shot fear, still nervous before giving my shots

[lalapple]

i always do my shot in the area under the navel (always avoided the thigh and other fat area for fear of hitting a muscle or sore legs).  already passed the halfway mark with Pegasys/Riba!  take that and add it to the # of Neup shots i've also given to myself i've probably given myself around 60 syringe shots so far during tx under the bellybutton.  

ironically though, i still feel nervous with each upcoming shot i give myself.. i hesitate with picking the area to give the shot, sometimes, i have trouble picking areas where there are enough fat, have trouble sticking the needle in (esp the Neup bc i have to draw the drug out of a vial) and end up hitting a capillary or two and getting sore after the shot.  my skin seems slightly rougher and more difficult to poke through since tx maybe bc it's been poked so many times.  it feels like i have to be mentally prepared for the "self-shot-giving" procedure.  i've had some good shots where it didn't hurt or bleed.  but other times, it's the total opposite.  soreness usually doesn't last past 3 hrs, tiny bleeding from hit capillaries don't last past 15 min.

also, i figured that if i give my shot alone without anyone watching, i take my time, do a better job and end up with less pain and sometimes no bleeding at all.  but i tend to "mess-up" more often when someone is watching me taking my shot.. i guess it's bc i get more nervous.

am i the only one feeling this way?  
maybe i'm thinking too much, i tend to do that a lot.

thanks

[epiphiny]

I always do my shot sitting on the couch next to my husband...  It started that way cos I had to get him to help me judge the correct entry angle and now it's just become par for the course.  I quite like him being there but I don't think he feels the same way!

I use the same method jim mentioned, rotating around my belly under my tummy button.

Have always wondered why we shouldn't inject in the waist line, could anyone explain why not?

[portann]

Wow, you're more than halfway through treatment, nervous about your injections or not!  

Better nervous than negligent. Maybe being nervous shows how seriously you take your treatment and that you always want to do them right.

I'm impressed you can't easily do your injections in your thighs. That's a slimness I kissed good-bye a while ago. I'd happily do my injections in my stomach if I could say goodbye to the little pear in my life.

Sorry I missed your thread until now but I'm thrilled you're so far along.

[Trinity4]

I'm consider myself a brave soul too and my hands have shook while injecting from day one.  I had to stab myself three times when I took my first Neupogen shot because I shook the needle right of my tummy and it's tiny needle too!  I had been injecting peg for 8 months so why in the world did that make me more nervous?   I know it's a mental thing but I can't seem to get past it.  So I'll just shake my way through 7 more months and as long as I hit the right body part I'm a happy girl.
Trin

[Isobella]

LOL!  I get that pause time, too. It's like I'm aiming.  But I have no hand-eye coordination-so I inject where ever it lands.

Once in the beginning my hand was shaking so much that I pulled it out halfway thru injecting.  Not good.

[Marc1955]

Mekea – Did you start in October? If the course of your treatment is like mine, then you're in the high weeds now. I couldn't believe how rough it was at that point. But my pharmacist, who has a ton of experience, told me that it often gets more tolerable and for me it did.

So what I wanted to say is, you might be able to exercise before the treatment ends. You need to be very slow and gradual in taking it up. And of course you won't be doing the kind of extreme things you did before. But it's easy to imagine a point when you can work up to 20 minutes on an exercise bike. In my experience, this kind of exercise makes a huge difference in your energy level. I go to the gym every morning for my wimpy little routine. But it's the only thing that gives me the energy and clear head to get through the day. Also,  I find resistance weight work the easiest exercise to do. I think you can easily do too much aerobic exercise and exhaust yourself. You might want to get yourself some small weights and give it a try. My nurse used to say "I know you feel like total ****, but if you can get to the gym you'll feel better." He was right.

[jmjm530]

Are you selling tickets on shot night :) I don't remember ever having an audience while doing an injection although I offered to let a friend watch me do a B12 injection in my thigh (now that's a BIG needle) once but he declined, but I'm rambling...

If you prefer the belly area, you should be able to rotate multiple areas so basically the same skin is only pierced once every 4-6 weeks. Using the Belly Button as line I did upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left, left love handle, right love handle. Pinching the skin helps with the target if not much fat. Just make sure you don't inject along the waist line or into or near the belly button, but above or below that line is fine.

Then you have the outer thighs which women tend to have more meat on then men.