I did my first Humira shots and it was not bad at all...

good girl! I felt very proud when I learned to give myself shots (I used syringes) and I found it nearly pain-less. it is nice to feel some control over treating yourself, yes?
I hope you feel great soon. yp

thanks yogaprof , it does feel good to be in control! I had barely any pain, the needle is very tiny, I looked at one of them and it was small. But needles never really bothered me before so I might have a higher tolerance for pain. ZenaWP , we iced mine for a few minutes, the ice was in a rubber glove and the site was red it got so cold and I could feel some numbness in my leg at the spot I iced when I pinched the skin. My nurse also said to put quite a bit of pressure on the skin since the force of the medicine going it will almost push it away. That seemed to help. Also, my shots seemed to take much less than 10 seconds. One was longer but the first one was real quick. I hope Ice helps you next time! it did for me. Karen

Good for you karendee!  I use the syringes and very fine needles, and I dont prep for nothing, yeah it stings for a minute but when I press down with a clean Guaze for a minute after it is fine and catches any little trickle of blood.  I have been on it since may 28th and although I am going to see my GI in a few hours, my meds may change, dont know yet.  I had no problem with the belly either, actually it hurt less there probably because I have more cushioning there LOL.  Good luck, hope Hurmira works for you!

I felt the same as you - I had scared myself to death but once it was over, I realized it truly wasn't that bad.

I will say that the pain differs from time to time. Sometimes, I can feel nothing and am so proud of myself while other times it hurts like hell! I am not sure why it's different each time... so don't be surprised if the next time is more painful for whatever reason.

I've been on it 1.5 years now and it's a blessing for me, even if I sometimes hurt worse than other times.

I felt the EXACT same way. I was in the bathroom a few times before my visit too. I was so nervous. Watching the video right before made me even more nervous. For me, and so far, the anxiety was worse than the shots....buuuuut...we'll see if I still feel the same way on Monday when I get my next 2!!! :P Hope it works for you Karen!

Wow, I am so impressed that you did all 4 by yourself so smoothly - way to go!! Wishing you good results from the Humira.

Funny that another poster mentioned that sometimes the shots hurt more than others -- I have that experience too, and I just thought I was nuts, LOL. I do the same procedures each times, using the pens, and sometimes not-so-bad, other times overwhelming.

Karen, I'm so pleased it didn't hurt you. I've been doing mine for about 6 months now, and I can honestly say I never
hurt myself... I also have weekly B12 shots. I gotta admit I'm getting good at this shot stuff....
However, the B12's are leaving some nice bruises on my legs. I think before I go on vacation in November, and when my
husband is recovered, I'll have him give me the B12 shots in my butt. He originally offered to do it, BUT he seemed much
too keen for my liking LOL so I just "went" for it myself. Oh I'm so good, and so are you LOL

thanks eveeyone!!! All of you are such a big help! If my HW buddies can do it so could I :) My hubby is too keen on giving me shots too....that is why I was determined to learn myself! Karen

sammies, I used a nurse from my Dr office, they have an education department. I would try to wait if you can because I got some good tips from my nurse that I missed when I watched the video. If you want to do yourself maybe you can call humira nurse line and have them talk you through it? or does your doctor have any nurses that can help? good luck. If you have any questions send me a message... I am new to this but I might be able to help. Karen

I have given myself Heparin injections in the past using Syringes so initially I wanted the syringes for Humira
....the Humira Pen is great though, I am glad I have that instead of the syringes.
I guess we're all a little different, but the pen seems o.k. if I leave it out for the 15 minutes they recommend prior to injection.
Don't get me wrong, it's not fun...but it only stings me for a little bit, stays sore for a little bit longer, then tender for the rest of the day.
The benefits have been great for me.
The only bad thing I get is headaches........I never used to get them at all, but since the Humira (3 months +) I get headaches all of the time.

well, I did it. Humira never called back to send nurse (after 2 calls from my doc's office and 3 from me) and we've got a lot of visitors and little trips coming up so my husband and I decided to do it today. Unfortunately, I got overzealous and tried to do the first one myself. Do you believe I wanted to surprise my husband? Anyway, I got nervous and didn't keep the cap down all the way on the pen--med wound up all over the floor. Oh, I was crying and screaming--so mad at myself. But he held the skin for the next three and it was fine! Just some burning during the 10 seconds each time. Called doc's office and GI was not worried--at least I got the three in without any problems he said.

Now, here's the funny thing. I've had epi pen training. Can you imagine if I'd done that for some poor person with a bee sting?! I could've killed them if they didn't get their med.

Well, here's to hoping this stuff works!! The posts here have been so helpful!

Yeah I am taking my shot tonight, I am calmer at night and therefore it will be better for me. I do my own syringes, I am surprised at everyone's different pain they get from the shot. However I asked my nurse right from the get go which was less painful and she says most people find the syringes easier and less painful. I just leave my syringe out for half hour. Stings for a min, press on the spot for a bit and presto, done....