MetaChat - Omg! Needle!

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13 February 2006

Omg! Needle! This is a panicking thread. Mr. taz has been to the doc regarding back (and finger) problems (I posted about yesterday), and has just phoned to give me an update... in which he informs me that I'm going to have to give him injections. Oye, oye, oye. I'm kind of freaking!

post by: taz at: 05:56 | 26 comments

Not that I'm so scared of needles that I can't handle having a shot myself; not really a problem... But, yeesh... there's a reason I never, ever considered medicine as a career choice. I'm sure I'll rise to the challenge, but... oh, wow - this just isn't a challenge I ever expected to have to rise to. eek.

posted by taz 13 February | 05:58

You can do it. I had to learn to give myself shots and it was easier than I'd thought. Remember, for some reason, the strength you need will come to you when you need it.

posted by mmahaffie 13 February | 06:25

He will never, ever dare piss you off. Ever.

posted by dodgygeezer 13 February | 06:30

heh. Good point! - But... left to my own devices, I think I would have chosen a blunter instrument of subjection.

posted by taz 13 February | 06:38

My mother was a receptionist for a doctor a few years ago, and he recruited her to give out allergy shots. She was terrified. She practiced on oranges until she felt confident enough to try humans!

posted by iconomy 13 February | 07:33

Do you get the opportunity for some supervised practice before you start injecting? I recall my sister telling me that, as a student nurse, she & her classmates had their first attempts wielding needles directed at a life-sized dummy they called ‘Mrs Jones-Davies’ before they were let loose on real people…

posted by misteraitch 13 February | 07:50

Here you go: whether it’s to be subcutaneous, venipunctual, or soft-tissue joint injection, these people have just what you need. Not knowing how to phrase my search also led me this vendor, whose rather alarming product-line includes impalable dummies and ‘blast victim dummies’ with ‘with the provision to remove two limbs, one arm and one leg…’ Ugh, I hate injections: here’s hoping Mr Taz makes such a strong recovery that very few of them will be needed.

posted by misteraitch 13 February | 08:28

Whoa. I hope you're both doing better soon! Calcium will help keep those tendons flexible. Bananas are great for calcium and potassium.

Maybe someone can teach or help you, as others have said. Good luck and I hope it's not needed long! I hope V has some, I dunno... fleshy area that you can just shut your eyes and stick without worries or something. Ugh.

posted by shane 13 February | 08:39

Just keep telling yourself and Mr. Taz: "Someday, there'll be a dermal patch..."

posted by Smart Dalek 13 February | 08:43

I guess you're forgiven for not posting BunTarots. For now.
;-)

posted by shane 13 February | 08:47

I've always been so blase about it (having given trillions) it's kind of strange contemplating a different attitude.

I'm presuming these will be intramuscular and they'll either be for pain relief or antibiotics.

I suppose they could be like insulin with subdermal/subcutaneous in which case you'll pinch skin together on the stomach and inject between the folds.

If it's muscular I swear to you that you'll be doing Mr taz a favour if you do the 'dart' entry part as fast as you can - don't be tentative, seriously. Fast = less pain.

I know it's Greece but really, you shouldn't be made to do this without being shown by the Doc. Kick up a bit of stink if the intention is to leave you to your own devices.

You'll be fine. You will be fine because the better you compose yourself and apply yourself to the (very very simple) task, the more you will be helping Mr taz.

Be thankful you don't have to bring him a bedpan I guess ;- )

posted by peacay 13 February | 09:03

ho! Bedpan I wouldn't even mind at all! I'm still composing myself for practice with the needle... and will keep you guys updated.

For these past couple of hours, I've been organizing the living room into the "bed rest" room (for at least the next couple of weeks), and, honestly, I'm almost at my last nerve already, because Mr. taz is one of these great, handy take-care-of-it-all kind of guys - and just struggling to keep him from trying to help with all the stuff I'm doing is making me nuts.

I had a really heavy coffee table to move, a huge television, etc. - but, I can figure out how to do these things on my own. How to keep him from trying to help is much harder.

So... Here are the details so far (just on the back problem thing - the finger problem is a whole 'nother beast, with other attendant problems):

The stuff I'm supposed to inject is: thiocolchicoside

When: once a day

Where: that would be the butt, Bob

How does that sound to you medical type persons?

posted by taz 13 February | 09:23

choose buttock.

draw imaginary cross on buttock to divide into equal parts.

choose upper, outer quadrant.

draw up shtuff, expel air (little bit don't hurt).

hold syringe a bit like a pen and towards the sharp end, but a tad looser than you hold a pen.

Aim, from no more than say 4 inches from skin.

Plunge with graceful swiftness to 3/4 the length of the needle part.

Inject junk smoothly but not too fast.

Take out needle. swab (again) - if you are swabbing with eg. alcohol. Maybe rub/kneed the injection site for 20 secs or thereabouts to smooth any pain, warm the area up thus circulating shtuff easier and to reassure ~~target~~ patient.

Kiss on cheek.....you choose which.

Change buttocks next time.

(sounds like a cool drug actually - I looked it up, but I don't know it)

posted by peacay 13 February | 09:38

You're an angel, peacay!

posted by taz 13 February | 09:42

it's to ease the pain? just focus on that while you do it maybe?

(or pretend there's a fly in the room, and slap him at the same time you inject it?) : >

posted by amberglow 13 February | 09:42

no more than say 2 inches from skin

posted by peacay 13 February | 09:42

amber, it's evidently to relax the muscles and reduce inflammation... which will probably also, yes - ease the pain, hopefully. So I will focus on that.

peacay, 2 inches sounds much more congenial to me!

(I'm campaigning for not giving the first shot 'til tomorrow. I want to practice a lot!)

Also, there's some interesting stuff to be said about the difference in medical care, in terms of U.S. vs. Greece, but I don't have time to talk that much at the moment. I'll bring it up later, though.

posted by taz 13 February | 10:04

Today's Bunny Tarot is ... The Sharp Pointy Thing!

posted by matildaben 13 February | 10:37

I've never done it either and if I had to I would also be freaking out, probably way more than you, so you are not alone. However a friend of mine has to give his wife daily injections for some skin disease she has and he says that, while he was wigged out about it at first, it really didn't take long before it was second nature and now he's all like, roll over hon, time for a shot, wham, okay, done: practically without even looking.

posted by mygothlaundry 13 February | 10:38

taz, I'd offer you my butt for practice, but I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea... :-)

posted by WolfDaddy 13 February | 11:20

it's a shame they don't give you a dart gun, then you could turn it into a game.

posted by dodgygeezer 13 February | 11:33

Well, I've given my first injection!

I practiced on an apple 'til it was squirting water out of a couple dozen piercings.

Anyway... by the time I squared up to do the real thing, I was so irritated with the object of my affection (and the object of the needle), I was kind of looking forward to giving him a poke. I actually kind of messed up, a bit, by beginning to depress the plunger a little too soon, but I think I will have the hang of it now.

At any rate, he said he didn't feel a thing, so... Whew.

posted by taz 13 February | 13:06

Hooray for taz! One more skill to add to your list of superpowers.

posted by jrossi4r 13 February | 13:45

"Hey!" I said to myself, "Look, junkies do this shit all the time - and half the time they're a lot more drunk than you are."

;)

posted by taz 13 February | 14:12

Yay, taz!

posted by deborah 13 February | 16:19

I'm so proud of you! I really am! Go taz!

posted by Specklet 13 February | 19:17

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