Stelara self-injection

[novax67]

Recently switched from Remicade to Stelara because the Remicade was not working. I did the initial infusion and then first injection with a nurse instructing went great. Today did my first solo self injection and seemed fine but when I pulled out the needle I saw there was a drop of the medication on top of my skin. Just a drop, but I'm wondering what I did wrong and if I received enough of the dose to be effective for the 8 weeks. Any thoughts or advice? I don't want symptoms to start coming back before my next dose. Thanks!

 

[my little penguin]

A drop is fine
Ds has this some times
With all of the injectable biologics he has been on
As well as allergy shots and methotrexate
Not anything to worry about
Stelara does take up to 6-8 months to work and most need bridge therapy until then
Ds has been on Stelara since aug 2017
He did need it every 4 weeks though
Good luck

 

[Scipio]

Losing a drop is not a big deal. But I prevent the drug from back-flowing out of the needle track by inserting the needle slowly at about a 45 degree angle and then changing the angle of the needle slightly when it is about halfway in. This is creates a sort of zig-zag needle track that prevents or diminishes the chance of back flow. It's also slightly more painful, but the needle bore is so small in the first place that the pain is still minimal.

I've been on Stelara for over two years (8 week schedule), and so far so good in achieving and maintaining remission of my Crohn's..

 

[newdiagnosis]

Nice. Glad it is working for you all. I also sometimes notice the drop, but that is fine. I've been on it for 2 years with mostly remission; however, recently I have had a flare, although different and milder symptoms than I had before.

 

[my little penguin]

Did you self inject humira with a syringe ?
If so no different
We did my kiddos at home
The syringe is plastic like with the vial inside so it looks weird but acts like any other syringe
Stick needle /push plunger

 

[t-bone]

Lynda,

So happy you've got this problem!
(yeah, sounds weird, lol )
but i'm just glad you got approved, got the infusion under your belt, and now youre ready to home administer maintainence dosing
I'm hoping you get as much relief/healing with this medication as i ( and many others ) have

MLP covered the basics nicely above

Jannsen Pharmaceutical has an excellent resource in their nurse navigator program
( 385-881-6404 )
If you call them, they will answer any question you may have
... believe me, they are absolutley amazing folks, and they want you to succeed
They have video resources ( kinda hokey, animated~ish) that will also explain the proccess
There is also the single page insert/instruction sheet (bigger than a beach towel once unfolded, and unfolded, and unfolded and unfolded )
that comes with the syringe
.... the print is teeny tiny teeny~ish, and there's a lotta assorted lawyer speak within,but there is also some really good info with picture of suggested injection sites being the most relevant

My wife usually does mine, and i prefer thighs/butt cheeks
The key is to get it subcutaneous (under the skin) but not into muscle and absolutely NOT intravenous (into a vein)

She just locates a fatty area (i've still got a few, lol) cleans the whole area several times with alcohol wipes
She then pinches a roll of skin and comes in at a an angle of about 45*
"puposefull stab" ( don't be squemish, or crazy "powbangzoom" just purposefull stab
Slow and easy on the plunger, it'll click when it's fully depressed and all the medication has been administered
(pretty sophisticated looking doohickey)
Dispose of the needle properly in a sharps container

... viola ... you're good to go ...

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[my little penguin]

In that case your Gi nurse can train you if you want ..
They can give you practice syringes abd an orange.
They trained me for methotrexate injections 11 years ago
So after that it was all the same

 

[Scipio]

I did hundreds of injections into mice and rats when I was in grad school, so injecting into a human was not that hard for me to learn. Nevertheless I was still a little nervous when I did my first Stelara self-injection. But after the first one turned out to be easy compared to hitting the tail vein on a mouse my nervousness disappeared.

 

[my little penguin]

Did want to add the “pen “ is much harder than a syringe
Since it clicks loud ,can miss fire etc…
Much more control with a syringe

 

[t-bone]

Congratulations!

 

[my little penguin]

Woo hoo !!!
You did it !!