6 Essential Tips for Progesterone in Oil Injections

Face the Scary Shots with Confidence!

If you’ve ever heard a woman undergoing IVF complain about shots, she’s definitely talking about the progesterone injections. There’s no need to sugar coat it: The PiO injections are scary because they use a big needle, and they hurt because your muscle will be sore/tender afterwards. But most surrogates get used to the injections really quickly. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t see all of these repeat surrogates (or siblings born through IVF)!

Here are six crucial things to know about progesterone shots:

1. 1. 1. Warm It Up: Warm up the oil before injection. Just stick the vial under your arm like a thermometer or tuck it in your bra.
    2. Use the Smaller Needle: If there are two different size needles for the PiO, make sure you are drawing it out of the bottle with the thicker needle but injecting it with the thinner needle.
    3. Choose the Right Place: Make sure you are injecting in the right place. The best place for most surrogates is close to the hip on the outer top area of the butt. Alternate the sides you are injecting.
    4. Clean the Area: Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab and wait for it to dry.
    5. Relax and Press Slowly: Relax the muscle by laying down or putting your weight on the opposite leg. Pull the skin tight and puncture quickly, but then inject the PiO slowly.
    6. Heat and Movement After: Apply heat to the area after the injection to help the oil to diffuse and avoid lumps. Use a heating pad or rice in a clean sock (just microwave it!). Massaging the area or being active afterwards will also help (squats, lunges, walking around, etc.).

If you have questions about any of these tips, ask the nurse at your clinic or watch the videos by “Nurse Linda” on YouTube. If you feel a lot of tenderness or itching at the injection site, ask your nurse if it might be the result of an allergic reaction to the oil (which may be sesame or nut-based), in which case that doctor can switch you to a progesterone blended with a synthetic oil. Finally, if the injections are hurting a lot going in, try applying ice or a numbing cream (like topical lidocaine) to the area before the injection.

While these tips relate to the PiO injections, please feel free to contact us for tips related to suppositories, patches, or other injections.