Self administered injections??

Acedit

Did you ladies do your own injections or have you husband or SO? I'm not afraid of needles, but I do not do well with self inflicted pain.... And tips that helped the injections be less painful? Any tips are appreciated. TIA

tptbabe

Most of the shots are sub-q, which really don't hurt at all! Some might burn a little bit, but overall, it's not that painful. (And I'm terrified of needles!) The pre-filled syringes are the worst, because they tend to be rather dull, but it's over quickly. I find the build-up to it is the worst! I had to really psych myself up to do it, but in the end I just ended up wondering what I was so worried about!

DH can't even be in the same room when I do it. He doesn't have a problem with getting needles himself (though he doesn't like blood draws), but he just can't watch me do it to myself! There's no way he could do it for me. Plus, it's not that I don't trust DH, but I figure that if something should get messed up, I'd rather have it be me that messed it up, rather than having DH mess it up, or blame him for hurting me.

intheplanningstage

For subcutaneous, I did my own in my stomach. My husband did all the mixing/preparation and it was nice having him be part of the process. But I wanted to do it myself (I'm not especially scared of needles though). For intramuscular (on your upper buttcheck), he did it. I couldn't physically manage that one but I wasn't a big fan of not expecting when to feel it (even though he would warn me...it's still not the same as doing it yourself).  Which meds are you doing? Most of them don't actually hurt, minus a few that could burn a bit. Ice the area before to help numb it if you're worried about the actual injection hurting. Then a warm compress after )

Twinkie0612

I did all the subQ injections (lupron, ganirelix, follistim, and menopur) myself.  My husband did the IM injections (trigger in the deltoid/arm and PIO in the hip/butt area) for me because they are logistically harder to do yourself.

kz's_girlygirl

I do all of them myself, including IM PIO for this upcoming cycle. DH did them for our first cycle, but I much prefer doing them myself!

For our next cycle I don't have a choice since DH is working out of state right now (he just started his new job but we don't move into our new house for 2 months!).

Getting everything ready, stabbing quick and just getting it over with helps me . GL!

happygirl1013

I handled all my own- I'm a super control freak

Sammydan703

So . . . the ones that had to be in the butt or upper back area . . . they are big needles but do they hurt more then the smaller needles?  If the IUI this month doesn't work I am on to IVF.  Just trying to understand what I could be in for.

Praying4Miracle17

I handle all of them (lupron, follistim, menopur, trigger) myself.  Only one DH does is PIO only because I just not sure how I would comfortably do the shot.  He absolutely dreads giving me that shot.

LooneyLife

Mine were all sub-q with the exception of 1 of the 2 trigger shots.  I did all the sub-q.  My husband did the IM trigger because it was awkward for me to reach.

ksgsmu

I do my own.... I love my husband but he would stress me out even more about it.  I want full control.

pblge

I started out thinking OH would do them all, then there was a night that he had to be out, so I HAD to do them, and now it's just whatever gets the job done. I hate the shots cumulatively, but each one isn't too bad. I don't do anything to make it less painful aside from trying to make it as quick as possible.

The blood draws are worse. I don't know what the hell the nurse did to my arm today, but I have a 1/4" long gouge on my best vein.

scooteriste

So . . . the ones that had to be in the butt or upper back area . . . they are big needles but do they hurt more then the smaller needles?  If the IUI this month doesn't work I am on to IVF.  Just trying to understand what I could be in for.

Yes, the larger needles and intramuscular injections are more, um, noticeable than the subcutaneous injections. I do the sub-q meds myself and DH does the IM ones. Although a few times he wasn't home and I had to work up the courage to do the butt-shot myself. (Cue the Rocky theme playing in the background...) I did feel like a badass afterward though.

HopefulSoul2

I did them all myself this cycle (mother did them for me first cycle).  I am a total wuss and a big time needle phobe; however, I was determined to do them all by myself this cycle.  I'm with @ksgsmu - my DH would stress me out even more!

I didn't do a quick jab at all.  I put the needle against my skin and just pushed it in.  I was always afraid to jab.  Towards the end of my stims when I was really sore and bruised, I would ice the area for a few minutes before and that seemed to help me.  Good luck!!

jaztastic

My DH has the most UNSTEADY hands ever... which is concerning because he was a medic in the military. Anyway... I've let him give me my shots before, mainly the intramuscular ones (shockingly he does a great job) but every now and again...  he makes me so nervous. He asked me this time if I wanted him to help me and my response was HELL NAW I'm not letting him anywhere near me and my shots. He makes me nervous just prepping the needles. But i probably will let him. Its his way of being involved. 

Acedit

Well I think the idea of me poking a needle through my skin freaks me out more than my husband doing it. Let's hope I can put on my big girl panties and do it by myself...

absolutelymaybe

I'll be the odd ball here, but DH did all my injections for me. I'm not a huge fan of needles, but I think I could have probably done the subq ones myself if I needed to. DH is just really super meticulous and had steady hands (I shake really bad) so it seemed natural to have him do them. As for the PIO shot...I have no clue how I would've done that one on my own. I pretty much just closed my eyes and said a little prayer whenever he did it.

keziah23

I did/do all my subq injections myself, DH does my intramuscular ones.  I'd rather be able to do them all myself, control freak that I am. 

STL34

For our first IVF cycle, I was going to have my husband help with the sub-q injections.  But, I found they hurt less if I did them myself.  So, if my husband was around, he just helped with mixing.

For the IM shots, my husband did all of them until I was out of town for work during one cycle.  After I gave my first IM shot to myself, I realized it wasn't as hard as I expected and again it hurt less if I did it.  When I was doing PIO, if my husband was around, I would still have him massage the injection site.

runforcookies

I do all my own subQ injections but DH has to get them prepared for me. He also does my sub muscular injections.

Nellody86

I did all of the sub-q myself but my DH helped mix and prep! They don't hurt at all...just stick it in quickly don't go slowly...I found that hurts MUCH worse. DH administered my IM shots since they went in the butt area good luck

Acedit

I guess plans can change when you're actually at the starting line and ready for the start the injection. I'm happy to hear you ladies were able to administer them yourselves. That's awesome.

Acedit

Thanks for sharing!!!

badrianne

I've only had two days of injections but my husband has done everything (prep, mix and inject). It's been nice to him have be such a big part of the IF experience for once. Plus there is no way I'd choose to inject myself.  

LeggyJeggy

My first 2 cycles, my H or sister or mom or friend did them for me. I'm terrified of needles and blood. This time, I did a lot of them myself, all subQ, but even my trigger since my H works nights now. I could not do the menopur myself because I was afraid the burning would not let me finish it. I literally almost passed out watching the trigger go in, but I did fine. I practiced on a tomato and just kept thinking, " its a tomato!" It's silly, but it helps me. Good luck!

Acedit

I think I will def require practice... Thankfully I hope my dh will be home with me to administer them for me.. But I must say you kick butt ladies inspire me to try it on my own

PrincessPix

I thought giving myself the subq shots gave me a little sense of control over something that is controlling me. Does that make sense? I couldn't bear the thought of letting my DH do it, even though he was totally on board to help in any way. I did, however, make my nurse BFF give me my IM trigger last night because a) how awkward is it to give yourself a shot in the bum- major kudos to you rockstar ladies for getting the job done, and b) as much of a rockstar that I thought I was giving myself all the other shots, that bigger needle was kinda intimidating...