Hi, my partner has to have twice daily blood thinning injections following his hospitalisation in December last year for severe pulmonary embolism. I have been doing them, but I am not a nurse and sometimes they seem to really hurt whilst other times he says that wasn't bad. Does anyone have any tips for how to do it better? I was told to do them in his stomach and it looks awful now... big angry bruises, and hard areas underneath the surface that I have to avoid. The oncologist just says yes that's fine, carry on. Sometimes his upbeat and positive attitude really annoys me and I think You have a go then if you think it's all so easy! I keep asking whether he can switch to tablets and he keeps saying no but this twice daily stress on top of everything else is horrible and I start dreading doing it long before it is due...
Thank you everyone on this forum. Reading others' stories really helps me as does having a safe space to rant and complain... love to you all xx
Hello Lady in a van
I had to do the same injections for 30 days following my surgery. The injections are not nice!
I found the best way was to hold a bit of flesh between finger and thumb, not too tight, just enough to keep it still, and then slowly push the needle in at about a 45 degree angle and to leave for a couple of seconds and then pull it back out slowly. The actual fluid that comes out will sting however you do it but I found doing it more controlled and slowly was better. It will bruise pretty much however you do it. I had horrendous bruising and it did get progressively worse. Try and alternate sides, avoid near belly button and too low down. Avoid putting in the same place twice- not easy I know. Could try holding an ice cube against skin to numb. I arranged to do my injections first thing in the morning so I wasn't anticipating and worrying about them all day- but I see you have to do twice a day. I was told that I could use the back of my upper arms or side of my thighs as well- but that is something you would have to check with your doctor. I did try on my thighs a couple of times when my tummy was really bruised but I found that more painful.
I hope this helps, I am not a nurse but this worked for me and made it bearable until I could stop them. At my 6 weeks post op check I still had angry looking black/purple bruising all over my tummy and it did take a while to go. I also found the more you do it did accumulate a bit as when the needle goes in , you hold yourself tense which hurts the original bruising. I did use arnica gel on my tummy to help with bruising- I am not sure how much it helped but maybe worth a try. You would have to check first though with his doctor to be on the safe side.
Jane
HI Lady In A Van
I had to administer Dalteparin injections to my husband after he developed blood clots in his lungs post surgery so I can empathise with what you are experiencing. I was told to do the injection on alternate sides to try to minimise the scarring and bruising. My husband was reluctant to let me do that , insisting that I do it on the same side day in day out. He's terrified of needles so even getting near him to give him the injection was a challenge most days. Through time the skin did go hard but I believe that was scar tissue forming under the skin.
Might be worth checking how long your husband is to take these injections for and whether they would advise moving to an oral blood thinner. My reason for saying this is that they left my husband on the Dalteparin for too long and he developed osteoporosis in his spine as a result. Apparently its a known side effect of some blood thinners.
Hope this has helped a little.
love n hugs
Wee Me xx
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