Does anyone have any tips or tricks for getting through the intramuscular progesterone in oil shots? I'm dreading doing them as I'm making my way through my first IVF cycle. I've heard you can develope painful lumps. Also, can you share with me how long you had to so the PIO shots and how many times each day?
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Are you going to be injecting yourself or is someone doing it for you?
I started the injections 5 days before my transfer and was on it until I was 11 weeks pregnant. I did a 1cc injection twice a day.
As far as tips and tricks, I didn't really do anything. I didn't ice beforehand like some suggest because I didn't think the needle was really painful. The first shot was the worst, but after that it wasn't too bad. I did have to stop using band aids because the adhesives made me itch. I didn't get any knots except for the one time I hit a blood vessel. That did scare me because when I pulled the needle back out there blood shot across the room! I had one side for the morning injection and one side for the evening. I did bruise so I tried to spread out the injections so I was never going through a bruise. In the beginning I drew circles in sharpie on myself so I would know where to place the needle. After a couple weeks I didn't need them anymore, but they were really helpful at first.
One thing I didn't know was that I would lose feeling at the injection sites. I haven't had to do a shot since March and I'm still numb. I'm not sure if it will ever go back to normal. I would have liked to know that ahead of time.
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I did 1cc until 12 weeks. I recommend icing 10 minutes before the injection. I also had to use a heating pad for at least 30 minutes afterward or I'd notice the oil wouldn't break up and my injection site would seem to itch like crazy the next day.
I definitely recommend icing though, without it I used to be in tears and just dread them.
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Wishing you a ton of luck!!
Here are my recommendations:
1. Put as much of your weight as possible onto the opposite foot so that your muscle is relaxed/not tense.
2. I never iced beforehand, but I did use a heating pad after, or depending on the time of year, took a bit of a walk outside to get the oil dispersed in the muscle.
3. Also, bring the medicine body temp by holding the syringe in your hand for a little bit before injecting.
4. I recommend getting some kind of tiny treat for yourself for after each injection - mini Milkyways were a favorite (totally not kidding!).I will also note that I had pain/lumps/numbness for awhile after my successful pregnancy (also did injections 2x daily until 11 weeks), but it did eventually go away. And in the end, it is totally worth it!
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I will have to dig to find the name of it, but there is a cream my doctor gave me that numbed the injection site. It was like a miracle! I didn't have them for IVF but had one every week from week 16-36 of my pregnancy. They made a huge difference. That and using a big needle. The bigger the needle you can handle, the faster it is over with. If you use a small needle it takes a really long time to inject.
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@agold: The cream was called Lidocaine and Prilocaine Cream. Here's the thread where I posted about it originally
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/numbing-cream-for-progesterone-shots#post-1934094
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I did them from a bit before transfer I think, up to 12 weeks-ish. My shots were once a night (with a 2nd injection of DelEstrogen every 3rd night). Mine really weren't bad at all, and I never iced or heated or warmed the oil, etc. My husband did the injection for me every night, I would just lay on the bed or the couch and he'd inject the needle quickly like a dart. It only started to get a bit sore after I had been doing it for weeks and weeks. Hopefully you will get lucky like me!
I never did PIO for fresh cycles, only frozen and donor. If you don't react well to the PIo, maybe your doc could switch you to Endometrin inserts? But they are expensive and leaky, so you have to weigh the pros and cons. Good luck!
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Here are a couple of videos I found helpful
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This one helps to show proper placement - it's really more your lower back than the fleshy part of your bum (plus the screenshot of this one cracks me up):
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Like @momazon: said, I think the placement is the most important thing! We did it too low the first few times and it was so painful! I used to lay down on the couch to relax as much as possible, then my husband would stick the needle in. The first time, I was standing up and I jumped and the needle jerked.
So laying down worked much better for me. I usually bled a bit after so I'd put on a bandaid for an hour or so. I kept track of what side I was on in a notebook and alternated each time. Near the end I was totally covered in little marks, but I rarely bruised. I did PIO and prog suppositories until 15 weeks since I was pregnant with twins. Near the end I did develop hives, but I took Benadryl to get rid of them. Good luck!!
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Thank you, girls, so much for this information! I'm just sitting at home this weekend bored and dreading these darn shots!
@Mrs. Pickle: I'm hoping to avoid having to do them myself. I do my stomach shots on my own, but the big PIO needle scares me. So my husband will do them and if he can't, my sister will. I did many of her PIO shots for her when she did IVF so now she's repaying the favor! I can't believe you did the shots without icing. Did you do them yourself?
Thanks for letting me know that the pain of the shots gets better after the first. And thanks for the heads up about the numbness. I would freak out if I didn't know that was common. And twice a day... ugh. I just learned that its twice a day yesterday and that has caused me quit a bit of anxiety. And did your shot sites bleed alot? So far I haven't needed band aides with the stomach shots even though one of them causes me to bleed a tiny bit. (I blame the needed, and not my technique. 
)@winter_wonder: Were your PIO shots once or twice a day? Thanks for the tip about icing before and heat afterwards. I really hope I don't itch. I wonder if that's inevitable.
@GreenThumb: Thanks for wishing me luck! I canNOT believe you didn't ice! You and Mrs.Pickle seem crazy to me!
After your shots, did you first use the heat pack or go for the walk? And how long would you walk? 5 minutes? 20 minutes? And ugh, two times a day shots. Isn't this horrible we have to do it?@Mrs. Lion: Thank you for telling me about that cream! I'm going to ask my doctor about it asap when I see him on Tuesday. Would you still ice before the shot even when you used the cream?
@momazon: I'm SO relieved to hear that you only had to do the PIO shot once a day. I wonder why some girls do it twice and some girls do it once a day. I'm going to ask my nurse shortly about the specifics of what I'll have to do, but she hasn't told me yet because she said it would overwhelm me. WELL I"M ALREADY OVERWHELMED!
Was the DelEstrogen intramuscular or a little stomach shot? And wow. No ice, heat or whatever. You are a champ. Why not ice? Did you try ice and not like it? And thanks for those videos. (The screen shot on the second also makes me laugh!) The one video I saw is of some skinny surrogate giving herself the PIO shot. My jaw was just dropped and I thought, no way I will ever do that. @twodoghouse: I was wondering about the standing up vs. laying on the couch for the shot. Makes sense that you would stay still while on the couch. Did you do the PIO shots once or twice a day? And hives on top of it all? You poor girl. You are a saint.
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@agold: I only had the PIO shots once per day, luckily and I got the hives after I'd been on the meds for about 10 weeks. It was so weird! I had just been released by my RE and it freaked me out, but the Benadryl helped really quickly. I actually found the suppositories worse because I was used to the shots by then, but the suppositories never stopped being gross. It's all worth it in the end! I hope things go well with your cycle!
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@agold: I did do them myself. My husband leaves for work at 5am and I didn't want to get up that early every day for him to help me! I only had blood in the needle once, but I did bleed a little bit after each shot. I just held a cotton ball or some toilet paper to it and massaged the site for a minute or so after. I watched the video above and found it to be really helpful, especially about the placement.
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@twodoghouse: As much as I'm dreading the shots, I might tend to agree with you about the grossness of suppositories. And that's so nice you only had to do the shots once a day. I'm hoping that's all I will need. But my husband has been treating me so overly sweet since I told him the PIO shots last for upwards of three months. And when I told him twice a day, he nearly passed out and promised me all sorts of nice things! I'll take it!
And I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in end!! 
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@Mrs. Pickle: You are so awesome. My husband works opposite hours from me so I've been worried that I might have to give them to myself. Luckily my sister lives close and I don't feel bad asking her to come up and do them for me a few days a week. And thanks for letting me know the length of time you massaged the shot site. I'm a little hyped up and am wanting to know precisely everything.
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@agold: the delEstrogen was also intramuscular. I never iced because I never needed it - really, these shots aren't that bad for most of us and the needle looks much scarier than it actually is.
Most of us handle the IM injections just fine, and a lot of women do them themselves. Try not to imagine these shots into something so insurmountable and torturous in your mind, as oftentimes you can barely feel the needle.
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My nurse told me not to ice before because it can make it harder for the needle to go in. She did suggest heating the spot after so the oil will disperse and not cause lumps. I got one of those microwaveable flannel bags and sat with that afterwards. It is possible to be allergic to the oil, so if your spits get itchy or hot talk to your nurse, and they can switch the type. I did my shots until 10 weeks with both pregnancies. I was happy when it was over but so thankful that I was pregnant!! Good luck
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@agold: I just had to do it once a day. You'll get into a routine and it will seem easy after awhile
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I hope all your worrying is for nothing and that they are as painless as possible! I have so much hope for you this cycle!! This was the same time I got pregnant last year
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@momazon: Thanks for your calming words. I'm praying that I would find the shots to be not that bad. I've settled down about the stomach shots so hopefully the same will be true for the nasty back ones.
@brady80: I've heard that icing can make the medicine harder to get in. Where did you find a microwable flannel bag?
@LindsayInNY: Thank you so very much!!
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@agold: My grandma made one with rice and the outside with flannel. CVS has microwaveable bags as well. The key is you don't want a heating pad, because that is dry heat, if that makes sense?
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@brady80: Yes, it does make sense. I was totally going to use an electric heating pad. So thanks for telling me about CVS.
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@agold: its been a long time since I did it but this is what I remember
1 - after you pull the PIO into the needle hold it in your hand to get it warm - it will go in much easier
2- the needle never bothered me - the anticipation did
3- after injecting take a warm wet washcloth and massage the area for a minute or so - I never had any issues with lumps or hot spots after doing this
good luck!!
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@Mamaof2: Thank you for your input! I really like the warm wet washcloth idea. And yes... the anticipation is killing me!
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I just asked my RE about the PIO shots today and was told that for fresh embryo transfers, only one PIO shot is needed a day (phew) and for frozen embryo transfers, two PIO shots are needed each day. I don't know if that is how it is at all RE offices, but I'm so relieved to hear that I may only need one PIO shot a day.
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@agold: yay for only one shot a day! When I did a fresh cycle I was on suppositories so no shots. For my FET I did the two a day.
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@Mrs. Pickle: @GreenThumb: @momazon: Hey girls! I did a PIO shot this past Friday and didn't have time to ice. Thank you for the confidence to just go for it without too much panic. It wasn't bad at all without icing. Thank you, again.
Here are my recommendations:
So laying down worked much better for me. I usually bled a bit after so I'd put on a bandaid for an hour or so. I kept track of what side I was on in a notebook and alternated each time. Near the end I was totally covered in little marks, but I rarely bruised. I did PIO and prog suppositories until 15 weeks since I was pregnant with twins. Near the end I did develop hives, but I took Benadryl to get rid of them. Good luck!!
)
Was the DelEstrogen intramuscular or a little stomach shot? And wow. No ice, heat or whatever. You are a champ. Why not ice? Did you try ice and not like it? And thanks for those videos. (The screen shot on the second also makes me laugh!) The one video I saw is of some skinny surrogate giving herself the PIO shot. My jaw was just dropped and I thought, no way I will ever do that. 
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