The Horror of Progesterone in Oil Injections

I've barely been able to walk for the past couple of days. Sitting down takes me about twice as long as it should, with me gingerly easing myself down onto the seat like an old lady (no offense to old ladies, of course, but at the age of 27, I don't really want to be moving like one!). Even lying down is painful, as I try to avoid the most tender spots on my backside, gently flipping from one side to the other to try to find any position that's remotely bearable.

So what exactly has gotten me in to such a pathetic state? It's those dang progesterone in oil shots that Andy has been injecting into my buttocks each evening. They have never been that pleasant, but at least in the beginning they were tolerable. At worse I would develop painful lumps on my butt, which are apparently either pockets of oil or scar tissue. But these past couple of weeks, the shots were getting increasingly uncomfortable with more blood, and it finally got to the point where my entire butt had become so swollen, painful, and slightly numb that I felt temporarily crippled.

Even though Dr. M wanted me to continue both the progesterone shots and suppositories until week 14, I couldn't stand it anymore, and when the nurse from my new doctor's office (Dr. W, who seems great, by the way--I'll post more about him and my first appointment later) called to report on my lab work, I begged her to let me stop the shots and just continue with the suppositories. She said she'd have to consult with someone on that and call me back. Thankfully, when she called, it was with good news--I could discontinue the shots!

My first reaction was relief, but then, being the obsessive worrier that I am, I started to wonder if maybe Dr. M had a good reason for keeping me on both forms of progesterone until week 14, and that maybe I was somehow putting myself at risk of miscarriage by stopping the shots so abruptly. From what I read online, the placenta takes over production of progesterone at about 10 weeks, and most doctors stop progesterone supplementation between 10-12 weeks (I'm 11.5 weeks now, so I fall safely into that range). Some stop it as early as 8, while others go for as long as 14. From my online research, it seems that a lot of women feel nervous about discontinuing the progesterone, and some continue to take it even after their doctor tells them to stop, often slowly tapering the dosage over several weeks. No one had lost a baby from coming off progesterone too soon, which was a relief. I started to calm down a bit, reasoning that I was still going to be on the suppositories until week 14.

But after going for one day without the shot, I started to feel panicky again and, can you believe it, voluntarily gave myself another shot, just to be safe! How crazy am I! I even had to stab myself twice because not all of the oil would go in the first time. AC had already told me the previous day that since I'd been given the okay to stop, he was done, he wasn't going to administer any more shots. Well, I can tell you, that is absolutely the last shot I am doing! After another day of hobbling around in horrible pain, I am done.

So, goodbye progesterone in oil! We'll probably meet again at some point (like when I have my next child), but that wont be for another few years, and hopefully by then my butt will have fully recovered from your pernicious attack!