right muscle and upper left quarter for left muscle should be picked since less nerves or blood vessels are expected to hit. I have never injected intramuscular but I'm going to inject intramuscular soon as soos as I received my methylcobalamine vials from pharmacy. But no doctor is going to do so since my b12 recent bloodwork was high and my concern is anaphylactic shock for first IM self injection and also changing type of B12
Yes. Everything you describe is correct. I use a full length mirror. Upper Outer quadrant. I typically inject just below my belt line. Even on the thigh muscle, it’s the upper outer quadrant.
By alternating, I notice that the previous injection site on the other buttock is painful. Not the newest injection site.
I don't aspirate. I alternate between several injection sites: both upper arms (deltoid IM), and SQ in the lower back fat on both sides and in the lower abdomen. My partner does the back and arm sites for me, and I do the abdomen myself. Lots of space in the abdomen, so that makes it easy, even if it's the only area I'm using. I don't do thighs because I get lumps and bruises and it's uncomfortable; I find SQ in the abdomen much easier and less painful. If I wasn't injecting every day, I probably wouldn't do arms either and would just stick to SQ.
Thanks lynxis. Does SubQ reduce the risk of hitting a blood vessel? Or is the general advantage that it’s easier to do to yourself?My understanding is that IM absorbs faster and will work more quickly because of it. I’m not sure if this is true but this is why I started with IM. But I really hate the whole needle process. It gives me angst.
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