Lovenox injection

[jpedds]

I'm a guest, not a nurse. Today my wife was given a Lovenox injection in the hospital and she said it was the most painful experience she's ever had. Is this normal or was something done wrong? My wife and I are both dentists so we are familiar with injection techniques. Thanks for any info.

[Diploma'82]

They do burn/sting when you get them. Hope this helps.

[solneeshka, BSN, RN]

Have to agree. Don't know how helpful that is! I've never received one, but other shots I give, people don't say much, but the Lovenox is known for burning. When giving it, you're supposed to inject more slowly than you normally would. Maybe the nurse went too quickly.

[dusky1228]

I'm a guest, not a nurse. Today my wife was given a Lovenox injection in the hospital and she said it was the most painful experience she's ever had. Is this normal or was something done wrong? My wife and I are both dentists so we are familiar with injection techniques. Thanks for any info.

As an RN, and a person who has needed to take Lovenox twice daily for the past 4 years..........

Yes, it hurts! Not only does it sting/hurt-it often has a delayed burn, even when you think you lucked out. I have found a few ways to minimize that. First, I give the injection slowly, then remove the needle fast, while pressing my finger firmly over the puncture site for a few seconds (don't rub!). This seems to be effective in halting the sting. Also, when I need a break from the stinging (because I also need insulin injections, so sometimes I feel like a pincushion), I use an Insuflon. This is a subcutaneous infusion device that allows me to inject through a port (once I insert it, of course) for up to 7 days-no new punctures! And minimal burn.:paw::paw::paw:

[annmariern]

I give them 6 times a day, 3 days a week, almost all pts say they sting & burn, inject slow or fast and I've tried both and checked to see if it made any difference. So far, no. It still stings & burns a bit, never had a major issue with it though. Beats a PE anyday.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

I'm a guest, not a nurse. Today my wife was given a Lovenox injection in the hospital and she said it was the most painful experience she's ever had. Is this normal or was something done wrong? My wife and I are both dentists so we are familiar with injection techniques. Thanks for any info.

I hope this doesn't sound bad, bear with me...I'm not being mean, I'm just asking~

Has your wife gone through many procedures in her life? I ask because, while Lovenox shots are notorious for stinging and burning, even for people that receive a lot of sub q's (like insulin), the term "most painful experience she's ever had" sounds dramatic to me (at least how it reads in my head). Was she being serious when she said that, or was it just that she was surprised because it hurt more than she thought that little needle was going to?

[tinybabynurse]

I've had to give myself lovenox and heparin shots during pregnancy so I can sympathize with your wife. The first time I was given one by a nurse and she used a 3/4" needle. It burned at the time, and was still hurting 5 hours later.

The rest of my injections I have given myself, using a much smaller needle and using the techniques that were previously spoken of...injecting slowly (I'll even stop for a couple of seconds if it starts burning a lot, then continue slowly and it's fine). If I injected slowly, I never once had burning after...and only very minimal burning during.

I think these kind of injections work a little better when you give them to yourself so that you can control the speed/burning. Another person isn't going to know when to slow down. If your wife has to have a lot of these, I strongly recommend that she do them herself.

Good luck!

[registerednutrn, BSN, RN]

I give lovenox on a daily basis and almost all of my patients compare it to a bee sting. some express the pain a little more than others but most say it only hurts for a few minutes. So yes this was most likely normal

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I've given these to myself as well as to many, many patients, and I have to say that they are rather sneaky---in my experience they don't hurt much while being injected (if you don't inject too fast), but they do burn afterward. I'm not sure there's much that can be done about that.

Still, I can't imagine a Lovenox shot being the 'most painful experience' of one's life, unless the OP's wife had a total clunker of a nurse.