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

[pjpie]

I hate the shot! The first time my boyfriend tried to help and while reaching for the instructions , i stabbed him. The next mess up , i couldnt get the air bubble out and ended up pulling the barrel thing right out of the needle and the peg ended up on my lap the third mess up was that in pulling back i got blood, scared me sh**less , the pharm. said we cant keep replacing these, what are you doing with them anyway, I told him yeah you caught me, im actually a masochist and im saving them up for when I cant get no more cause i love to feel this way! he shut up. It was very nerve wracking but did my last on fri, thank god,

[Kristina538]

I only used my stomach (not enough fat anywhere else) and always did my shots alone and was always nervous, and always very relieved when I'd completed the procedure.

I often hit a small capilliary.  Most of the time, after the shot I would press the site with the alcohol swipe and lie on my bed for a few minutes & relax while pressing before putting the band aid on.  Doing this there was never and extra bleed apart from the small blood spot initially.

I always felt like drawing a circle around the spot I chose in front of the mirror, because away from the mirror I'd always tend to do it away from the spot I chose, and my eyesight isn't the best, let alone looking upside down to insert a needle.   Once I couldn't even find where I'd done the shot, and my son came and showed me where the 'spot' was so I could put the bandaid on lol!!    While I continued to be nervous, I was so proud of myself after each shot, and so thrilled that I was one step closer to the end.

Keep up the great work lapple;   I don't think it's a natural thing to do once weekly and your nervousness is just fine, because you're managing to get there...

[Isobella]

I like to do my shot alone as well.  Once or twice I have done it with my husband watching....just to let him see.  But my daughter will run the other way!!  She does not want to see that, lol!!

I was getting rough patches on my abdomen also.  I switched to the outer area-like right above my hip-for a while.  And used lots of moisturizer.  Of course that just made my smiley face treatment tatto fade that much quicker.  But the peace sign on my hip is coming along nicely!

Fortunately I have lots of areas to chose from that would make good injection sites.  Must be all the ice cream.

Just because we get used to doing it, doesn't mean we are ever gonna like it.  

[Marc1955]

I look forward to my weekly shot. It means I'm one week closer to the end and I'm doing something proactive to beat the virus. I'm not in a position to give very good advice on your specific situation since I don't do the Neup. My Pegasys needles are very small. There's hardly any sensation at all when I stick one in and no bleeding afterwards. Sounds like the neup is more the problem for you.

But man you must be skinny! I don't really have enough fat on my thighs to do the injection there, but I don't have any trouble at all with my navel area. I can raise a fold of fat for injection really easily. Do you have killer abs? (joke) I generally choose an injection site approximately 1.5-2" on either side of my belly button and sightly below.

I do have hair loss and discoloration at the injection site. I find really swabbing the area with alcohol afterwards helps and I use moisturizer in between injections. Of course I use that just about everywhere. The area is a little scaly, but it's nothing terrible. FYI, I'm in week 53.

I always do my injection privately. I can't imagine it would be a nice thing for my wife to watch. I've definitely found that I need to take my time. Hope that helps.