Funny IVF Thoughts

Last night was Progesterone in Oil (PIO) day 2. It really isn’t horrible, but it is certainly not fun.

I got to thinking; this is supposed to be an intramuscular injection, right? Yeah, so whose idea was it to inject my butt? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel like there is a whole lot of muscle on my butt. There’s something, but it ain’t muscle.

For that matter, who thought of the idea to put hormones in sesame oil? I mean, really! Do we really need to inject MORE fat into my butt?

And how did they come up with this whole idea, anyhow? As it turns out, the whole IVF idea is pretty old, and the first test tube baby was born in the 70s. How did the process get to this point where tens of thousands of women are (mostly secretly) going through this procedure?

Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful that IVF is an option, and am even more grateful that I am in a position to avail myself of this technology. But if you really think about it, it is kind of crazy.

***

In case you’re wondering, PIO #2 went a little better than #1. I received a couple of very helpful emails from friends and I combed the internet. Here is the current drill:

1 – 5 minutes before, ice the injection site. [I am not convinced this is important, because I think that it is to numb the skin to desensitize it for the needle prick. The needle prick generally doesn’t bother me, so I think I’m going to try skipping this next time.]

2 – Fill the syringe with the PIO and heat it for a few minutes. The Knight puts it under his arm and it gets good and toasty. [Apparently, warming the oil makes it thinner and easier to inject.]

3 – Lay face down or find a position that takes the weight off your legs. The person giving the injection places his thumb and index finger together at the injection site, and then spreads the skin taut; then injects the PIO.

4 – Afterwards, lightly massage the area and then apply a warm washcloth.

5 – Most importantly, last night I resumed the post-injection cookie ritual. It was totally helpful and I highly recommend this. ;)

One more tip – if you happen to have a little bit of blood at the injection site (totally normal), it is best not to wipe the blood off and then touch the white duvet cover. I’m not saying who did this, but since one of us was lying face down on the bed eating a cookie, I’ll let you guess. :)