Hypodermic injections and some folks

In My Humble Opinion
1

Do you remember your first “shot?”

I’m not sure I do.

I know I didn’t like 'em.

While it was a great holiday season, and started out as a great year (and I hold out high hopes), on the evening of the 2[sup]nd[/sup], I fell and broke a rib. I knew what it was (being my 4th broken rib) and so, knowing that they generally don’t really do anything about a broken rib unless it’s actually broken in two*, I didn’t bother with doing anything about it until today.

Finally, at lunch today, the pain had me wondering if I hadn’t possibly bunged up something else - and - I thought, “WTF, I’ve got insurance; maybe they’ll drug it.”

So I dropped in at the ER, they x-rayed it, and sure enough, another cracked rib. So they asked me if I was driving, or was being driven. I had to answer truthfully that I was driving myself, and the doc told me that determined what painkiller he was going to give me.

Wonder what la-la-land I’d be in if I’d lied?

So they gave me a shot of something described as a non-steroid steroidal, in the bum, and it felt like a bug sting.

It did, actually, make me feel better.

And a 'scrip for some hydrocodone. I feel much better now.
But it made me recall an incident when I was young. At the pediatrician’s office. I must have been about 4, and I knew, that since she usually came to our house, a visit to her place probably meant the dreaded shot. This would’ve been about 1957.

Tension was high, and when I saw the lollipop come out in the nurse’s hand, I knew it was time to take destiny in my hands. I had to act.

I made it to our car, in the parking lot. I just wasn’t going for the sting.

Well, they soon had me surrounded, and we had to play “door-locks-who’s-got-the-key” checkers for a bit. Stalemated for a short while, I soon saw an opportunity. While they fixated on unlocking the driver’s door, I hooked’em for the clinic.

I lost them.

When they gave up the chase, they retired to the physician’s office. And found a warm, huddling, body in my physician’s footwell. I’ll never forget that shot.

  • [sub]Medicos, and others, yes, I know it doesn’t have to actually be broken in two to represent a health hazard - I just meant that most rib fractures seem to require little treatment. If one has any inkling that they may have fractured a rib, they need to consult a physician.[/sub]
2

I had three broken ribs at the same time (at least one was broken in two) and they admitted me to the hospital (due to a punctured lung – due to the broken rib). They put me on darvocet injections. I fell in love that day…

3

Many years ago while serving in the Navy I met a nice gal and we did the wild thing a few times but nothing ever came of the relationship. About a month after the last time I saw her she calls to tell me her soon to be ex husband had called her to tell her that he had the clap. Of course this meant that there was the potential I contacted it too. I report to medical on my ship and tell a corpman my tale of woe. No problem he says, be here the next 3 mornings at 0600 and I will be taken care of. The next morning I go to medical but do they test me to see if I’m infected? Heck no, you think you got it, you get the shots. The needles are about 4 inches long and the syringes are big. And full of a yellow liquid. My right ass cheek throbbed all day. The next day it was my left one. On day 3 it was my choice, the doc didn’t like it when I told him where to stick the needle. He did my left cheek again. Makes my ass hurt just thinking about it.

4

Unfortunately, one of my darvocet shots hit a nerve in my butt and I felt like I had been shot with a flaming arrow. For weeks. Like maybe six weeks. It was unbelieveably painful. I couldn’t bend over. It must have been my sciatic nerve or something. It REALLY hurt.

5

Jesus. Why do I open threads like this?
Daniel
with an intense phobia of syringes

6

I had braces for what seemed like several major geological periods when I was a kid, and to make room for the teeth they decided to keep (and the ones yet to come in), they yanked a few redundant permanent teeth.

The needle I remember looked to be about 9 inches long and a full 1-mm bore, with syringe enclosed in a stainless steel jacket with a scissors grip (you know, with holes the orthodontist could loop his fingers through to get a good grip on it while ramming the damn thing deep inside my gums).

7

My mantra- It’s better to give than receive!

I’m told I gave my first injection when I was 4, and that I gave an insulin injection to my mother when she was pregnant with my brother.

I used to teach regular folks to self inject themselves for a fertility clinic, too.

Anyway, I give great shots! Everyone tells me so. I don’t know why exactly the are considered so great, so I just keep doing it the way I do. I like a 23 guage (smallish), 1 1/2 inch needle if possible. I also like to keep the person informed of what I’m doing with a running commentary: “cleaning the area, here comes the shot part, checking placement, …there all done!” unless the person is really, really anxious. In that case I’ll try to distract them by asking a question they have to think about while answering. They usually stop talking for a few seconds during the insert, then resume.

The worst job I ever had was a pediatric injection nurse. I rationalized it by remembering all the good work the injections were doing for the patients, but still it was hard to hear all that crying… All Day.

I did give myself a shot once though, in the hip (actually twice). It was like I had a slow moving spring on my hand…closer, farther, closer, farther, closer, closer. It wasn’t that bad.

8

I had several (about 10) fillings done a few months ago. I’m the biggest wimp about my teeth, so I was too doped up to really feel the shots they put in my mouth, but the next day, ouch! Everywhere I had gotten shots was swollen, sore, and when I opened my mouth to look, I had giant purple bruises from the needles. Eeek.

I also used to have to give my horse shots once a month. I’ve given horses shots before, but I hated it, I felt so guilty. It would take about 30 minutes to do, 5 to get everything ready, medicine drawn and everything, 25 minutes of standing there feeling bad, and a second of giving the shot. I’m pathetic, lol.

9

Non-steroidal anti inflammatory? Probably Toradol(ketorolac). Good Stuff.

I used to hate needles in general, then I went to paramedic school. They don’t bother me so much anymore.

10

Right there with you, baby.

And I have to give myself injections when I need my migraine meds. It’s not too bad now; I use an auto-injector thingy, but the first few times were just awful.

11

Darvocet injections did it for you, Kalhoun? That’s great, but I’ll have to admit that Darvocet in capsule form never seemed to help me with pain. I’m sure the capsules are a pretty low dosage.

And, yeah, Toradol sounds right.

12

It wasn’t my first set of shots, but my most memorable–In the 6th grade I had to get rabies shots (rabid lamb at a county fair). Those needles are HUGE and HURT and at the time were given in the stomach.

The whole family living at home had to get them (except for dad), so the first day we go in we had to sit around in the doctors off for a long time. Then they gave us the shots, one person at a time for a total of 6 of us. My younger brother walks out of the office in front of me and I see him barf in front of reception. I am feeling very lightheaded. We sat in the car waiting for everyone to get done, with the car filling up one by one and for once there is no arguing or fighting.

For years I could find where each shot had been given.

13

Rabid lamb. That’s gonna be with me for a while, deb.

14

I haven’t had any shots in years. I hate getting shots. Not because of the needles - needles don’t bother me in the slightest (I had to have my blood drawn every 6mo for years, and I’ve gotten several piercings).

But shots . . . where they inject something . . . goddamn, I don’t know why they hurt so bad. They hurt me more then when I got my ears pierced in 10g.

I remember crying the last time I got an injection. I was 14. I tried not to cry, but it hurt SO MUCH. Draw my blood every other day, just don’t put anything in for the love of Og. Even injections for dental work made me cry (haven’t had a cavity in years, so it’s not muc of an isue).

The only time it didn’t hurt was when I had pencil lead in my arm and they numbed it with a local. My arm was already in so much pain that I didn’t even feel it.

15

I used to get allergy shots every week for 12 years. Alternate arms each week. I tallied it up one time and that was more than 300 shots in each arm over the 12 year period.

Needles don’t faze me, I don’t even feel them going into my arm any more. I crank my head so I can watch the needle go in just for kicks. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed getting my tattoo so much.