What am I doing wrong?

[Popcorn12345]

My injections are getting harder to do. For some reason they are getting more painful the more I do them and they are sometimes hard to insert for some reason. Like it's having trouble getting through the tissue. What am I doing wrong?

[Treesong2023]

perhaps you could describe your way of doing it...? step by step...? and what things you use..? Otherwise its a guessing game.

But you can check on YouTube as well.

There are literally dozens of SC and IM guidance vids there.

[Star13]

I suspect you are tensing up because you are expecting it to hurt or be hard to inject as you have described. Then it is so you prove to yourself that you were right to be scared and the problem just gets worse.

You need to try and relax and go back to basics. Give yourself plenty of time and remember to breeeathe!

[wedgewood]

Are you using as fine a needle as possible ? For I.M. I suggest 26G x 1 inch needle ( medisave ) For subcut 30G x 1/2 inch . Sub-cut is also possible with an even shorter needle like ones that are used for insulin injections

Another possibility is using a numbing cream before injecting ( Amazon )

Being utterly relaxed is important , but anticipation of pain is hard to overcome .

You now have lots of suggestions to consider . Good luck .

[Lowbattry03]

Can I make some surgestions. I am new to this and have been uncomfortable with needles all my life so it has taken me some time to get comfortable with self injecting.

1) to pinch or to not pinch the skin. I was shown to hold the skin between two fingers when inserting the needle, but I found it was more comfortable for me to not pinch the skin. Maybe because I am more relaxed.

2) swapping sides? I do it in my tummy, 3 fingers distance away from the belly button and swap sides. I found that one side would be more uncomfortable than the other and took longer to recover, so I used that side less, as time has gone on I found that I can take it in turns between the two sides. Maybe have a think where it is more comfortable, try not to over use that area and if it hurts in one place- move a few mm to the side and see if that helps?

3) Relaxing is key, but not easy to do, so I set everything up and sit in front of the tv. Once the needle has pierced the skin, I just sit there and watch tv for a few seconds and I find the needle will go in all the way by itself without me thinking about it. I then push the plunger slowly, it probably takes me a good 1-2 mins but the slower I go the less I feel and if I watch tv or have a conversation it like it does it itself, because I am more relaxed.

If you’re not going to be 100% focused like me ~ make sure you’re 100% set up, no air in needle etc. I have done it for nearly 6 months know and it’s become quite routine.

You can try it in your leg, I did not get on with that. But would read up about different places you can do it.

So check you have the best needles for the job, and go slow, it’s not a race. If it takes you 10 mins it takes 10 mins. I am sure it took me that long when I first started 😂

You got this! Hope sone of these suggestions help

[Wheat]

hello, I've found injections can be painful for example if over a nerve or blood vessel.

Unfortunately ive areas where the skin is tough and I cannot insert the needle. Over use of the site causes the skin to toughen. Rotating is important.

I posted like you that injections were becoming increasingly awful and painful, to the point I dreaded them .  Narwhal10 replied, advising me to stretch the skin before injecting. This advice worked. x

[westwalessupport]

Have you changed the needle size, ? that what was wrong when i had the same problem. I also found that by making the area cold first ( wet flannel ) helped a lot.

[Nackapan]

Probably nothing .Perhaps over thinking process. 🤔

I always muck something up if overthink it

[shellywidga]

I had this very issue at the beginning. My nurse told me, always use two needles, one to draw up the B12 and then change to a new one to inject. She said that sometimes it blunts the needle in the vial slightly. May not sound like a lot but it has definitely worked for me.

[annmarierodnes]

I scratch/tickle and area of skin near my injection point as this sensation reaches my brain before pain does and really helps me. I switched from IM to SC recently, injecting every day at the moment to cope with fatigue and bad moods, and sort of coping with all the pressure.

[Bellabab]

Maybe a daft question but you are using a new needle every time you inject I hope?

[Gobbozoid]

only thing I’d like to add, is maybe your blunting the needle when filling it with b12? Is the tip hitting inside the vial whilst you are filling it? Or do u swap needle tips?

[TroyNZ]

I had a similar issue. I mentioned it to my doctor, he said "try injecting in a different area". It worked.

[Treesong2023]

I cough before i do my SC injection. Works for me folks.

[Mixteca]

I use a 23G x1 needle for IM. I cough and I stretch the skin. If you IM, go to the pinned posts and look for the one about injection technique from Nursing Times. Clear explanations with diagrams. It's still painful at times, mostly because I've issues with tightness/pain/tension in my muscles. It was fine before this developed.

[Hereformyhealth]

I find if I am sitting with a more slumped posture, it can hurt more than if I sit upright and lean forwards a bit (this is injecting into my tummy).

[Myoldcat]

Funnily enough I started to struggle around the same timeframe... I inject SC; changed to the finer yellow needle and followed advice from a kind person here to scratch the tummy to find a more numb spot, then aim for that. Also pop the radio on as a distaction. Now it's become boring rather than worrisome which I take as a win!😄