Solumedrol Injection Pictures

I took some pictures of the Solu-Medrol IV infusion material since I found it pretty interesting.  This is what Paragon (the pharmacy) provided to the Presby Home Health Care for my IV.  The IV bag is 100ml and auto-infuses over the course of an hour.  The needle that Bob (the nurse I get) always uses is the “butterfly” needle – I asked the size and it is a 23 gauge needle (updated 5/26/2004 because I asked the size and it wasn’t 27 bigger than the Rebif needle which is a 27 gauge.  Most of the time I don’t even feel it go in my vein.

As an addendum I would usually squeeze the bag to get it to infuse quicker.  While it is set for 60 minutes I could usually get it down to around 45 minutes.

Here is a picture of the IV bag (full) with the Solu-Medrol.  It has been filled with the medication at Paragon before delivering to the house.  It is pressure fed (not gravity) so I either hold it or lay it in my lap.  It is about the size of my palm.  I receive all of the doses I am going to receive at once and I store them in the refrigerator.  Holding it is not necessary, but makes the infusion a little more pleasant (and I can squeeze it to make it go faster).

Here is a picture of the bag after it has been emptied.  You can see how the darker part has shrunken to the middle.

Here is a picture of the needle that Bob used with the IV.  Some nurses have used bigger needles.

Here is a picture of the needle inserted in my arm just below my left elbow.  Today (day 2 of treatment) I could feel the needle go in but it certainly didn’t hurt.