Muscle Damage

[Cobalt1312]

Hi all. I’m wondering if any of you have experienced muscle damage from self-injecting, and if so how did you know? How long did it take to heal?

The last couple of months or so, it seems like I’m having an increasingly difficult time injecting my thighs. The injection itself seems to go really well, but my protocol is to walk afterwards to try to make sure I don’t get soreness. Lately, after injecting my thigh, I will start to have a burning pain where I injected around 20 minutes into my walk that can last for a few hours afterwards, and occasionally bother me a little into the next day off and on. If I don't walk, I seem to get soreness as well...

I alternate between injecting my arms and legs, my partner injects my arms, so each thigh gets injected about once every two weeks. I was taught by a registered nurse how to inject, and I follow the guidelines about what part of the thigh is safe to inject. I try to inject slowly, and I wait 5 seconds after the last bit of B12 has been pushed out of the syringe before pulling the needle back out to make sure everything is in.

The first couple years I seemed to do mostly ok, with occasional soreness that would get better with movement. I’m exactly not sure what’s different, I’m using the same cyanocobalamin. I want to be careful so that I don’t end up with permanent muscle damage. This past time, I had a bit over 3 weeks break for one of my thighs, and it still really bothered me starting around 20 minutes into my walk after injecting about 1,000 mcg with a 25 gauge needle. It feels bruised around the area I injected, but there is no visible bruising.

Thanks for your help

[Nackapan]

I've had thus in one arm particularly. At the time j wax having EOD IM .

I had restricted movement in my left arm to the point j wax referred to s physiotherapist..

I gave thd arm a 4 week break and then it was okay .

Sometimes I think its whether s nerve is hit by mistake .

I mostly do subcutaneous b12 injections now .

Since 2020.

Having one IM in my arm every 6 weeks .

Sc is just as effective .

I sometimes get a bruise but not the muscle ache .

Perhaps try that .

[ACritical in reply to Nackapan]

I now only inject subcutaneous for that reason. It works.

[Jillymo]

Hi Cobalt1312,

I was going to suggest the same as Nackapan to try subcut injections. I inject daily and thinking of trying subcut myself.

It's worth a try and would give your legs a bit of a break..

You could try using a bit of arnica gel or cream after injecting. 💐

[Regenallotment]

I had this once too, I’ve learned that if it hurts excessively more than normal the going in it’s going to hurt afterwards. I must have caught a blood vessel once in my left thigh, doing split squats in the weeks afterwards was excruciating, I had a massive bruise too and almost a dent in the leg. It has resolved a few weeks on and I am more careful about injecting straight down and into the top middle of my thigh and not off to the side. I’ve promised myself I’ll invest in SC needles and try that when I run low on current IM stocks.

[purpleabc]

I have always done SC since I had to DIY, it is painless !!! I never had the nerve to do IM. It works exactly the same because I always had IM at the GP's and had about a years worth twice a week. I always found IM uncomfortable and was thrilled when I did it myself into tummy fat and felt nothing. It definitely works the same. have done almost 200 now.

[purpleabc]

Forgot to say that I use a 30g yellow needle to inject, it is very small, and a green 21g to draw up .

[Bellabab in reply to purpleabc]

I use the same needles and inject IM using the short yellow gauge needle with no problems at all,

[GoneWithTheWind1972]

SC into the fat layer of the abdomen, away from your belly button, is generally painless for myself. I squeeze the superficial fat layer between my fingers, use alcoholic wipe, (whilst still holding the fat between my fingers) and then inject. No pain whatsoever. The IM injections into the arm via the nurse in the early days of my PA treatment were too painful, not going back to that ever again. And SC doesn’t give me any bruising either.