IVF: Soreness post hCG intramuscular shot

[alizco]

My husband and I are in the beginning of the IVF process.  I received the pre egg retrieval hCG intramuscular shot into the upper left quadrant of my buttocks last night.  This morning I woke up with extreme soreness on the right side of my buttocks.  It is painful to walk and especially sit.  I can't imagine having this type of soreness exacerbated for the next two and a half weeks of progesterone shots.  Can anyone relate to this?  Are the progesterone shots this painful?  Is there anything that can be done to alleviate the pain?

[smunchkin2]

hi there, i've been thru ivf 4 times and i'm currently 6w4d's preggo and still doing my prog shots daily.  something my hubby and i found very helpful was to ask the dr. or nurse to draw circles on both sides of your buttocks where the shots should be administered.  this way you don't have to worry about placement and whether or not your are receiving your medicine. when the circle lines start dissapearing, you can just re-draw over them yourself so you don't have to ask again.  eventually your hubby will get the hang of the placement and will no longer need. and yes, the lower you go, the more blood you may see and bruising and can fell like more of a stinging pain.  every day is different for me... most days the shot barely hurts.  and then once in a while... bamm it hurts/burns a lot but it's soooo short lived that i don't think it's a big deal.  it doesn't continue to hurt once the needle is out.  we always alternate sides every morning.  yes, my butt does feel sore and my muscles ache but nothing intolerable.  some days it's fine and some days its more sore.  i think the hcg and progesterone shot are pretty similar in how they felt... at least for me.  best of luck!!!

[alizco]

Many thanks for your response.  It's good to hear from several people that the shots were not painful.  It doesn't sound like what you went through compares to what I'm feeling today.  I can barely walk.  The irony is that a nurse administered the shot b/c my husband was away this weekend.  Scary.  The circle is a great pointer.  Congrats on your pregnancy!!!!!  I can imagine how exciting it must be!

[AnnieBrooke]

Heat or ice or a bath will help.  If your soreness is that extreme, the shot was probably too low.  My clinic gave me a drawing to show how to avoid the sciatic nerve and some of the stronger muscles ... we didn't have any problem in the 12 weeks of i.m. progesterone shots.  The clinic did say that some women who have to give themselves the shots because their husbands couldn't, gave themselves the shot in the thigh, and it hurt them so much they could barely walk.  So it's possible to give a shot in a place where the muscles just aren't friendly to it.  The only way to describe the right spot is to say it's on almost on the "shoulder" of your hip -- it's pretty high up, not at your waist but maybe just down from it.  If you draw an imaginary line from your spine to the exact side of your side, it's about halfway along that line, and maybe one and a half or two inches below your waist.

[alizco]

Thank you for responding.  The shot was administered about 2 inches below the hipbone and three inches over.  I'm not sure if that is too low or not.  It was relieving/hopeful to hear that you found a good spot for the shot and that you didn't suffer.  We’ll ask the dr. tomorrow to assess the spot tomorrow.  Do you remember having any soreness after your hCG shot?  In other words, was there any difference b/w hCG and progesterone?

[cocoinkaty]

Just read your post and I've been doing PIO injections for 2 1/2 weeks and my cheeks are a knotted, bruised, sore mess. The shots themselves don't hurt at all...my husband is a pro at giving them but the next morning, Oh!My!God!.  The critical things are:

1.  warm the oil first - not in the microwave, just hold the vial in your hand for 10-15 minutes or stick it under a boob inside your bra. Warming the oil makes 100% difference.



2. warm your hiney before the shot.  Just sit on a heating pad or if you have a microwaveable heating pad put that on for 5 minutes before your shot.



3.  give the shot a deep massage afterwards. Just slow rubbing for a good 2 minutes to help the oil dissapate.



4. get that hiney back on a heating pad! Again the microwaveable ones are great because you can put it right on the shot.  I'll tell you though, after nearly 3 weeks (with 6 more to go) my entire hiney is delighted with the deep heat!



I am still sore every day. If I drive a long way or sit too long it feels like the needle got broken off in my cheek. It's really no worse than an extremely bad sunburn, but it's knowing you have to do it again tonight that's hard - the mind game!



This is not the fun part, but remember why you're doing it and it's really no biggie.

[ladybuggy]

I used ice to numb b4 my husband gave me the shot but didn’t start doing so until I was half way through & felt like I couldn’t take anymore and I’d have 2 say it was a BIG help to learn I could do so. The thought of having to get another 1 the next night just made the pain all the more worse.

My Doc. Office also drew a couple of circles on my hips/butt to help my husband know exactly where 2 go because he had went a little low a few times & I had bruised + was really sore but even now being 22wks preg. I still get a sharp pain where he gave me shots  and have even wondered if there was maybe a small piece of the needle left behind.

[HeavenSent07]

where can i go to get the buddock shots. and what is the expense if u dont mind me asking