Syringe Medicine
My Rheumatoid Arthritis Medicine Routine by Stephen Trevathan
My Rheumatoid Arthritis Medicine Routine
Let’s talk about drugs. Aye, that sounds weird. Let’s talk about Arthritis medicine. I’ve been on a lot of it in my short time on this earth. Not as many as some people, and I don’t consider myself an expert, but I do like to share my experiences.
When I first was diagnosed, it was simple steroid injections. After a year or so of having to drive back and forth three hours to the doctor in Seattle, we decided to get me on something that was easier on the car mileage. That’s when they started me on Methotrexate. I started with a weekly injection but I guess methotrexate on it’s own didn’t work because soon after my doctor put me on Enbrel. That worked great for me until I started having jaw problems. The Enbrel didn’t seem to help with that. So Remicade it was. Now I’m back on Enbrel. Long story attempted to be made short.
One thing that’s tough about being back on Enbrel is going back to the weekly injections. I now take Methotrexate orally, but Enbrel is still a shot. Luckily, it’s once a week instead of the twice a week shot I had to do years ago. But something about the once a week shot makes it hurt. The actual medicine that is. The needle you get used to. It just takes time.
My Rheumatoid Arthritis Medicine Routine
So here’s how it goes. Every Friday night I get out my little red sharps container, alcohol swabs and pull The Medicine out of the fridge where it’s supposed to be kept cold. My doctor recommended I let it warm to room temperature to keep the pain from the medicine at a minimum. And anything that keeps pain down is worth trying in my opinion.
I give myself the shots in my belly. It’s where I’ve had the best luck. A lot of people take their Enbrel shots in the thigh, or they have someone else give them their shot in the back of the arm. I like the belly because it’s easiest for me, but it’s all personal preference.
Sometimes icing the spot before you give the shot helps numb the skin, but I’ve been trying to cut down the time it takes me to do the shot so I’ve been skipping that step lately. The needle might pinch a bit more but it’s just another thing you get used to. Remember the alcohol swipe is always involved.
Then you have to prep the needle, which is much easier than it used to be. I used to have to mix the medicine and put it into the syringe on my own. That was a pain and I was always nervous I was going to mess it up somehow. Now it comes all ready to go and all you have to do is get rid of a little bubble. Easy as that! Then . . . You have to get up the nerve to give yourself a shot.
Also, my arm is all twisted in the picture to try to give a good view of actually giving the shot. I’m not used to posing for the camera while injecting medicine into my tummy so that was an awkward situation. The medicine goes in rather slowly. That’s kind of a bummer. And like I said earlier, it hurts. So I make this funny face.
The pain doesn’t last long, though. I usually have to give myself a couple minutes before moving on with my evening, but once the medicine is in it’s not bad at all. The needles go into my little red sharps container and then it’s done!
Sometimes I get a little red around the injection site. It usually goes away quickly, and often I’m the only one who notices it. When I was first on Enbrel I would notice a little lump where the medicine was just injected. It usually went away quicker than I could notice, but it was there. A good solution to post injection reactions are to warm a damp cotton towel and just hold it on the injection site, and that’s all there is to it! It is really pretty simple.
There’s something nice about being able to give myself my medicine instead of having to have a doctor do it for me like with Remicade or steroid injections. I can control when I do it, where I do it, and it’s over and done with in no time. Most weeks my husband doesn’t even notice I’ve done it. One night I was at work and brought it with me to do during a quick break. The point is, you make it work. And it’s really not as scary as it might seem.
Written by Lyda C.
About the Author
Stephen works for Achieve Clinical Research as an author. Located in Birmingham, AL, Achieve conducts clinical trials targeted towards specific conditions. Achieve Clinical Research provides educational tips for people who would like to know the details of participating in a clinical trial. Anyone interested in learning more can browse Achieve news to read some amazing stories from our guest bloggers.
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Tags: syringe medicine, syringe medicine bottle, syringe medicine children, syringe medicine dropper, syringe medicine spoon
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January 1, 2012 5:03 pm
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