Hi georgiagirl,
My daughter had to do bicillin shots. It was difficult and painful for her all the time, but she bravely did it. She had a shot twice a week (every three and a half days, we chose to do it Monday mornings, and Thursday evenings). She is petite, only 90 lbs., but this is what I can remember doing to help her get through it:
--Take the pre-loaded syringe out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before injection, to let the medicine warm up and be like room temp. It is very thick med. and will go in better if not so cold.
--before giving the shot, numb the area first----you can use ice packs on the area (protect from ice burn though) for a little while, maybe 15 min., or use a numbing cream like "Emla" on the area for an hour before the shot (ask doc for a prescrip. for it)
--Lay on stomach and try to keep the hip/butt muscle Relaxed so it won't hurt so much when injected. One time use right side for injection, next time use left side. Don't use the exact same injection site each time.
--Sometimes, before giving the injection, we would get rid of any air bubbles in the bicillin med
--A nurse told us that immediately after inserting the needle, you can pull back a tiny bit on the plunger, to make sure you are not in a blood vessel (no blood should come back into syringe). Ask a nurse to instruct you properly on how to give injections.
--Inject the med Slowly. For my daughter, Each injection took about 2-3 minutes to complete. The person giving the injection needs to keep their hand completely still, steady, while giving the shot.
--My daughter would listen to music during the injection, using headphones, to distract her attention off the pain of the shot.
--After the shot, try to walk around and move the muscle, even though it may hurt to do so. It will help the pain dissipate faster.
My daughter had injections for about 12 weeks. She was always sore. We have heard others say they did not have this much pain, so I hope it goes well for you. The only major symptom to go away was her joint pain, and it has not come back.
Best wishes to you. Hope this helps. bablymers mom
Post Edited (bablymers) : 3/18/2009 7:35:08 PM (GMT-6)