New Here - Starting IVF next month - Injections

bluebird2392

Hi everyone - introducing myself with a hello and a couple anxious questions. I am starting first round of IVF in July, and I have what I know is an unreasonably high level of anxiety over the injections. I've always been petrified of needles so I've really started trying to get myself prepped for it --- I think what I am most nervous about is that poke through the skin and my hand shaking/the needle moving from being so nervous and making it worse .

Has anyone been successful with using an auto-injector like they have for insulin? I think it might help if I could insert the needle with a button push instead of jab. My dr. said all the meds for the egg retrieval portion are sub Q so I think the needles would fit in the auto-injector? The nurses didn't have any experience with them.

For anyone who has had issues with self-injections, how did you get over it? I don't have the option to have someone else administer them.

00kim00

I have no experience with an auto-injector, so I can't help with that. I was definitely nervous about the injections, but the subcutaneous ones were WAY easier and less painful than I thought. The first med I was on (Gonal F) I barely felt them! It was a really nice start, actually, because they were the easiest, smallest needle, and didn't hurt, so it reduced my nerves for the others. It wasn't even as bad as getting pricked by a sewing needle or thorn. Really, I just knew there was no other option and I had to suck it up and get it done. After the first, they get way easier. If/when you move on to intramuscular, it's a HUGE help to have someone else do it. I thought my husband wasn't going to be able to, but the twisting to inject in the buttocks is painfully awkward. If your partner can't help, you may want to enlist a friend or family member (some areas even have services that will come to your home and do it for you). But the subcutaneous ones you can really do on your own. You got this!

bluebird2392

Thanks - I am so nerve-wrecked... I have been reading up on other tips, icing numbing cream, etc... its not even the pain so much as it is the concept!

I'm not sure how I am going to manage intramuscular... but it seems like I can get to egg retrieval with just the Sub Q ones, and if I make it that far I am going to look into "natural" frozen embryo transfer where it seems I might be able to take the progesterone ways other than through injections. I am just trying to wrap my head around it. Maybe if I can just get through the Sub Q ones the intramuscular won't be as intimidating.

00kim00

Honestly, I didn't bother with the ice, numbing cream, etc. It literally takes seconds, I just took a deep breath, gathered courage and did it. Once that first needle goes in, it was like "oh, that wasn't so bad. I can do this!" Pinching the skin somehow helped psychologically for me.

That said, the IM injections were still intimidating -that needle is longer and thicker, and there's a step where you have to pull back on the plunger to check for blood before injecting. It does not necessarily hurt any more than the subcutaneous, but looking at a big needle after all the small ones was different. I do suggest trying very hard to find someone to help with that, though mostly because it's an awkward angle. I had to do it myself one day when my husband was out of town, and I got a cramp in my back from twisting. You can certainly talk to your doctor about other options, but it's my understanding (both from my clinic and from research I read independently) that the progesterone injection is way, way more successful at helping a pregnancy stick than other forms, so my doctor didn't give a choice.

courtneyh7138

I have no experience with the auto-injector, but I also hate needles and was so freaked out.  After multiple rounds of IVF, I can tell you that the injections really aren't as bad as they seem. I'd be happy to help talk you through any of them. I really feel like I found a good method with them and was able to get it to a point where it was very manageable and pretty painless!  Especially the sub-q ones!

bluebird2392

Thanks! Can I ask about your method?

mina-p

I am so nervous about this too... Does anyone have their SO do it for them?