My Routine...

...for the next 7 weeks if we're lucky (aka-PREGNANT!).

So, for fun, I thought I would show you all what Tony and I do every night at 10:15-10:30 pm. 

My "oh so fun" progesterone injection (PIO).  This is progesterone in ethyl oleate oil (while in Houston for transfer, we discovered that I apparently do not react well to the sesame oil...still in lots of pain from that oil, but slowly getting better).

Anyway.


First, I round up all the usual suspects:
*Syringe with 18 gauge (FAT) needle to draw up the medication
*22 gauge (still big) needle to inject the medication
*PIO (technically PEO- Progesterone in Ethyl Oleate)
*Alcohol swab
*Gauze pad (because I usually bleed a little)
*Sharps container
*Heating pad

First I clean off the top of the vial with an alcohol swab.  Then, I draw up 1 mL of PIO.



Next, I switch out the needles and put the needle used to inject onto the syringe.

Now, I place the syringe into a warm heating pad.  I do this to warm up and THIN out the oil.  It is very thick, and just like when you are cooking with oil, it thins out when warmed up a bit.  After about 3 minutes in the heating pad, it is time to inject (BTW...you DO NOT want to overheat the oil.  I've done it before and it is literally like injecting hot oil into your muscle. OUCH!)



Now that the oil is warmed up, it's time to pass it on to Tony so he can administer the medication.  (He HATES this!)

I'll spare you the visuals of the needle being plunged, with a dart-like motion, into my gluteal muscle!  After Tony gives me the injection (sometimes with an audience...my kids watched tonight - they say it looks cool when the long needle comes out of my skin), he then removes the needle from the syringe and places it safely into the sharps container.



After the injection, I wipe off the small amount of blood, massage the area for a few minutes, and then sit my sore butt on a heating pad for about 30 minutes (which is what I am doing now).

And, that's it!  I am officially 3 weeks, 3 days "pregnant" (if the transfer worked).  And, if it was a success, I will continue these injections until about 10-11 weeks gestation. 

*Fingers Crossed*