Humira injection question

[Guest guest]

When I gave myself the injection this time there was a little blood at the site when I pulled out the needle. This is the first time this has happened since I began several months ago. I follow the instructions as demonstrated by the nurse in my doctor's office, and she didn't mention anything about the possibility of puncturing a blood vessel. In the video that came with the medication that I watched before the first time I used it by myself, it said to pull the plunger back a bit to see if blood came out, and if it did then one should not inject that shot. Since the nurse didn't mention it, and I abhor the idea of just throwing out a $600 injection (not to mention my HMO would frown upon it...), I followed her instructions rather than the video. Does anyone throw it out and start over?

Wondering if something bad might happen...

Deborah

[Guest guest]

Hi Deborah:

I have been on Humira for over a year and sometimes I notice that I have a drop of blood after I pull out. I don't worry about it - and I'm not sure you're supposed to restick yourself after you've done it once. You should ask the nurse for sure, though.

gloria

[Guest guest]

Always pull the plunger to make sure you are not in a blood vessel.

Blood at the injection site does not necessarily mean the tip of the

needle was in a blood vessle, merely that the needle passed through a

vein. If you inject directly into a vein or artery you can have a

severe allergic reaction, even life threatening. If you do see blood

when you pull back the plunger, just pull the needle out and reinsert

it, or even pull it out partway and change the angle a bit and

reinsert it and pull the plunger again. If you don't see blood, it

is safe to inject. You don't have to throw away the meds.

I don't have to give myself injections, but I do sometimes give my

husband his insulin injections, and I give all my horses their

shots. I saw someone kill a horse one day by injecting penicillin

directly into a vein. The horse went into anaphalactic shock and

died in less than a minute. It made a believer out of me in a hurry.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone, for all replies! I will definitely check with the nurse or pharmacy before my next dose.

After some consideration, it seems unlikely that I struck an actual vein since I have a lot of ... ummm... shall we say... "padding" in that area! lol! After reading the latest Newsweek cover story (How Fat Cells Are Waging War on Your Health) and the relationship between fat, inflammation, and the immune system, I will be redoubling my efforts to lose that extra cushion!

Pax,

Deborah

[Guest guest]

Deborah,

I don't take the same drugs you do, but with MS I give myself a

Copaxone injection daily. It's one of the ABC drugs for MS as they

call them.

It is not unusal for me to hit a vein/blood vessel as I have lots of

fine ones near the surface. It can cause a bruise or make the area

tender for 3 or 4 days, but as far as I know there's not any actual

harm that is caused by it.

I would ask the nurse, as I saw you decided to do after all the

other replies, but you probably will not have to throw away the

expensive injection. I have not been prone to infection at the

injection site as many others have. In our instruction they give us

7 sites on the body to use and we are supposed to use a different

one every day of the week. I use my stomach area more often than

once a week without any harm(so far) as it hurts the least. They

also recommend numbing the injection site with ice before the actual

injection. Will that work for you?

I don't have to use muscle though. Is this a muscle injection? I

have one other question as well. Since this injection costs so much,

is it the RA treatment they call " gold? "

You have my empathy and support.

Blessings,

Nita