needles and brusing

[steve-o]

My wife tried the rebif injector ...whew and that went like crap. Then we went to manual injections, that went better but site brusing was common. Then we found the answer to the rebif needle problem. Order yoursefl insulin syringes off the internet we use BD ultra fine either 29 or 30 gauge (30 is the smallest) 1cc size with 1/2 inch needle. I transfer the medicine from the rebif (dart ha ha) syringe to the insulin syringe. To do this, just pull the plunger out of the insulin syringe and inject the rebif into the insulin syringe. keep the insulin plunger in your hand so it stays nice and clean. Gently push the plunger back into the insulin syringe just a little bit just enough to seal it. The reason is you dont want to shoot your dose out the needle end. Now take the protective cap off of the insuin syringe and with needle pointing upward tap the air into the top then push the air out of the syringe. VIOLA now it is loaded. Once you get good at it you dont lose any medicine!! The insulin syringe is such a small needle she cant even feel it. as you inject it you can also slightly spin the needle as it contacts the skin. We came upon all this when we had a friend who is diabetic help us with the shots and she commented how hard it was to inject with the 44 rebif needle. See the manufactor made the rebif needle thicker to take the force of the self injector and they are two cheap to make the needle smaller for those who dont like the injector. BAD BAD
PS we have done this over 40 times with no problems. If any rebif gets on the needle during pushing the air out i wipe it with the alcohol swipe.
No MORE BRUSING.

[oreo]

Dont't know where you're from Steve-o, but I received a letter from the Rebif folks this week...

Dear...

The new Rebif syringe with a thinner 29 guage needle is now available.

18% thinner than the old needle...
Sharper needle point makes injecting easier...
Works with Rebiject II autoinjector...

If you have any problems obtaining the new 29 gauge needles on your next purchase, contact us...

Sounds like this might solve some of the problems.

[carolsue]

My new order of Rebif has the smaller needle and slightly higher (I think) pH. I confirmed with the MSLifelines folks that this batch has the new formula and needle: the needle cap is black instead of gray. Both changes are meant to reduce the discomfort.

I tried the new stuff out the other night using my old Rebiject and the pain associated with injection did seem to be quite a bit less (it's always painful for me, whether I do it manually or with the Rebiject). I don't know yet about the bruising or redness as these take a few days to show up in all their glory.

Note: Another change that might be for the better is the Rebiject II autoinjector. I haven't tried it out yet because I wanted to see if I noticed a difference with just the higher guage needle and new pH. It does have a depth adjustment (which they say you shouldn't mess with without talking to your nurse/doc first), so maybe it'll be better on those less fatty areas.

carolsue

[bebe]

The new autoinjector is awesome. Like you said, you can adjust the depth which is useful for me in my arms. Also, the force doesnt seem to be as hard, so I have noticed less bruising and redness.