POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: dgls44 on August 23, 2006, 11:29:30 am
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You are correct. The insulin needles are harder to inject and a bit more difficult to get rid of the bubbles. It just takes a bit of practice and you get use to it. I do prefer them to the ones that come with the kit. The 5/16 are the best but they bend very easily. Careful with them.
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I know what you mean about it being difficult to draw out the Fuzeon solution with a 30 gauge needle. I tried doing it and gave up.
Here's a solution that has worked for me.
I mix two Fuzeon vials with the same 3-cc syringe, and I save that needle to draw out the first of the two doses of Fuzeon. Then I swap needles, replacing the 23G needle with the 30G needle to do the actual injection. The shorter plunger on the 3-cc syringe makes it much easier to handle.
The second dose is a little more straight-forward. You can use a new 3-cc syringe to extract the solution and then do the needle swap as above to do the injection.
An extra benefit of this method is that by using a "virgin" needle for the actual injection, the silicone coating on the needle remains intact, which makes it easier to pierce the skin. If you use the same needle to extract the solution and do the injection, that silicone coating is removed when it pierces the rubber cap on the Fuzeon vial.
The needle swap routine requires that you re-use the 23G 3-cc syringe for the first of the two injections, but since that needle never touches your skin, this is not a problem. You just have to remember not to engage the needle guard on the 23G needle until after you extract the solution for that first dose.
This might sound complicated, but after you do it once, you'll see that it's very easy. I find that I still get injection site reactions, but they're not as bad.
Always make sure that the needle is screwed tightly to the syringe. This helps reduce or eliminate air bubbles.
I hope this helps.
Allan
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Hi D.Clark,
When I was on Fuzeon, I had switched to the 31 gauge x 5/16 needle from the needles in the kit. I did think it was harder to draw up into the needle, I can't say I noticed any more bubbles.
I was having pretty bad injection site reactions from the kit needles, and found switching to the smaller gauge did help with the lumps, and bumps.
Two things I did not like about the smaller needles was how easily they bent. And that they were not safety needles. Since my husband injected me at night, I would use the smaller needles myself, and he would use the needles from the kit.
Overall, I am glad I switched. It did help to decrease my ISR's.
Christine
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The smaller gauge needles will not bend as readily if you slightly spin the syringe and you penetrate the skin. I have never bent one, but I'm using 30ga and not 31 ga. It is actually less painful to penetrate the skin that way than just sticking it in.
I have no difficulty drawing up the Fuzeon with a 30ga needle, I just draw the plunger back very slowly, and make sure I keep the needle WELL below the surface of the Fuzeon.
Christine: The lack of a safety sleeve should not be a big issue if your husband does not attempt to re-cap the needle. Simply do the injection and drop the whole thing into a sharps container. If you feel you must recap the needle (which is STRONGLY discouraged) , make a safety shield around the cap. Take a piece of cardboard about 4x4 inches, punch a hole just big enough for the cap to slide into tightly, then hold the cap with the cardboard protecting the hand from the needle. Cheap and re-usable too.
My first Fuzeon kit came with these MONSTER 23ga needles that I wouldn't use on a horse. Now my kits are coming with Terumo2 SurGuard 27ga needles. I've injected with these in a pinch and they're not all that bad. Plus you can aspirate a 27ga needle to see if you're by chance in a vein - something you can't really do with a 30ga or smaller needle. I hate the guard though and snap it off before I use it, since it makes it harder to spin the needle.
I also inject very slowly. It takes me about 90-120 seconds to do the injection.
Reconstitution time here now !!
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