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EPO Shots

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 5:01 pm
by anne
Hello, I give my fiance his shots twice a week and am not that great at it. sometimes poking him twice (yikes! does not make him very happy with me, but when he pulls away it makes me pull away too!) any advice on how to make this as painless as possible for him. (besides don't poke him twice!) thanks, anne

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:51 pm
by JMan
Consider an EPO 'pen' with needle hider?

Get him to do it himself.. Then he's in control.

what i do

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 9:54 pm
by christineDC
pinch the skin so the fat is raised up. try to go where you know you've gone before successfully. i find if it is painful at first stick it's going to continue to be painful so I jab around.

I feel the pain

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:03 am
by nycpetit
LOL...hmm..where do you do it? I find there are places on my thigh that are bad, and places that are good. When you sit down...I find that the top fattiest part of my leg (sounds like a side of beef) is the easiest part to pinch up..and never, ever straight down with the needle...always a forty-five degree angle going in...straight down is way to painful, I think I hit something once...I wore a bruise for two months..seriously....

pinching the skin up really helps and the angle...try not to choose a part with a lot of muscle, fat is easier to jab....

have him grab or bite a pillow to offset the initial shock of the needle..the problem with this stuff is that it is so thick that you can't go too fast when in injecting...

but...this stuff is a wonder drug if there ever was one...a godsend..truly

Re: EPO Shots

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:14 am
by LadySycamore
anne wrote:Hello, I give my fiance his shots twice a week and am not that great at it. sometimes poking him twice (yikes! does not make him very happy with me, but when he pulls away it makes me pull away too!) any advice on how to make this as painless as possible for him. (besides don't poke him twice!) thanks, anne
Hello anne.

How much EPO is he taking? If he is taken a relatively small dosage (like 10,000 units or less), he can use an insulin needle. That's what I've been using. The "shorts" hurt much less than a regular sized syringe. Also, since EPO isn't the type of medication that needs to go into a vein, you can ask the doc for some "freezing spray" that numbs the area that you are going to inject. It has helped me in the past:

GEBAUER'S ETHYL CHLORIDE® :
http://www.drugs.com/PDR/Gebauer_s_Ethyl_Chloride.html

Hope that helps. Good luck! 8) :wink:

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:16 am
by oldborris
I can't for the life of me see what all the fuss is about. My epo shots are delivered while on dialysis but, on occasion, when the nurse forgets it, it is injected directly into my upper arm, just beneath the shoulder. It's only the tiniest of pin pricks

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 9:13 am
by Rik
have you tried using emla cream ... its a geat cream to numb the area before needling ... this coming from a man who is a toatl needlephobe!!
I dont know what I would have done without it when I was on HD ...

http://www.emla-us.com/

so what if it was designed for kids .. we men are all kids at heart ;)

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 9:19 am
by JMan
While I tend to agree with oldborris re the subcutaneous EPO shots, (and this does mean, under the skin, so no need to go *all* the way in) I'm aware that some people have a real phobia of needles and a very low pain tolerance level.

I've realised that my EPO 'pen' has a couple of features that I don't use.. One is the ability to set the 'depth' the needle goes in. http://www.roche.de/pharma/indikation/n ... 33aae94699 shows this device with settings for 8 and 11 mm

I actually inject into the soft flesh to one side of my belly, as this is given as one of the options in the handbook that came with my pen. Just reaslised I forgot to say that the RecoPen is made by Roche and distributed by Boeringer Mannheim:) It does of course depend on which brand of EPO your manufacturer prescribes (Neo-Recormon, Eprex, or the newer Aranesp)

Of course we are all waiting for the needleless injection system http://www.carouselmed.com/AdvantaJet.asp to become widespread (hey it works for insulin, why not EPO:))

However at around 600 USD (about 330 quid) I can't see the NHS splashing out on too many of those..

EPO Shots

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:21 am
by R30
Hi Anne
In response to your query, I have an EPO pen (made by Roche) upon which I can set the depth the needle actually goes in. It is completely painless and I do this (as do others) in the skin on my belly - as there's rather too much of it!
I personally prefer using this system as I can't see the needle going in (the depth cap is a needle hider) and can also set my dose etc. myself - this adds to the feeling of having some control over my anaemia.
Hope this helps.
Ruth

EPO shots

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:49 pm
by Elaine
Hi just been reading all msges and comments bout EPO injections.
As Jman sed some people really do hav phobias or issues bout needles, pain etc psychological issues. :?
Every1 is an individual and should be assessed on each persons requirements etc. :roll: Be gr8 to see the pen with no needles as Jman indicated although yeh sure cost be major issue within NHS in UK. I know my daughter uses the needle guard as hates to see the needle but has overcome her fear by doing her own EPO injections. :wink: :roll:


Any medical advances that mean less pain for patients is very welcome ;)

best wishes Elaine UK;) :)

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:38 pm
by anne
hi, thanks for all the info. i have checked out both sites (epo pen and the numbing creme). i usually give randy his shot in his upper arm in the back "fatty" part. i'm not sure what kind of epo, i'll look when i get home tonight, but it's supposed to not burn as much as some. hopefully randy will be able to do his own some day, but the one and only time he did it, it took him about 45 minutes to finally stick the needle in! i guess he's used to shots, it's just giving it to himself that he has a problem with. how long does it usually take to feel the benefits of this medicine? randy is still really tired most of the time, he has been on the shots about 4 weeks. thanks again everyone. have a great day! anne

Shooting up:)

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:43 pm
by JMan
Hi Anne,

can take a while for EPO to work but after 4 weeks he should be feeling some effect IMO..

Ask about his 'ferritin' (iron in the blood) levels as iron is also need to allow the body to produce red blood cells and it can't do this without enough iron, not matter how much EPO it gets:)

Right.. off to have my EPO before I go to bed:)

8)

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 1:52 am
by Rachel in NY
Have him learn to give it to himself. As hard as it is, and as scared as he is, it WILL make it easier! Its not the actual prick that people are afraid of, its the "anticipation" of the injection - not knowing the actual second when you're gonna be jabbed, etc.

I've been giving myself injections since I was 8 years old. I started out with my mom giving them to me - and within a week I was doing it myself. When I give it to myself, I am in control. I know when the prick is gonna happen, I am aware of the entire process and it just makes a world of a difference.

my opinion anyway...

Good luck,

~Rachel

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 5:59 pm
by LadySycamore
oldborris wrote:I can't for the life of me see what all the fuss is about. My epo shots are delivered while on dialysis but, on occasion, when the nurse forgets it, it is injected directly into my upper arm, just beneath the shoulder. It's only the tiniest of pin pricks
Then you obviously have never had to deal with either needle phobia or low tolerance to pain. I don't particularly like needles, and my phobia has long wore off, but the pain is still an issue. I have diabetic neuropathy, and that tends to make someone more sensitive to pain, temparature, etc.

So the "tiniest of pin picks" feels like much more in some cases. As far as EPO and my insulin, no problem. I use the "shorts" for the EPO and an insulin pen, which is practically painless. But, IV needles still hurt like the devil.

Everyone is different regarding tolerances. Peace.

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:15 am
by LuLu2004
I agree with all the others who advise him to learn how to stick himself. It's often so much better when you are in control of your own pain and relief. When I give myself EPO shots it hurts so much less than when others do it.

HI RACHEL!!! I LEFT YOU A PM!