Advice for making monthly injections more tolerable

My doctor prescribed lidocaine patches I put on 2-3 hours before.. they do minimize the pain.

Also a handy tip!

Another product I've only read about, but if someone has had experience with please share is called Buzzy 4 Shots. It's sold online I think. It's a device that was invented by a nurse who wanted to help ease the pain of injections for kids. It's a hand held device that I think vibrates & that slight vibration helps to reduce injection pain. Adults can use it also. There must be something about using vibration to reduce pain because I had a spinal tap once that used ultrasound. I could feel a slight vibration & it made the pain a bit more tolerable vs. having it done the usual way. Hope none of you out there have to have those!

The Buzzy 4 Shots sounds like a clever idea. It sounds like it serves as a distraction and maybe you can't distinguish between the vibrations and the needle. Maybe you don't even know when the needle goes in. I get octreotide injections every 4 weeks and even though the nurses constantly have the need to tell me it freaks them out to give me the injection because the needle is soooo big (why tell the recipient this?) I really don't have that much pain with it. Maybe they are just skilled. It's funny that I seem to feel pain more when they pull it out than when they put it in, but it's very tolerable for me. I do sometimes feel like the area is bruised for a few days afterwards when I lie on that spot so good to know heat packs may help with that. Thanks for your post.

This is all very helpful! Will try some of these suggestions. Thank you all.

Glad you found it helpful. Also good 4 you that you've had little to no injection pain. I have same reaction when they withdraw the needle. I think it definitely depends on who is administering the injection as I've found most of my nurses to be very good, but there's always that anomaly & it hurts a little bit.

I’ve been receiving Lanreotide and now Octreotide injections for several years. Levels of pain and potential injection-site swelling/pain seem very much hit or miss. Seems to vary quite a bit with even the same nurse using the same technique sometimes causing a fair amount of both pain at time of injection and post-injection and, other times, none at all. One thing that DEFINITELY seems to minimize post-injection pain and swelling is to make sure that they’re allowing enough time for the injectables to warm up. Even better if the nurse adds a bit of warmth by holding the vile in their hands for a little while right before injecting to get the injectable closer to body-temperature before injecting.

Re: the “Buzzy4Shots” thing … my dentist uses that if they ever need to numb things for a procedure. Hard to say if it really helps but I appreciate that she’s trying to make the experience less stressful.

I have found that shots go easier when I stand up and elevate the leg on the side getting the shot. The chair used has a foot rest and that is where I place my foot. Also helps when the nurse takes the full recommended twenty seconds to give the lanreotide. I sit a few minutes afterwards to get over the initial dizziness.

After two years the shots still result in four -ten days of diarrhea, brain fog and fatigue. Occasional headache and vertigo also. I just ride it out and accept that sometimes I will only get the minimum done on some days when the side effects and/or NET effects dictate that the to-do list is going to have to wait.

Yes … taking ones weight off of the leg/hip being injected definitely helps! Having had many injections (not just these Lanreotide/Octreotide shots but also allergy meds, etc.) it didn’t even occur to me to mention it. I typically try to hold the back of a chair, place my weight on the non-injection side, and lift the leg/hip to be injected so as to just rest the tip of my toes on the floor.
I’m sorry to read that you’re having such strong side-effects from your shots. That doesn’t sound fun at all!

Hello @zebraflower and @frankwc

You provided such practical ideas for making these injections more bearable! What terrific ideas offered many good tips.