So, since the last cycle didn't work, they're throwing all the meds at me this time. I've been on the Lupron for a couple of weeks, and I started the Delestrogen tonight. It's estrogen in shot form. I have 22G needles to draw it up out of the bottle, and 25G needles to put it into my body. That's smaller than last time. Last time, I had 22s for both, I think. I know I didn't have 25s.
The estrogen shots are not like Lupron shots. Where Lupron is subcutaneous and needs a little needle, the estrogen is intramuscular, and so needs a needle big enough to get through your fat and into your muscle. It's given in the upper butt/hip/waist sort of area. If you grab that fat area that many of us have above our hips, just under the waist, it goes back there. So, you can do it yourself (I know a lot of ladies who have), but I think it's a lot easier to have somebody else do it. I can do the right side OK, but I have trouble with the left. Plus, I hesitate, and that's when it hurts. You need a nice fast piercing, and then you don't notice. It's when you go in too slowly that it really hurts.
I hold on to the bottle for a while before, to get it to body temperature. That makes it go in more easily, I think. Or maybe it just isn't as noticeable.
A lot of ladies ice the area before the shot, to numb the skin. But, it won't numb the whole path of the needle (the needle is 1 1/2 inches long), and I think icing makes the estrogen more likely to form a lump. You'll get lumps anyway, once you get further along and add the progesterone, but there's no reason to start now. I just chafe the skin. That means, I rub my hand vigorously over the area before the shot. That's what my mom did when she gave me my shots with the last surrogacy, and I like it better.
Alternate sides, and you're less likely to lump. Plus, it will hurt less. You'll have plenty of lumps and pain later. When the shot is done, I rub it some more, to get the estrogen moving and dispersing into my muscle, so it doesn't just sit there. Again, less lumping. That's it. Sometimes, it will bleed. Sometimes it won't. No worries.
The estrogen shots are not like Lupron shots. Where Lupron is subcutaneous and needs a little needle, the estrogen is intramuscular, and so needs a needle big enough to get through your fat and into your muscle. It's given in the upper butt/hip/waist sort of area. If you grab that fat area that many of us have above our hips, just under the waist, it goes back there. So, you can do it yourself (I know a lot of ladies who have), but I think it's a lot easier to have somebody else do it. I can do the right side OK, but I have trouble with the left. Plus, I hesitate, and that's when it hurts. You need a nice fast piercing, and then you don't notice. It's when you go in too slowly that it really hurts.
I hold on to the bottle for a while before, to get it to body temperature. That makes it go in more easily, I think. Or maybe it just isn't as noticeable.
A lot of ladies ice the area before the shot, to numb the skin. But, it won't numb the whole path of the needle (the needle is 1 1/2 inches long), and I think icing makes the estrogen more likely to form a lump. You'll get lumps anyway, once you get further along and add the progesterone, but there's no reason to start now. I just chafe the skin. That means, I rub my hand vigorously over the area before the shot. That's what my mom did when she gave me my shots with the last surrogacy, and I like it better.
Alternate sides, and you're less likely to lump. Plus, it will hurt less. You'll have plenty of lumps and pain later. When the shot is done, I rub it some more, to get the estrogen moving and dispersing into my muscle, so it doesn't just sit there. Again, less lumping. That's it. Sometimes, it will bleed. Sometimes it won't. No worries.
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