Anxiety and the Injection Procedure

We received this comment about the anxiety of the injections procedure.

“And, speaking strictly to the anxiety aspect of intraocular injections (not the BP spikes) -- for the first year or so of treatments, we made sure my mother took 0.5 - 1.0 mg Ativan [lorazepam] at least an hour before treatment. Eventually, the procedure became so familiar that a tranquilizer assist is no longer needed. Also... consciously developing a jolly, bantering interaction between my mother and the nurses has led to her looking forward to each visit in a way that doesn't leave much room for anxiety.”

Thanks for their comment and kudos to them for coming up with a good plan. Although it shouldn’t hurt, no one can really look forward to an injection in the eye. So doctors, patients, and families should try to make this as good an experience as possible.