Tina, a 32 years old, married woman, lived near a beach in the southern part of the United States. She worked at a medical clinic near her home, doing a little bit of everything. She had been given vitamin injections, predominantly B12 to deal with an iron deficiency, but was recently told that her levels weren’t responding as expected. Her doctors were recommending monthly Imferon (iron dextran) injections.

When I entered the exam room, there were 4 syringes with 2” needles on the stand. The male nurse told me that I would be getting 4 sticks; 2 ml of Imferon with each stick. Imferon requires a 2" needle, because it has to go deep and he has to employ the z-track technique to prevent the serum from leaking back onto the skin.

I am 5'4" and I weigh about 120 pounds, and he told me that he was going to give those injections in my backside – one in each buttock. Before he left the room, I was told to undress and to put on a nightgown for the shots; I took my panties completely off. He told me that I'd feel cold, a big stick, and then likely some strong stinging. I had heard that the Imferon injections would burn and hurt, like he was putting hot lead inside my rear end. I sometimes get anxious before injections, but after he told me what I would feel, I started crying.

He picked up one syringe and he told me to roll over and lift up my gown. After I rolled over and exposed my bare rear end, he told me he was going to do my left side, then my right. I saw the long needle when he took off the cap. I think seeing that needle made me feel faint, so he told me to put my face down on the pillow. When he began to swab my buttock with alcohol I pulled away at the cold feeling. He told me that I need to relax; then, he began the first injection without waiting.

He told me to count to 5 and the needle would be in before I finished. He counted 1 and 2 with me. I think it was in before he finished saying “2”. I can do crocodile tears down my cheeks just knowing I’m going to get a shot and by time the needle is in I’m crying. The needle stick was deep.

He had to massage my right buttock after putting the needle in because he said I was fighting him. I was tense and he told me that if I didn’t relax, he was going to have to stick me again. I don’t like getting injections with a needle deep in my backside. He said crying would help the medication go in easier. When the burning started, I tried to turn away but that attempt was met with a firm hand on my hip. I continued to cry, wishing the burning in my rear would stop. The actual injection took about 1–2 minutes because the iron must be given slowly. When the needle finally came out, he applied pressure to the injection site. I knew it would hurt, but I didn't actually believe it would feel like that.

He then began prepping the left side and warned me of the second stick. I was still crying so the burning pain starting on the left side only exacerbated it. I also hyperventilated while I was getting the second shot. After he removed that needle, he applied pressure to that injection site too. He massaged my lower back afterwards too. I’m sore and crying; those first two shots hurt so bad. I just laid there as my crying slowly began to fade out. Several minutes passed and he helped me to lower my nightgown to recover my backside.

He told me it would be a couple of hours before he came back to give me the second set of two iron injections, but it probably was only about 45 minutes later. There wasn’t even time for the throbbing from the first two injections to subside.

The second two Imferon injections were way more painful than the first two. I pulled up my nightgown and he prepped my left side. When he began injecting the medicine, it really hurt a lot. The burn starts pretty much as soon as he started and builds up as he pushed the rest.

I cried; I screamed, “Are you finished with the last one?” He said, “I am only part way through this injection.” He told me to take a deep breath before he pulled the needle out. It felt like it was coming all the way from my toes.

I was in so much pain that I asked him again if the needle was out so I could roll over. It was, but he wouldn't let me roll over; he said it was too soon after the injections and he didn’t want the buttock muscles to knot up. He pulled down my nightgown and eventually allowed me to roll over onto my back. I knew I had to get up eventually though.

My first try was a failure. I was really dizzy from all the stress and crying. I paused for several minutes; he helped me up slowly. As he left, I bent down and put on my panties. It took a few minutes for me to dress due to my sore backside. I limped out to the reception room where a friend took me to her car and drove me home. That burning sensation slowly faded out over the next few hours. The soreness was gone completely by the following 2-3 days. And in a month I have to do this all over again.