shots...

[Guest guest]

I would also like to know if this is the same shot as was given in 1958 as I

just remembered that my mother had these (ugh!, one more nail in my coffin!).

shots...

Can anyone give me information on the rhogam shot given to mother's with rh

negative blood?

The advantages and disadvantages to taking it...

Thanks,

Kelsey

[Guest guest]

My daughter is now 5. We are getting ready for the first day of kindegaden. I

think I'm more nervous than she is. lol I hope all goes as well with public

school and jra as daycare has been. I'm nervous, so many new things to be

exposed to. Also, can anyone tell me, when does giving the shots get easier. My

doctor told me oh she'll get use to them. She fights me more now than ever. I

practically have to wrestle her to the ground. She screams, crie, trashes

around. It's almost a three person thing to give a shot. I still usually do them

myself and manage but geesh I thought it was going to get better. I'm so

frustrated with it I almost don't want to do them. I however drag myself to do

them and suffer through her fit. Help. we've been doing shots for almost three

years now.

[Guest guest]

Ask the doctor to give you a Rx for lidocaine cream to numb the area of the

injection 30 minutes before giving it to her. I give my DD, 2, when she is

asleep which makes it easy.  She has yet to wake up when I have done it that

way. She has only been on the injection for a couple of months. Good luck.

Miria and , 2, Poly JIA

http://buckeyebellessweets.com

From: cksharpe2004 <cksharpe2004@...>

Subject: shots...

Date: Friday, August 7, 2009, 9:57 PM

 

My daughter is now 5. We are getting ready for the first day

of kindegaden. I think I'm more nervous than she is. lol I hope all goes as

well with public school and jra as daycare has been. I'm nervous, so many new

things to be exposed to. Also, can anyone tell me, when does giving the shots

get easier. My doctor told me oh she'll get use to them. She fights me more now

than ever. I practically have to wrestle her to the ground. She screams, crie,

trashes around. It's almost a three person thing to give a shot. I still usually

do them myself and manage but geesh I thought it was going to get better. I'm so

frustrated with it I almost don't want to do them. I however drag myself to do

them and suffer through her fit. Help. we've been doing shots for almost three

years now.

[Guest guest]

We also use the lidocaine cream, also called Embla. It still hurts but

has gone from screaming and throwing fits to playing on the computer while I

inject her. Also, was diagnosed midway through Kindergarten. I was so

upset at the idea of putting her in school because she just had so many problems

at the time. I think at first her teacher thought we were a bit nutty. Em was

a wreck- anxiety- stricken, and sooo slow at everything. I just had a hard time

knowing that I couldn't protect her while she was at school. BUT... (most)

kindergarten teachers are there because they love the littler ones, and JRA kids

are such special, fragile little people. It seems that they tend to mother our

children more. If you don't have one already get a 504 Disability Plan from

your rheumy!!! That is a list of things that she can't do and special

accomodations needed, like a roller backpack! I would either call your local

Arthritis Foundation chapter's office or check the website and order the

pamphlet that they have for teacher's on understanding JRA. As long as you keep

your school/teachers in the loop it should be pretty easy. She may even be

eligible for special services like OT or PT at the school.

I was terrified that the other kids would pick on . I had many days

visiting that I cried watching them all together. If her friends went on play

equipment that she couldn't get onto they would all get down and follow her.

They would fight over who was going to get her backpack. They were even trying

to do her school work for her. You'll be ok, and so will she : )

le & (7) RF+ poly JRA, Raynaud's, scleroderma, (+)

>

> My daughter is now 5. We are getting ready for the first day of kindegaden. I

think I'm more nervous than she is. lol I hope all goes as well with public

school and jra as daycare has been. I'm nervous, so many new things to be

exposed to. Also, can anyone tell me, when does giving the shots get easier. My

doctor told me oh she'll get use to them. She fights me more now than ever. I

practically have to wrestle her to the ground. She screams, crie, trashes

around. It's almost a three person thing to give a shot. I still usually do them

myself and manage but geesh I thought it was going to get better. I'm so

frustrated with it I almost don't want to do them. I however drag myself to do

them and suffer through her fit. Help. we've been doing shots for almost three

years now.

>

[Guest guest]

I think it depends on the kid and their personality, but there are a few things

we do to help ...she's 4 and will be 5 in October.

She gets a weekly shot of Methotrexate and she also gets Humira (which stings

worse, I hear) every other week.

First, we use a little ice pack to numb the injection site ahead of time. I let

her decide when she wants the ice pack removed (can get too cold!)

With the Humira, her rheumy has us add liquid lidocaine directly to the

syringe....we buy separate syringes to do this...and it takes a little

pre-prep...but apparently they had heard about this at a JRA conference last

year and said their patients have had good results with it...so far, so good for

us. never complains about sting from Humira.

We also have big brother, Luke...he's 7-1/2... provide distraction....he holds

her hand and says silly things, etc. (he is quite the comedian and can ALWAYS

make laugh) while I am holding her and dad is injecting her. We had to

prep him about being safe around the needle, etc...not get to crazy.....It took

us awhile to figure this one out (actually to let loose enough to allow it to

happen) but it has probably been the most helpful part of the process for

us...it takes much of the seriousness out of the process and also gives Luke a

feeling like he is a part of things...the other kiddos can sure feel left out

with all of the attention the JRA kids get.

Hope this helps. still cries sometimes, but it's been a whole lot

easier with these few things for us. We also asked whether she would

like to know ahead of time when shot time was coming. She said yes, but not WAY

ahead of time....just a little bit....so that's what we do.

Gotta give them some control...there's so much they can't control that every

little bit they CAN control does help!

Kathy

mom to 4-1/2 poly JRA, ulcerative colitis and uevitis

and Luke 7-1/2

[Guest guest]

Lucy just finished up her year at kindergarten in May. The teachers and

nurse were incredibly supportive. She had to miss a lot of school (15 days)

due to pain or a doctor's visit. I'm working on getting her a 504 and am

getting ready to meet with her 1st grade teacher. She's also going to get

O/T at school which will be great!

As to the shot... I hate to say anything because I'm afraid I'll look like a

bad mommy. I bribe Lucy. She gets to pick lots of things like where

exactly she wants to be when she gets the shot (couch, bed, etc.), what time

of day and other things that I can give her control of. But we needed a

little more. Right now, Tuesday is shot day. I started out by telling her

that I had a surprise for her after she had her shot. I would buy one thing

from the dollar store, and then no matter how much she struggled with the

shot, she got her prize. Now, she asks for her shot and she gets to go to

the dollar store after the shot and pick out her prize. She's 7 and I know

that eventually a prize from the dollar store won't do it for her.

Hopefully she will be used to the shots by then, and won't be asking me for

Ferraris, lol. It works for us.

Amy and Lucy, 7, poly

On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Kathy B <sk8ingmomof2@...> wrote:

>

>

> I think it depends on the kid and their personality, but there are a few

> things we do to help ...she's 4 and will be 5 in October.

> She gets a weekly shot of Methotrexate and she also gets Humira (which

> stings worse, I hear) every other week.

>

> First, we use a little ice pack to numb the injection site ahead of time. I

> let her decide when she wants the ice pack removed (can get too cold!)

>

> With the Humira, her rheumy has us add liquid lidocaine directly to the

> syringe....we buy separate syringes to do this...and it takes a little

> pre-prep...but apparently they had heard about this at a JRA conference last

> year and said their patients have had good results with it...so far, so good

> for us. never complains about sting from Humira.

>

> We also have big brother, Luke...he's 7-1/2... provide distraction....he

> holds her hand and says silly things, etc. (he is quite the comedian and can

> ALWAYS make laugh) while I am holding her and dad is injecting her.

> We had to prep him about being safe around the needle, etc...not get to

> crazy.....It took us awhile to figure this one out (actually to let loose

> enough to allow it to happen) but it has probably been the most helpful part

> of the process for us...it takes much of the seriousness out of the process

> and also gives Luke a feeling like he is a part of things...the other kiddos

> can sure feel left out with all of the attention the JRA kids get.

>

> Hope this helps. still cries sometimes, but it's been a whole lot

> easier with these few things for us. We also asked whether she would

> like to know ahead of time when shot time was coming. She said yes, but not

> WAY ahead of time....just a little bit....so that's what we do.

> Gotta give them some control...there's so much they can't control that

> every little bit they CAN control does help!

>

> Kathy

> mom to 4-1/2 poly JRA, ulcerative colitis and uevitis

> and Luke 7-1/2

>

>

[Guest guest]

I totally agree with Kathy on giving them a bit of control. knows it's

going to happen, but I let her decide the time to a degree. She fought so hard

against all meds & injections at first, and now she's pretty relaxed. I explain

to her what meds she is getting and what they do to help. Some people have said

it's silly, she's so young she can't understand. But she can tell you what

medications she's on, and she's more likely to take meds that she doesn't like.

I like that your son gets in the act! I tried to get mine into helping, but he

worries too much about her. (He's the baby.) If she cries he just might, too.

le & (7) RF+ poly JRA, scleroderma, Raynaud's, etc...

>

> I think it depends on the kid and their personality, but there are a few

things we do to help ...she's 4 and will be 5 in October.

> She gets a weekly shot of Methotrexate and she also gets Humira (which stings

worse, I hear) every other week.

>

> First, we use a little ice pack to numb the injection site ahead of time. I

let her decide when she wants the ice pack removed (can get too cold!)

>

> With the Humira, her rheumy has us add liquid lidocaine directly to the

syringe....we buy separate syringes to do this...and it takes a little

pre-prep...but apparently they had heard about this at a JRA conference last

year and said their patients have had good results with it...so far, so good for

us. never complains about sting from Humira.

>

> We also have big brother, Luke...he's 7-1/2... provide distraction....he holds

her hand and says silly things, etc. (he is quite the comedian and can ALWAYS

make laugh) while I am holding her and dad is injecting her. We had to

prep him about being safe around the needle, etc...not get to crazy.....It took

us awhile to figure this one out (actually to let loose enough to allow it to

happen) but it has probably been the most helpful part of the process for

us...it takes much of the seriousness out of the process and also gives Luke a

feeling like he is a part of things...the other kiddos can sure feel left out

with all of the attention the JRA kids get.

>

> Hope this helps. still cries sometimes, but it's been a whole lot

easier with these few things for us. We also asked whether she would

like to know ahead of time when shot time was coming. She said yes, but not WAY

ahead of time....just a little bit....so that's what we do.

> Gotta give them some control...there's so much they can't control that every

little bit they CAN control does help!

>

> Kathy

> mom to 4-1/2 poly JRA, ulcerative colitis and uevitis

> and Luke 7-1/2

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We have been through fighting the injection too. It is important to find out

what it is they don't like about the injection. Is it the way the medicine

makes her feel the next day? Or is it just the injection itself that hurts her.

If it is because she feels yucky the next day then maybe she needs to take more

folic acid or an anti nausea medicine. Your rheumy should be on top of this and

take it seriously, because in our experience the injections did not get better.

They just got progressively worse until we couldn't do it anymore. One thing

that I heard from someone on this group was that they give the injection while

their child is sleeping. I would have tried this but we were too far beyond

that point when I heard about it.

Hope you are able to find something that works to make the injection process

easier. It is already hard enough with the child accepting it calmly.

& Grant (12, psoriatic/uveitis)

> >

> > I think it depends on the kid and their personality, but there are a few

things we do to help ...she's 4 and will be 5 in October.

> > She gets a weekly shot of Methotrexate and she also gets Humira (which

stings worse, I hear) every other week.

> >

> > First, we use a little ice pack to numb the injection site ahead of time. I

let her decide when she wants the ice pack removed (can get too cold!)

> >

> > With the Humira, her rheumy has us add liquid lidocaine directly to the

syringe....we buy separate syringes to do this...and it takes a little

pre-prep...but apparently they had heard about this at a JRA conference last

year and said their patients have had good results with it...so far, so good for

us. never complains about sting from Humira.

> >

> > We also have big brother, Luke...he's 7-1/2... provide distraction....he

holds her hand and says silly things, etc. (he is quite the comedian and can

ALWAYS make laugh) while I am holding her and dad is injecting her. We

had to prep him about being safe around the needle, etc...not get to

crazy.....It took us awhile to figure this one out (actually to let loose enough

to allow it to happen) but it has probably been the most helpful part of the

process for us...it takes much of the seriousness out of the process and also

gives Luke a feeling like he is a part of things...the other kiddos can sure

feel left out with all of the attention the JRA kids get.

> >

> > Hope this helps. still cries sometimes, but it's been a whole lot

easier with these few things for us. We also asked whether she would

like to know ahead of time when shot time was coming. She said yes, but not WAY

ahead of time....just a little bit....so that's what we do.

> > Gotta give them some control...there's so much they can't control that every

little bit they CAN control does help!

> >

> > Kathy

> > mom to 4-1/2 poly JRA, ulcerative colitis and uevitis

> > and Luke 7-1/2

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

G'day,

We've been doing the Mtx shots for about 4 years now, and I've gotta say

I don't think it gets easier. I know exactly how you feel all the

way!!!

We had to switch to needles because Bayly would throw up at the thought

of taking the tablet each week. We started doing them in his tummy in

the daytime, numbing the area first with Emla or AnGel, and that was

fine for a couple of years- oh he hated it, but tolerated it. Then he

would get worked up while the cream was working, so we switched to

numbing it quickly with ice (a trick we were told at the 2007 AJAO

Conference) but I found it made the skin harder to pierce with the

needle. Now we don't use anything at all, but we do the needle at night

while he's sleeping. And we do it in his thigh. Some nights he barely

stirs, others he kicks and thrashes around- but then doesn't even

remember it the next day!

We found the thigh works better than the tummy for reducing the sting

and the immediate nausea, but sadly Bayly still vomits every week as a

side effect of the Mtx.

Oh, and Bayly gets to choose which sticking plaster we put on

afterwards; over the years I have bought them in every print imaginable

(The Wiggles, Pooh, Wall-E, Cars, The Simpsons, Smileys, etc etc etc)

and he likes to have that say in things.

Anyway, that's our experience of shots. Hope it helps somehow.

Jo

Bayly, 7, extended oligo

>

> My daughter is now 5. We are getting ready for the first day of

kindegaden. I think I'm more nervous than she is. lol I hope all goes as

well with public school and jra as daycare has been. I'm nervous, so

many new things to be exposed to. Also, can anyone tell me, when does

giving the shots get easier. My doctor told me oh she'll get use to

them. She fights me more now than ever. I practically have to wrestle

her to the ground. She screams, crie, trashes around. It's almost a

three person thing to give a shot. I still usually do them myself and

manage but geesh I thought it was going to get better. I'm so frustrated

with it I almost don't want to do them. I however drag myself to do them

and suffer through her fit. Help. we've been doing shots for almost

three years now.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

We started out with stickers ... moved on to Pokemon cards, when the was the

latest rage ... and as Josh got older it was going out for a small vanilla ice

cream cone when he was done having his injection. Later on, his doctor made a

deal with him that he could decide to just not take his Methotrexate four times

a year. A free pass, as it were. He phones in to say he won't be taking it and

will get back on schedule the following week. The Enbrel, he hardly ever misses,

unless he flies off island or something.

As a young child, he was so fearful of needles (from all the darned blood draws,

I'm sure!) and since it became a necessity, a fact of life for him, it was one

of the reasons I brought him to see a child psychologist. Feeling confident in

his changing body image was another (major Cushingoid syndrome had ballooned him

from a boys size 5/6 to a size 12, virtually overnight and besides the extreme

bloating and weight gain he had facial and body hair that he never expected to

see) and the feelings he had due to loss of physical competency(from being a

very active, fast little kid to all of a sudden becoming bedridden and hardly

able to move). As many here have attested to, he also suffered from mood swings.

He had a few therapy sessions (5 or 6 in all, I think it was) and at one visit,

the psychologist gave him (and his little sister) some syringes. Even just

handling them made him feel more comfortable, having him practice giving a

stuffed animal an injection.

I guess we have to do what works and understand that, over time, that can

change.

Aloha, Georgina

Re: Re: shots...

Lucy just finished up her year at kindergarten in May. The teachers and

nurse were incredibly supportive. She had to miss a lot of school (15 days)

due to pain or a doctor's visit. I'm working on getting her a 504 and am

getting ready to meet with her 1st grade teacher. She's also going to get

O/T at school which will be great!

As to the shot... I hate to say anything because I'm afraid I'll look like a

bad mommy. I bribe Lucy. She gets to pick lots of things like where

exactly she wants to be when she gets the shot (couch, bed, etc.), what time

of day and other things that I can give her control of. But we needed a

little more. Right now, Tuesday is shot day. I started out by telling her

that I had a surprise for her after she had her shot. I would buy one thing

from the dollar store, and then no matter how much she struggled with the

shot, she got her prize. Now, she asks for her shot and she gets to go to

the dollar store after the shot and pick out her prize. She's 7 and I know

that eventually a prize from the dollar store won't do it for her.

Hopefully she will be used to the shots by then, and won't be asking me for

Ferraris, lol. It works for us.

Amy and Lucy, 7, poly

On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Kathy B <sk8ingmomof2@...> wrote:

>

>

> I think it depends on the kid and their personality, but there are a few

> things we do to help ...she's 4 and will be 5 in October.

> She gets a weekly shot of Methotrexate and she also gets Humira (which

> stings worse, I hear) every other week.

>

> First, we use a little ice pack to numb the injection site ahead of time. I

> let her decide when she wants the ice pack removed (can get too cold!)

>

> With the Humira, her rheumy has us add liquid lidocaine directly to the

> syringe....we buy separate syringes to do this...and it takes a little

> pre-prep...but apparently they had heard about this at a JRA conference last

> year and said their patients have had good results with it...so far, so good

> for us. never complains about sting from Humira.

>

> We also have big brother, Luke...he's 7-1/2... provide distraction....he

> holds her hand and says silly things, etc. (he is quite the comedian and can

> ALWAYS make laugh) while I am holding her and dad is injecting her.

> We had to prep him about being safe around the needle, etc...not get to

> crazy.....It took us awhile to figure this one out (actually to let loose

> enough to allow it to happen) but it has probably been the most helpful part

> of the process for us...it takes much of the seriousness out of the process

> and also gives Luke a feeling like he is a part of things...the other kiddos

> can sure feel left out with all of the attention the JRA kids get.

>

> Hope this helps. still cries sometimes, but it's been a whole lot

> easier with these few things for us. We also asked whether she would

> like to know ahead of time when shot time was coming. She said yes, but not

> WAY ahead of time....just a little bit....so that's what we do.

> Gotta give them some control...there's so much they can't control that

> every little bit they CAN control does help!

>

> Kathy

> mom to 4-1/2 poly JRA, ulcerative colitis and uevitis

> and Luke 7-1/2

>

>