Like I said in the last post, the shots turned out to be so much better than I thought. At least, the administration part. You barely feel a prick and don't feel the needle actually going in so I was really happy about that.
But, for you girls that will be doing this in your IVF/FET cycles soon, it's after the shot that can be kinda not fun. Since the progesterone is in oil, it's very thick and it can make your muscle really tighten up. There are some ways to help prevent and help minimize discomfort at the bottom of this post. They are suggestions I got from my nurses, other girls who have done these before, the internet and personal experience! :)
BUT we actually didn't get to stay on Progesterone injections very long. I think it was only 10 days. We really struggled with the after-pain. That's why I have EIGHT suggestions for minimizing it. But I believe the reason I struggled so much is because I have hip problems.
On the tenth night, we did the injection like always and went to bed later. I woke up at 2AM in severe pain. I couldn't get comfortable in any position. I tried laying on both sides, my back, my stomach and fetal position. Nothing helped. The muscle in my hip/toosh had tightened up so badly, I was in tears. I tried heat and ice. Eventually I walked (limped) through our little house back and forth (hall-living room-dining room-kitchen-hall-living room-dining room-kitchen....) for over thirty minutes at 3 AM hoping that I could just work out the muscle. It took all my strength to walk normal strides and not fall over. I literally said out loud with each step, "You are strong. You're ok. It will be ok."
I finally went back to bed to try again to sleep. Twenty mins later I woke my poor husband up again crying, almost hysterically. The pain wasn't enough to cry that much but when it's constant and doesn't ever give and it's three in the morning and you're worried about staying calm for the baby you hope is growing inside of you.....it's hard not to become hysterical! He rubbed my hip down again and calmed me down. It took another hour after that and tons of prayer and I finally fell asleep.
I somehow made it through church the next morning and then our Bishop gave us both blessings. That was a beautiful experience and a blessing I'll never forget. We felt so grateful and blessed to have such a kind bishop willing to give us time and counsel.
That afternoon after talking to my bishop's wife (she's a nurse) and one other friend who's also a nurse, we called my doctor's office and had the doctor paged. He called a few minutes later and after talking for a bit about how I was feeling, he said not to do any more injections and they'd switch me over to progesterone suppositories. (Crinone 8%) I had done these two years ago when I had done Clomid while living in Utah. Luckily I had 2 days worth left over that hadn't expired so I switched to those twice per day and they ordered several more weeks worth and had them mailed to me overnight so I wouldn't miss a dose.
But as soon as I hung up the phone and Bryce asked what he said, I broke down in tears of gratitude and relief that I wouldn't have to do those injections anymore. Bryce just laughed and hugged me. :)
Again, let me just say, This Is Not Normal. Women usually do not have the experience I did!!! I have hip-joint problems on the side that hurt so badly. The muscles surrounding my joint tighten up horribly when my hip starts to come out of socket. I believe that what happened was that we did the injection, the muscles near my toosh and hip tightened up and then my hip started coming out of socket like it normally does but because the two happened at the same time, it intensified the problem and so the pain wasn't just in the injection site but also down into my hip joint. No fun.
Ways to help prevent and help minimize discomfort:
1. Do Not do the injection right before bed. You need time to keep the blood flow through the area for a while before lying down and being stagnant for hours on it.
2. after pulling the medication into the syringe, roll the syringe back and forth in your hands quickly to warm up the medication.
3. Walk around/walk up and down stairs BEFORE the injection to get blood moving through the area.
4. Make sure your leg/hip is limp during the injection. Put all your weight on your opposite leg. Do not flex your toosh!
5. As soon as the injection is over and needle is pulled out, start walking around again/up and down stairs. Again, get the blood moving through!
6. Massage the area or have your hubby do it!
7. Heat/ice. Go back and forth. Don't keep either on too long and wet heat is better than dry. Just remember that once you're pregnant, hot baths are not good for the baby.
8. I think Potassium is supposed to help with cramps...but I don't actually know that for a fact. I ate bananas on a daily basis. :)
hmmmm....those are all the suggestions I can think of. They were all very helpful for us (prior to my hip problems)!
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