First day on Humira

My package of Humira arrived on December 22nd, perfectly timed with my return from hitting the sloped in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. A Registered Nurse from VON was expected to arrive on Christmas Eve to show me how to administer the medication properly, and to answer any questions I had. I prepared my list of questions in anticipation and waited with bated breath.

I was not impressed with the nurse's skills, I'm afraid. I never told her that we were members of the same registered body, and I almost wished I had: the basic skill of proper hand hygiene was sorely lacking. Despite the nurse telling me that I should wash my hands before injecting myself, she failed to do so and then proceeded to manipulate the area on my abdomen that I had carefully swabbed with alcohol. I swabbed a second time the now-contaminated site, and she once again manipulated the area and then quickly injected me the with medication. I was warned by the pharmacy that the formula was very acidic and burned, but I was not prepared for the intensity with which it stung. Reflexively, I tensed my muscles tightly; the pain was unwavering. The nurse told me, as I watched drops of medicated fluid spill down my stomach (I counted the hundreds of dollars being wasted with every dribble), that my abdominal muscles were creating resistance and pushing the needle out of my body. I was not sure if that was the true cause for the wastage of my precious medication, or if she was not as competent as her professional title implied. I am sorry to be so harsh, but if you been there listening to her...watching her...you would have been shaking your head and wondering if she had ever given a subcutaneous injection before. When I asked her about the side effects, she told me to read the pamphlet that came with the drug; which is all well and good given my nursing background, but she did not know of my clinical expertise and should have explained the side effects instead of directing me to small-printed clinical-trial jargon. She also directed me to do searches on the internet. Geez...why didn't I think of that (sarcasm dripping down the screen so thick you can barely read my blog anymore).

On a more positive note, Progress contacted me to find out if the nurse had shown up to provide the instruction and to learn of my experience. I was not brutally honest about my experience with respect to providing all of the details, but I did share my disappointment with the lack of hand washing. Progress committed to following up with VON to have another nurse come on January 6th to provide my second dose and answer any outstanding questions. At this point, I am extremely impressed with the comprehensive case management of Progress; it has certainly eased any anxieties I had starting a new biologic.