I have successfully completed two days of Lupron shots, 20 microunits in the morning and evening...yay me! I am not thrilled about needles, and really not thrilled about having to poke myself, but I did it. The first shot was not so bad. I made my husband look over my shoulder to make sure I was doing it correctly, but in just a few seconds, I had given myself my first shot, and it didn't even hurt. The sensation of the needle breaking the skin is odd, but there was no pain. After the shot, I had an itching and burning sensation at the spot for a little bit, but it was not a big deal. The interesting part was that thirty minutes after the shot, I started to have some menstrual bleeding. It subsided throughout the day and then shortly after my second shot, the same thing happened. I also had some intestinal issues the first day. I am not sure if it was from the shot or because I chose to reward my efforts with some comfort food that maybe didn't quite agree with me.
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| Evening Injections |
The second day of the shots, I felt like an old pro. The morning shot hurt more; I think the needle may have been a tad bit dull. I experienced the same burning and itching sensation, but no other side effects. I am still bleeding, but I am starting to think this is nature and not a side effect of the shot. By the evening shot, I was such an old pro that I was able to rush upstairs to my bathroom and give myself a shot while dinner guests were getting ready to be seated in my dining room below. About half way through dinner, I started to get a headache. By the end of the night, my head was splitting, with a lot of pain around my eyes. It could have be a side effect of the medicine, but it is more likely that I was winding myself up about having to give myself FIVE shots the next day. While I was feeling confident about two, five felt closer to a thousand than to zero. The headache continued all night and the next morning. I also am on the verge of tears all the time, but again, I am not sure if it my body's response to stress, or a side effect of the hormones. Even as I am writing this, I can feel the tears brimming just under the surface. Fighting off the emotions makes me tired, which of course, leads to tears. It's a vicious cycle.
This morning, I added 225m of Gonal-F to my regimen. The needles seem to be hurting more with every treatment. I am not sure if my brain is catching on, or if my skin is just getting more sensitive. I am now a pro at the Lupron shot. I tried to put the needle in one area and it hurt, but a slight movement of the needle to a new spot and all went well. The Gonal-F is a pen. I hate the pen. It seems easier in theory, but pushing in the plunger is much more difficult with the pen, causing the needle to wiggle under the skin which leads to some minor discomfort. The plunger clicks at set intervals of medicine to indicate how much is being injected. The clicks are unnerving and makes me feel like the injection is a much bigger deal than it is. Once the injection is finished, the needle must remain for a few seconds to make sure all the medicine gets under the skin. I hate this too. I would really love to get the needle out as quickly as possible. The needle is very thin and tiny and so it doesn't hurt, but the wiggling and waiting isn't great. It's the same burning during injection, but less itching. I still have a terrible headache and my eyes hurt to move around in my head, but again, it is likely that I have stressed myself into a migraine and the headache really has nothing to do with the medicine.
Tonight I will add Menopur to the Lupron and Gonal-F shots. This is the shot I am most dreading. There is lots of mixing and I am nervous to do it wrong.
Here is what I know so far-I can give myself shots. The needles are tiny and barely hurt, or only hurt a little. Even though they are tiny, they are hurting more every day, so I need to get my head in the game. Anyone can do anything for a short amount of time, and I have managed must worse. Finally, I would hate to be diabetic and have to do this all the time, so I think I will actually try to add more vegetables to my diet and walk more...for real this time.
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