OP here. Some ppl said to ice before the shots, and some said no. Which is it?

Shots are ok, but the ass soreness is real.

Anonymous wrote:I've found the shots to be a non-issue. My method is to stretch the skin taut, and then inject.

There are a lot of scare stories on the internets. But if you are used to giving yourself IVF injections, PIO shouldn't be particularly unpleasant.

Yes, holding the skin taut helps a lot.

I would much rather do PIO than the suppositories. The suppositories are so, so messy!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just take the suppositories. Studies show the shots are barely more effective

OP here. RE said that for frozen cycles specifically, the success rate is 30% higher than the suppositories.

I've heard completely different. There was a recent SG study that showed there was NO difference. This is why I chose to go with suppositories. Fwiw I had a recent successful Fet with suppositories.

Did the bumps go away from all the shots?

You can do it! I did all (56) of my pio shots myself and they weren't fun at all but tolerable. Much better then the internet led me to believe. Just keep your eye on the prize - it's worth it.

I don't find it that painful. Subcutaneous bothered me more, maybe because I was always doing 2-3 at once

I hate needles with a passion, but I did the PIO and estridol IM shots for FET. I did PIO up until my beta came back positive and then I switched to suppositories. It wasn't great, but icing for 5 minutes and then a heat pad with massage after for a few minutes helped with the pain. Alternate sides (even with two different drugs - I would switch up which side I did the PIO in, vice versa). Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Just take the suppositories. Studies show the shots are barely more effective

OP here. RE said that for frozen cycles specifically, the success rate is 30% higher than the suppositories.

Just take the suppositories. Studies show the shots are barely more effective

I've found the shots to be a non-issue. My method is to stretch the skin taut, and then inject.

There are a lot of scare stories on the internets. But if you are used to giving yourself IVF injections, PIO shouldn't be particularly unpleasant.

I found them to be pretty painful and I think I'm pretty tough shots-wise. I did not ice bc I was told not to. I used the heating pad afterwards for as long as possible.

You'll be ok. It isn't super fun but I found it was easier if I iced the spot where I was going to inject. Afterwards I rubbed it a bit. Definitely alternate sides!

I had a successful IVF the first time and now we are discussing with my RE about FET. The first time, I used endometrin and did not have to do shots. But this time, I was told the success rate is higher for FET using PIO. How is this like? Is the injection itself painful or does it hurt when the oil spread? Please advise.