April 2017 - FET #1, Progesterone in Oil Shots

For those who are curious, the progesterone shots are different from the other shots I've taken up to this point.  All the stimulant medicines, trigger shots, blood thinners, etc. have all been subcutaneous injections, meaning they are administered by pinching some fat (usually on the stomach) and injecting the fluid through a short, small needle into the fat.  If you're ever in a tight spot and need a tutorial, follow the link above for a demo!

Progesterone shots are intramuscular shots.  The medication needs to be injected into the muscle for proper absorption and/or time release.  The needle is longer.  Most sub-Q needles I have used are an inch or less, whereas my progesterone in oil (PIO) needles are 1.5 inches long.  Here are a couple videos Michael and I found hugely helpful as we got ready to start these:

Progesterone in Oil Overview

PIO Injection Placement

This lady rocks.  Very practical and frank about it, and it helped us get over the nerves of doing this injection.  Thank you, Nurse Linda!

The progesterone itself is mixed in an oil solution.  In my case, it's a sesame oil, but there are other options out there.  When I look at it in the vial, it looks a bit like it has the consistency of a thin cooking oil, but when I go to draw it into the syringe, it's a tug of war exercise.  Now, they key to drawing any liquid out of a vial is to put some positive pressure into it to the same tune of what you are aiming to get out of it.  My dosage for PIO is 2mL, so I push 2mL of air into the vial as I go in to draw the oil out.  It still takes about 20-30 seconds for it to slowly fill the syringe to 20mL...and that's after I have heated the oil in the vial to make it as runny as possible.  Feels like trying to drink maple syrup through the world's tiniest straw.

I've now got a routine with my microwave heating pad.  The heating pad serves two purposes, warming the oil and soothing the injection site afterwards.  I heat it for a couple minutes in the microwave, then tuck the PIO vial into it while I give myself my Lovenox shot (sub-Q tummy shot), then with the oil warm, I fill the PIO syringe.  I tuck the syringe back into the heating pad and husband and I assume the position for the shot - me lying down on my stomach, him standing above.  He cleans the spot with an alcohol swap, takes the warm syringe and quickly (which helps a lot) pops it into the muscle.  It takes about 15-20 seconds to squeeze the oil back out of the syringe and into my muscle.  Surprisingly, when done in the right spot and even as he's squeezing the oil in, there's very little pain, and mostly just pressure.  Feels like someone is poking you with a plastic stick.  When it's empty, he recaps the needle, rubs the spot for a little while to distribute the oil, then applies the heating pad.  I lie there for about 15 mins with the heat and then I'm done!  The soreness comes in the next day, but it's similar to a flu shot or sore muscle from working out...not debilitating.  Alternating sides gives one side a chance to rest a little each day.  So far this has been working very well.

Damn right!

So, I tried it solo for the first time last night.  In the beginning, I stabbed myself, no problem!  But then as I strained to push the oil in, I was shocked at the resistance, even with the warm oil.  I ended up pushing hard at a funny angle on the syringe and making it pivot in place, which was not pleasant.  (Pause for cringing...yes, it hurt)  Remember, these are in the lower back / upper butt area, so not the best angle for dexterity from the get-go, but in the end, Michael had to finish the last 1mL.

You may be wondering, "Why on earth would you try to do it yourself if Michael's so good at it??"  Right you are, however, the reason I tried to do it myself last night is that Michael is leaving town for a business trip and will be gone for the Tuesday - Friday night shots.  He seriously debated staying, but really and truly, this is for a conference for his new promoted role, and he needs to go on this one.

So after the rocky solo try, tonight my best friend since 6th grade, Katie, is coming over to help give the shot and stay the night.  Come for the needles, stay for the slumber party!  While I am feeling brave about having done it at least in part last night, and know I could probably improve tonight, it's quite a relief to have someone here with me.  Thank you, Katie!!!  You're really (literally) savin' my ass!

Here's hoping for many more weeks of these!!!