Progesterone Ponderings

For those who are new to the whole IVF thing I'd like to share my experience with progesterone. IVF patients have to be supplemented with enough progesterone to support a pregnancy. This starts a couple of days before embryo transfer. Per my protocol (and really, this method is quite common) I get my progesterone in the form of progesterone in oil, aka PIO. It is injected with an inch and a half long needle into my hip each night. Because I am so lucky and "suffer" from advanced maternal age I also have to use progesterone suppositories that are crammed up my hoo-ha each night.

The PIO injections are the scariest part when contemplating IVF. Everyone always complains about how painful they are and how they are the bane of life with an IVF cycle. Let me tell you how it has been going. The first night I got myself all psyched up. Brian would be doing the honors, because frankly, I don't even want to see the syringe let alone the needle because the first time I saw the needle I realized that I have used smaller nails to hang pictures on the wall. I layed down on my stomach with my face in a pillow. He swiped the area on my hip with an alcohol wipe. (The area had been clearly marked by the nurse with a sharpie in order to narrow down the prime target.) I heard Brian gasp, then I felt the poke. And then it was over. Easy as pie. The next night went much the same, including Brian's pre-poke gasp, except we used the other hip. And the next night, again, went much the same, including Brian's pre-poke gasp, except we used the first hip. I couldn't believe that this could really be this easy and pain free! What kind of lucky duck am I?

Well, I'm not. The reality of progesterone has caught up with me. I'm sporting knotty rainbow colored lumps on both hips. I've had to start using a heated rice sock afterwards on the violated hip. And I finally had to ask beg Brian to stop his pre-poke gasp because it was not very comforting to hear.

And how does this progesterone make me feel? Well, let me tell you, my boobs have been sore since before I even had any embryos in me! What kind of garbage is that? My nose drips like a faucet. I'm a tad bit emotional. I'm tired, and all I do is sit around the house. And today I got really, really nauseous and tried to lose my breakfast. That has subsided a bit, and I now just feel mildly queasy. So, as you can see, I am blaming absolutely everything on the progesterone. Including paying the Discover bill late. Oh, I think it also might make me a little whiny.