I keep injecting into the wrong spot. Usually how I know is it feels harder to push the plunger down on the syringe. And I bleed a little upon removal. How I find the spot is I feel different spots on my leg to see if it flexs, I find the spot and mark it. Disinfect it and inject. Usually turns out fine but these past two times I’ve been bleeding and harder to press down the syringe (as stated) and I don’t know what to do.
Is this IM? Into the thigh?
I’ve never had any issues picking a spot the outer third of my thigh. The plunger giving resistance is normal because the liquid is thick oil.
There’s definitely just some variance in terms of how much it bleeds and whether it hurts. I haven’t really noticed any pattern in terms of injection site; I think there are a lot of factors. Holding the vial and maybe rolling it between your hands can help warm up the liquid, which makes it a little bit easier to both draw and inject.
The needle size will affect these things too – the thinner the injection needle the less blood I’ve seen, but then it takes a little longer to inject. Do you know what gauge you’re using to inject with?
I found the whole process very stressful for the first several weeks, but eventually it just became routine!
I’m no doctor, so bring your grain of salt to this comment.
If you’re running into some pressure when initially pushing the needle in, by my experience, that can be expected from time to time. I try really hard to ensure my muscles are relaxed when injecting, but sometimes it’s a little harder to do the initial push.
If you’re running into some pressure when pushing the plunger to actually inject (which is what your post says), there could be a few things happening:
-
you might be hitting old scar tissue from previous injections. If you’re doing your thigh, make sure you’re switching legs each week and not picking the same spot each time.
-
what’s your needle gauge? I have good luck with 22G. If you’re using something smaller, the fluid is going to have a hard time making its way in. I wouldn’t go bigger than 20G though, especially if you’re worried about bleeding.
-
what’s your needle length, and (putting this the kindest way possible) how thick are your thighs? Your needle might be the wrong length for your body type. My partner uses 1 inch needles, but I use 1.5 inch (for gluteus injections). Length matters.
While sitting and I see the position like on the toilet if you’re doing this in the bathroom or whatever, while looking down visually divide what you can see of your upper leg into thirds in both the vertical and horizontal directions like a tic-tac-toe board.
If it is your right leg then we’re going on the right side left leg then the left side but both of them will be in that middle outer Square of the tic-tac-toe board. 90° angle to the skin and unflex which is why you should do it in a seated position if possible.
as @BassaForte asked: is this IM or subq, and where are you injecting?
I inject subq in thighs and abdomen and sometimes I hit some kind of blood supply.
It usually hurts more when injecting, is harder to push in, and blood comes out of the injection site. Yesterday when I injected, when I first put the needle in, it hurt and was bleeding, so I stopped pushing it in, pulled it out, and injected somewhere else nearby (after a breather, it’s extremely mentally difficult for me at that point).
I’m not sure there is a way to know whether you’ll hit a blood supply or not - I need to learn more about this as well. I have read the suggestion that you can learn generally where the blood supply is or not, but I’m not sure I have noticed any pattern, it seems a bit random to me.
