4 ms·

As someone who is mildly needle-phobic, I'll agree it's no big deal, but you definitely can feel it, and if you hit a blood vessel by accident, there's a (mostl

As someone who is mildly needle-phobic, I'll agree it's no big deal, but you definitely can feel it, and if you hit a blood vessel by accident, there's a (mostly painless) bump and 2-3 week bruise at the injection site, which might be a major issue for some.

sroussey 1y ago
Be sure to pull back on the plunger and ensure there the needle is not in a blood vessel (pulling back will draw blood into the thing and you will see). You do not want the drug meant to subcutaneous to go into the blood steam. This is true for GPL-1s (all peptides for that matter), as well as insulin, and definitely mRNA vaccines.
- abruzzi 1y ago
  Mounjaro uses a single use fully autometed injector--clean your skin, remove the cap, press the injector against your skin, then press a button. A springloaded needle penetrates you skin and a spring loaded plunger injects the medicine. You have no way to pull backthe plunger to see if you are in a vein/artery. I've never used Ozempic, but my understanding was it used a device similar to insulin pens--dial you dosage, attach needle, insert needle, press at the base of the pen to inject the selected amount. Also no way to pull back to see if you hit a vein/artery.
  - randallsquared 1y ago
    This is right. It's all or nothing, and there's no "pull back" functionality.
    - sroussey 1y ago
      Only on the autoinjectors. Not true with the vial and insulin needles.
  - wormius 1y ago
    Yeah, both Ozempic and Trulicity have automated systems like this, just press a button and pop. Is there even a way to hit a vein? The needle is not very deep (it's subcutaneous, just barely under the skin). And it's the stomach, which AFAIK, doesn't have a lot of exposed veins? Either way super simple and quick. Fairly painless. I had a weird rash one time, but apart from that a total of about 15 injections haven't had any issues on either Ozempic or Trulicity in terms of injections. Others may have difficulties, but it's been super easy IMO.
    - sroussey 1y ago
      You can get these drugs with a vial and needles and it’s cheaper that way. Not familiar with the autoinjectors, but the instructions when using a vial and insulin needles is definitely to pull back. Peptides don’t have the same negatives as say insulin, but preferable to not have them in your bloodstream nonetheless.
    - dmurray 1y ago
      > And it's the stomach, which AFAIK, doesn't have a lot of exposed veins And it's mostly for people who have plenty of stomach fat, so even less chance of hitting something else.
  - _cenw 1y ago
    Mounjaro uses very different designs across the world. The UK has an included needle; here in Germany you need to get them yourself, and neither is an auto-injector.
- _cenw 1y ago
  Absolutely do not do this.
  - myko 1y ago
    I understand if you have an autoinjector, you _can't_ do this, but this is how I was trained to give injections as an EMT-B (and paramedic training provided by the Army, as I was an Army medic).
    - _cenw 1y ago
      It was common practice at some point, and keeps being taught, but it's no longer recommended even for IM by most medical associations (unless your injection site is considered high risk; but that pretty much is never the case for SubQ 4-6mm with 4-6mm needles). I went down this rabbit hole after being handed a 100 pack of insulin needles and an estradiol vial with zero instruction - seemed irresponsible at first, but it turns out it's pretty hard to mess up.
  - wonderwonder 1y ago
    This is incorrect, always do this. Its called aspiration and it ensures you are not in a vein or artery.
    - _cenw 1y ago
      It's no longer recommended by most medical associations or the WHO. https://www.cmh.edu/siteassets/media-documents-for-depts-section/documents-for-health-care-providers/evidence-based-practice/critically-appraised-topics/administering-intramuscular-injections.pdf https://www.cmh.edu/siteassets/media-documents-for-depts-sec... SubQ has an even lesser risk of hitting a blood vessel.
- wonderwonder 1y ago
  Not sure why you are being downvoted. Some of the people using the brand name medication have some sort of auto-pen style injection but anyone using generics simply injects with an insulin pin. I always just pull back on the plunger (aspirate) before injecting. I currently take 18 shots a week (I'm very pro better living through chemistry) and do this every time. No issues.
andoando 1y ago
You can get a vein finder to avoid that

sroussey 1y ago

Be sure to pull back on the plunger and ensure there the needle is not in a blood vessel (pulling back will draw blood into the thing and you will see). You do not want the drug meant to subcutaneous to go into the blood steam. This is true for GPL-1s (all peptides for that matter), as well as insulin, and definitely mRNA vaccines.

abruzzi 1y ago
Mounjaro uses a single use fully autometed injector--clean your skin, remove the cap, press the injector against your skin, then press a button. A springloaded needle penetrates you skin and a spring loaded plunger injects the medicine. You have no way to pull backthe plunger to see if you are in a vein/artery. I've never used Ozempic, but my understanding was it used a device similar to insulin pens--dial you dosage, attach needle, insert needle, press at the base of the pen to inject the selected amount. Also no way to pull back to see if you hit a vein/artery.
- randallsquared 1y ago
  This is right. It's all or nothing, and there's no "pull back" functionality.
  - sroussey 1y ago
    Only on the autoinjectors. Not true with the vial and insulin needles.
- wormius 1y ago
  Yeah, both Ozempic and Trulicity have automated systems like this, just press a button and pop. Is there even a way to hit a vein? The needle is not very deep (it's subcutaneous, just barely under the skin). And it's the stomach, which AFAIK, doesn't have a lot of exposed veins? Either way super simple and quick. Fairly painless. I had a weird rash one time, but apart from that a total of about 15 injections haven't had any issues on either Ozempic or Trulicity in terms of injections. Others may have difficulties, but it's been super easy IMO.
  - sroussey 1y ago
    You can get these drugs with a vial and needles and it’s cheaper that way. Not familiar with the autoinjectors, but the instructions when using a vial and insulin needles is definitely to pull back. Peptides don’t have the same negatives as say insulin, but preferable to not have them in your bloodstream nonetheless.
  - dmurray 1y ago
    > And it's the stomach, which AFAIK, doesn't have a lot of exposed veins And it's mostly for people who have plenty of stomach fat, so even less chance of hitting something else.
- _cenw 1y ago
  Mounjaro uses very different designs across the world. The UK has an included needle; here in Germany you need to get them yourself, and neither is an auto-injector.
_cenw 1y ago
Absolutely do not do this.
- myko 1y ago
  I understand if you have an autoinjector, you _can't_ do this, but this is how I was trained to give injections as an EMT-B (and paramedic training provided by the Army, as I was an Army medic).
  - _cenw 1y ago
    It was common practice at some point, and keeps being taught, but it's no longer recommended even for IM by most medical associations (unless your injection site is considered high risk; but that pretty much is never the case for SubQ 4-6mm with 4-6mm needles). I went down this rabbit hole after being handed a 100 pack of insulin needles and an estradiol vial with zero instruction - seemed irresponsible at first, but it turns out it's pretty hard to mess up.
- wonderwonder 1y ago
  This is incorrect, always do this. Its called aspiration and it ensures you are not in a vein or artery.
  - _cenw 1y ago
    It's no longer recommended by most medical associations or the WHO. https://www.cmh.edu/siteassets/media-documents-for-depts-section/documents-for-health-care-providers/evidence-based-practice/critically-appraised-topics/administering-intramuscular-injections.pdf https://www.cmh.edu/siteassets/media-documents-for-depts-sec... SubQ has an even lesser risk of hitting a blood vessel.
wonderwonder 1y ago
Not sure why you are being downvoted. Some of the people using the brand name medication have some sort of auto-pen style injection but anyone using generics simply injects with an insulin pin. I always just pull back on the plunger (aspirate) before injecting. I currently take 18 shots a week (I'm very pro better living through chemistry) and do this every time. No issues.

andoando 1y ago

You can get a vein finder to avoid that