Progesterone shots

My doctor has started me on weekly progesterone shots! Man they are painful. My cervix is still closed at 4.2cm. Doc says everything looks fine......should I be worried?????

 

Do you have a history of PTL? I know my neighbor took them with her 3rd throughout her pregnancy because she had PTL with her other 2 children.

 

I had to do daily progesterone shots for the first 10 weeks of my pregnancy. I hear you - they really do hurt! I don't know about the cervix measurement but perhaps I can help with the shots.

Do you get them at home or in a doctor's office?

Either way, the position you're in when you get the shot can make a difference of how it feels. If you stand on the opposite side of the shot, put all your weight on the opposite leg, it should help. Stand as straight as you can on that leg, leaning slightly forward on your arms with your hands supporting you on a table or on the medical table if you're in the doc's office. The shot should go in the side you are leaving limp. Rub the area deeply and well after each injection and walk around for about 10 minutes afterward. If you sit or rest immediately after, the oil can pool up and form little hardened areas (which are no biggie, just painful). The walking will help to make the buising less painful and less severe.

If you're at home you have more freedoms. Try to ice the area a for a few minutes prior to the shot if you are good with ice (some can't tolerate ice). Warm the oil up for about 30 seconds in a heating pad. Use the heating pad to rub the area immediately after the shot.

Hope that helps!!

 

I agree with the earlier post on what she said. I also did daily shots for 12 weeks. Ugh no fun. Make sure the needle they are using or giving you is long enough. Believe it or not, longer is better. 1.5 inches is good unless you are really skinny. The progesterone in oil is irritating, that's why you want to get it deep into the muscle where it absorbs better. I ran out of 1.5 inch needles once and had to do a 1 inch one. OMG! It hurt so much more and for days afterwards.

 

Yes I had my last set of twins at 21 weeks so he is just being very precautious which is fine with me. I just didn't know if there were any side effects for myself or for the babies!

 

I did them for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and my advice is to ice the area first.

 

The side effects I got from the progesterone were just the usual 1st trimester pregnancy symptoms - so basically my boobs were even more sore, I was more nauseated, I had more emotional swings, etc. I did progesterone supplementation when not pregnant and had those same symptoms, so I didn't think the progesterone increased my real symptoms by too much, just a bit (hard to say since it's my only pregnancy experience and it's twins).

I've heard of many women getting progesterone supplementation at about the same time you are (late 2nd trimester) and by what I've heard it has helped. It sounds like your doctor is on the ball and has your best interest at heart (and the twins' best interest).

 

QUOTE(strongmommymolly @ Apr 14 2008, 05:51 PM) [snapback]721513[/snapback]
Yes I had my last set of twins at 21 weeks so he is just being very precautious which is fine with me. I just didn't know if there were any side effects for myself or for the babies!

Sorry about that. :hug99: Like I said before my neighbor did do them with her 3rd and had no side effects. Good luck to you. I'm glad they are being precautious.