Shot

I am 6 weeks pregnant. Because I am an infertility patient, Dr. Hilgers at the Pope Paul VI Institute prescribes natural progesterone when I am in my first trimester. I can't believe I have 6 weeks of the first trimester to go. Six more weeks of shots. Ugh.

I have a dear friend who was a nurse in a former life. She gave me my first two shots. Today she got home from a retreat 9 hours away. She took her kids to homeschool gym, ran to WalMart, went to get a tooth pulled, and then went to the mobile such-and-such-an-exhibit at some local church. "But hey, swing by later!" Hmmm ... after that kind of schedule? You need rest, friend, not another thing on your agenda! Homeschool ladies are a busy lot.

So I decided to tackle the whole give-yourself-a-shot thing on my own. Natural progesterone is thick and nasty -- like shooting yourself in the arsch with molasses. I had the bruises from last week to estimate the spot to stick myself.

So, where to start: I don't know about you, but I prefer Google when I don't know what I'm doing. Go ahead and do a search on how to give yourself an IM shot in the hip. The results are quite funny. One serious result, though, warned that a nurse should draw a circle around the correct spot, so you don't damage a nerve. The thought of nerve damage raised my blood pressure a bit. But hey, I reassured myself, how hard could this be?

To finish, you've got to start, so I called a friend (to distract myself) and went into the bathroom. I drew out the 2 ml of progesterone with the thicker, 14 gauge needle. I put the 18 gauge needle on. I got out the alcohol and wiped the hip. I placed the needle where I thought I wanted it, thinking vectors (position and direction). Instead of doing the bullet method, which involves a ready-aim-fire fast-stab, I opted for the line-up-and-push. Once the skin is punctured, the 1 1/2 inch needle goes all the way in effortlessly. It's the once the skin is punctured part that's the killer. I exaggerate, but it is a tad unpleasant.

I shot my left hip this time, so it was hard (right handed) to hold the needle steady and push the plunger in smoothly. I was surprised to find after 30 seconds or so that the plunger was empty. I was a little bit proud: I did it with no spouse, while on my cell phone, and it didn't even hurt that badly.

It burns a little bit now. By tonight, I'll have a lump. That's okay. Whatever it takes to keep that little baby in the cooker.

Though I have some experience being a patient (I have had 14 spleens removed over 5 surgeries), I am not overly fond of needles. But I can do anything I put my mind to, even something as unpleasant as a shot in the hind end. So can you. If you got out of your comfort zone today, what could you accomplish?