PIO tips

[turboteal]

Hi ladies, I'm back. We ste getting ready to try for #2 with an FET from our first cycle. Last time I didn't use pio, just crinone, but I guess my clinic has changed their protocol since then, my new regimen includes pio shots every third day I think. Looking for tips on doing the shots, my husband can help but I may also need to be able to do some myself. Also wondering if anybody tried doing them anywhere other than the upper outer butt spot. I find the description on where to do that shot so vague/easy to get wrong, seems like the ventrogluteal area would be much easier to correctly identify?? And possibly less painful per somethings I've read online, and easier to administer to myself. Or has anyone tried the quads?

[pinkpeony08]

I did them myself, partly bc I am a nurse and my husband isn’t in health care. I googled some videos on YouTube. I would lie on my side and prop my upper leg up with pillows. I warmed the oil under my arm and heated up my butt with a heating pad. Then rubbed a lot after. It was a lot of self encouragement looking at the big needle. If it got in the wrong spot, it was super sore, but if I got it right, it really wasn’t that bad. For me, looking at that needle was the worse part.

[thoseareradishes]

Have a nurse draw circles on your butt with a sharpie so you know where to aim. It's not really your butt - imagine a line across your butt above your crack, then a 4 square grid above each cheek. The shot goes in the upper outer box. I warmed the area with a heating pad and also warmed the oil under my arm or in my bra. Icing will make it harder for the oil to spread out and that can cause painful knots. I warmed the area after too and massaged it a little. My first PIO cycle I had a ton of pain but for the second they switched me to a smaller needle and it made a huge difference.

[doggielover]

I had my husband do them and I'd ice my butt really well before hand. He's inject but I never felt anything and then massage afterwards to avoid any knots. I tried doing warming the area first and it never worked for me. I tried doing them myself but it was the anticipation and watching the needle go in where I'd freak out. A couple times we hit a vein so I'd bleed afterwards which is completely normal.

You can also get the auto injector which makes things super easy. Literally put it to the skin and press the button and it injects itself.

Edit:  DO NOT inject in the thigh.  I know you can but that was probably the worst pain I ever felt.  

[lovelyshoes]

Ditto radishes at having the nurse draw circles, you’ll know where to do it after. Alternate sides. I warmed it up in my hand while sitting on a heating pad, my h did the shot and then I laid on the heating pad. It was not bad at all. I wish I remembered the size of the needle, that definitely helped. Good luck!

[kellikans]

I would ice for about 5 minutes, do the injection, rub, then put heat on afterwards. I always did mine standing in the bathroom, making sure to take all the weight off the leg of the side I was doing the injection on (to keep the muscle as relaxed as possible). My DH did them for me in the beginning, but he had to go out of town and I had to do them myself while he was gone. Turned out it was much less painful when I did them myself.

It's overwhelming at first, and scary, but it really isn't as bad as it seems in the end.

Eta: and yes, warm the oil beforehand. I'd stick the vial in my armpit for a few minutes before drawing it up.

[Jalapeñomel]

DO NOT INJECT INTO THE THIGH.

[turboteal]

Lol thanks for the definitive opinions on using the thigh location! I figured some people must have tried it, good to learn from the trials of others.

[Mushe]

Hi turboteal! So good to see you again, and I’m wishing you a successful and uneventful cycle.

IIRC, you’re a nurse, right? I’m not, but I ended up doing 100% of my shots because my husband sucks at it. I never tried the thigh, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to give myself PIO. I had the nurse draw the acceptable area in Sharpie, and had my husband refresh that every few days.