HELP!!! i have injectors block

Hi all,

I have been injecting avonex for 9 months now and was never nervous about doing it but all of a sudden one of the pens wouldnt go off and when it finally did i jumped and caught a vein…blood everywhere, now i have intense fear of giving the shot especially if it fails 1st time, anyone help me overcome this fear have had to ask family members to do it and im no woose!! feel like a right wimp :frowning: thanx for your time.

Sam

Dear Sam

I had the same as you. At first I could hardly bear the Avonex lance (they all laughed like drains at the Wheatsheaf, my local ms meetup) and when I was sqeamish about learning to inject on an orange there was more raucous laughter then.

Later I learned that there were others too, like you and me.

I don’t have Avonex now. I’m winging it. But when I was injecting I found it much easier injecting into my stomach. Then after a year or so of doing that someone told me it would not be as effective as it should be deep muscular.

Needless to say, I was not sad to say goodbye to it. Now I manage my ms with diet and vitamin care. How much better I would have been on Avonex is hard to say. I am declining very slowly but it is slow, as expected. Avonex ruined my Friday for five years, and this is a better alternative for me.

Mark

Hello sam, it must be awful for you to have a genuine block about this. The first thing to remember is that it was a fault in the pen which let you down. Hitting a vein was down to just bad luck as well. If the subsequent injections have been ok then perhaps you can tell yourself that it was just unfortunate and that the chances of it happening again are very remote. It’s logic over instinct I’m afraid. Easy to say but hard to carry out. In short-you can do it. Keep telling yourself that soon you will take the pen, thank your relative for their time and get on with it.

Best wishes, Steve

Hi Sam, I injected with Avonex for seven years (not the pen) and during that time like you hit a vein on three or four occasions. It wasn’t painful but I can understand your reluctance as there was quite a lot of blood that made me feel sick and dizzy. I have now been diagnosed as spms so have come off the Avonex after steady deterioration. I must say I don’t miss those weekly Friday injections. Good luck for future injections. Anne x.

Hi Sam, I took my 6th Avonex injection yesterday and I was very apprehensive as the week before, I got it in the wrong place and it hurt like hell. It took me longer than usual to hit the button and I even took the pen away after positioning to recheck over and over to make sure!! I was scared it would hurt again. I remember my Nurse telling me to check that the blue line was less visible before pressing (safety lock type thing). You are far more experienced than me, I just wanted to check xx Good luck, you will be alright, we all make mistakes with them, mine was last week and after yesterday’s success, I’m so relieved!! Sam xx

Been there done that. Is there anyone else that can do it for you for a while till you build your confidence again. It’s not nice and I had problems with avonax a few months ago, Them not going off . We worked out that it was a bad batch of injectors.I get mine delivered by healthcare at home and they are really helpfull and I have spoken to there pharmay several times. I also had a refresher with my ms nurse and got a nurse at the amblatory care unit at our hospital to sit with me once a week just to make sure I was doing it right. Remeber you are not alone we have all been there.

OMG thank you all, it is so reassuring to know im not the only one, i got my mum to do yesterdays with no problems. I have never had a fear of needles and was very proud of myself for doing them for the 1st couple of months but bang all of a sudden i have this fear and i know it is totally irrational. Thank you for the advise, i think i will get my mum or daughter to do the injections for the next few weeks to give myself a break, never know may help hahaha

Again thank you all so much for taking the time to read and reply to this big wussy :slight_smile:

Sam xx