Wash my face.
Pet the kitties.
Put on pajamas.
Trip over the kitties.
Catch up on blogs and email.
Stick a needle in my leg.
As part of my little MS project (and also my apparent need to photograph everything - see previous post), I've taken some step-by-step photographs of what is involved in my daily injections. Needle in one hand, camera in the other; now that's multi-tasking!
What I am injecting is called a disease-modifying drug. A disease-modifying drug impacts the course of MS by slowing the progression of the disease and decreasing the number of relapses. It does not, however, eradicate my daily symptoms. It's kind of like putting a dog on a treadmill; He's not going anywhere, but he still gets tired.
Still, after a year and a half on this drug my brain scans show a significant decrease in progression. Whaa-hoo! So as disenchanted as I have become by the nightly ritual of stabbing myself with a needle, I'm grateful for what it does for me and I'm going to keep that puppy on the treadmill as long as I can.
So here is my arsenal of supplies that I sit down with every evening. The blue pouch stores everything I need in one handy place. Almost like Mary Poppins' carpet bag, though I've yet to come across any home decor items or magical measuring tapes. Instead it holds my auto injector, alcohol wipes, cotton balls and my injection log book.
My medicine is kept refrigerated and is taken out and brought to body temperature before injecting. I do this by placing the syringe under my arm pit or, as suggested by one injection training nurse, right down my cleavage. Boobs...is there anything they can't do?
My log book is where I track all my injections. It's important to properly rotate these injections to avoid skin and tissue damage. I rotate between my thighs, hips and stomach. There are multiple sites within each area and I've devised a numbering system to help me keep the injections spread out evenly from each other. I also use this book to keep notes on my symptoms, which is helpful for doctor visits and to identify what's working and what's not.
Here's my Auto Injector. This thing is a real life saver! It automatically injects my medication from the syringe without me ever having to see or handle the needle, which makes injecting a whole lot easier and much less nerve-wracking. Here's how this baby works:
The injector is two pieces and opens like so.
The red end is pushed up against the yellow end and is pushed all the way up until it clicks. This locks the spring mechanism, which pushes the plunger of the syringe down, into place.
The syringe is inserted into the other piece, needle end down.
And pushed all the way in until it clicks.
Then I screw the two pieces back together.
This is where I adjust the depth of the needle (how deep it will go into my skin). Getting the depth just right was a process of trial and error and I experienced some pretty nasty looking welts and bruises. I only wish I had thought of photographing them at the time.
Once I check the depth adjustment I'm ready to inject and I swab the area to be injected with an alcohol wipe. My
X-files bruise is still hanging around. I wish I knew what the aliens were trying to tell me!
Next I pull the red piece out, which removes the needle cap.
The needle is completely hidden!
I place the injector over the area I am injecting (taking care to avoid any veins) and push down until the white piece meets the blue piece. This unlocks the safety lock. I push the blue button at the top to release the yellow spring mechanism and begin the injection.
It typically takes between 5 and 10 seconds to fully inject. Now that doesn't sound very long, but the liquid medicine burns as it goes in and sometimes it feels like forever until I can take the needle out. I know the injection is complete when I see the red completely fill the view window.
There's my needle, which is completely visible after being removed. I disassemble the injector and dispose of the syringe in a sharps container.
I place some gentle pressure to the area with a cotton ball to stop any bleeding or oozing of the medication. If needed, a kiss from my husband can be administered to help with any pain.
This injection wasn't too bad. Just some mild redness and a pretty small lump, which will be gone in a few days.
So there is my nightly routine! I've done it 534 times and I pretty much have it down to a science. When I first started out with this treatment, Nick was giving me my injections until I was able to work up the courage to try it myself. Once I got the auto injector, however, I've been injecting on my own ever since. I really appreciate the independence it has given me and the sense of control I have over my own treatment.
Like I said, as much as doing this night after night really sucks, it seems to be making a difference. So I'll keep this routine going until something better comes along or I finally find that magic lamp with the genie inside. I've got my three wishes already picked out.
Well good morning, Mr. Storm Cloud! Was that you doing all that thundering last night? Oh, that was a marvelous thunderstorm. I thank you.
It's a chilly 52 degrees this morning and Mr. Storm Cloud is throwing down some icy hail. I like the sound of hail almost as much as I like thunder.
