where to buy ampoules please, and why does it sting more when I SI than when nurse does it?

[luckymaria]

Hiya all.

Just tried to order B12 ampoules from versandApo and apparently they are out of stock. Does anyone know if this is normal and they'll be back in stock soon? Or should I look elsewhere, if so - where please?

Also, when the nurse does my injection into my uper arm she does it very quickly and it doesn't hurt much at all... When I SI I do it into my thigh, and I have to do it very slowly as it stings so. Should I be brave and just shoot it all in quick? Would that stop the stinging? Also, I don't know how deep into the thigh the needle should go - should I put the whole length of the needle into my leg?

Thank you so much in advance for any tips you might offer

[wedgewood]

There is a general shortage of B12 ampoules at the moment ,especially Panpharma B12 depot . But I looked today and found that versandapo have Pascoe b12 depot which is 1.5 mg x 1ml . ampoules . Expensive at €19.99 for pack of 10 . (07568672 ) Reasonably priced if you buy 10 packets. ….. (07568695) 50 %higher dose . But I’ve been using them as Panpharma was out of stock for so long . They are absolutely fine .

Make sure you inject a warm ampoule . Use a fine needle to inject - 26 G x 1 inch for I.M injection or 30G x1/2 inch for sub-cut . Always use a withdrawing needle -say 21G x 1 1/2 inch , so your injection needle is not blunted by using it to withdraw the B12 from the ampoule .

[luckymaria in reply to wedgewood]

thank you, I will try them. I only inject bi-monthly, so the 10 pack is not too bad - would last me over a year and I imagine the use by date is not much longer. Thank you !

[pitney]

Agree with wedgewood and if you use a swab to wipe the area let it dry before you inject into the area

[luckymaria in reply to pitney]

Thanks for that. It's not so much the wipe, as i LET THAT DRY OFF, IT'S AS IT GOES IN - iF i STOP IT DOESN'T STING - AS i PUSH MORE IN IT DOES AGAIN. iLL DO THE WAMING UP TRICK BETTER. oOOOOO SORRY CAPS LOCK ON!!

[Reemy in reply to luckymaria]

A good tip is use something from the freezer, a bag of peas etc to numb the area, you don’t feel a thing. I use a freezer pack that is used in cooler bags and I hold it over the area for a couple of minutes and it numbs it completely and I don’t feel a thing👍🏻

[FlipperTD]

Scientist, not medic.

A bit off topic but it's about needles. When I first started in the NHS one of my early morning jobs was to visit wards and perform phlebotomies on whoever needed them. I had very soon learned a good bedside manner, developed my skills and was praised for the job I'd done, with 'I never felt a thing' and comparing to other colleagues. I'm happy to say that despite progressing through the ranks, I accumulated a cadre of patients [mainly staff] who would seek me out when they needed a blood test rather than taking the official route, and sometimes even bringing their families for their blood tests. I must have trained dozens if not hundreds to take blood, but some simply never reached the heights of 'ooh, I never felt a thing'. It was all down to confidence, a steady hand and a speedy process. Of late, I've needed quite regular blood tests and have to go & endure someone else doing it. The situation hasn't changed; some are good [nearly as good as me] and some are more out of the 'School Of Butchery' [with no intended slur on butchers!] In all my 40-odd years in practise I never came across a 'blunt needle' but that's another story.

It'll get easier. Don't forget to praise the nurse for their skill. A packet of biscuits doesn't go amiss either!

[helvella in reply to FlipperTD]

My "complaint" has not been about pain at time of draw, but internal bleeding and bruising afterwards sometimes with appreciable discomfort.

The way that one person can avoid the embedded needle tip moving even a fraction of a millimetre, when another seems to stir a Christmas pudding, is astonishing.

[FlipperTD in reply to helvella]

Thanks for that. My advice to patients regarding the risk of post-phlebotomy bruising is 'press on firmly, for as long as you can, and then press on a good bit longer.' The pressure to get someone out of the chair to get the next one in was always an issue, but I learned to ignore that pressure, simply to care for the patient. Not my fault we didn't have enough staff or facilities!

I am [regrettably] entirely familiar with the 'Christmas Pudding stirrer' who would expect blood to flow as soon as the needle pierced the skin, and then using a sewing machine motion, rather than taking the sniper's approach of sizing up your target and then taking one clean shot.

[luckymaria in reply to FlipperTD]

oh well done you, there is a difference. Ill remember to keep congratulating the painles ones thanks for your answer.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support in reply to FlipperTD]

Never had a "blunt needle" either - but thought you might have seen this before:

I have had a couple of needles with what would be known as a "wire edge" or "burr" in woodwork: where the tip of a chisel (or in this case: needle ) still has the waste metal attached from sharpening.

Old-school carpenters always used the palms of their hands to strop the chisel, removing the wire edge. Newer recruits ran the newly-sharpened chisel tip through the edge of their bench to achieve the same thing. Old workshop benches glitter in sunlight with all the fine wire threads.

Not suggesting that you try eitherof these practices with the tip of an injecting needle !

Unhygienic and dangerous.

Just that if you are injecting, and you feel/hear tearing: just stop !

Because for some stupid reason, I didn't. That stings.

If you look, you can see the attached waste with a magnifying glass.

Luckily this occurs very rarely.

[FlipperTD in reply to Cherylclaire]

Dear Cherylclaire, been there, done that one. The other bit of info I gave to trainees was always to look at the needle tip before you stick it in. The burr is not far off the barb of an old-style fish hook. To be fair, the modern disposable needle is unbelivably sharp, although we did have some makers who we preferred to others. I won't say who, as it's a long time ago.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support in reply to FlipperTD]

I think there is always, for those who have had to self-teach, the tendency to assume "It must be just me" - and sometimes, it just isn't !