Last night I had to administer my own intramuscular (IM) injection. Let me just tell you what a pussy I was! It took me thirty minutes to work up the courage to even attempt it, and then another five minutes of trying to actually do the injection. By the time I actually finished, I was dripping sweat.
When someone else does the injection, they hold the syringe like a dart, pull your skin taught, and then quickly dart the needle in. They pull back on the plunger a little bit to make sure they haven’t hit an artery. If no blood appears in the syringe, the medication is injected. The injection is done while you’re laying down so that no weight is on the muscle you’re injecting. You want the muscle to be relaxed, not contracted.
Be brave.
Having to do that yourself, while standing with all your weight on one leg, twisting around to see your backside, while pulling your skin taught, and then trying to inject straight into the muscle….tough. It’s awkward to hold the needle and pull your skin. It’s hard to pull back on the plunger to make sure there’s no blood. And it’s really hard to stab yourself with a giant needle. We’re not talking about those skinny, little needles you draw blood with. These needles are thick, because the medicine is mixed with sesame oil. These needles are also long, to make sure they get deep enough to hit the muscle.
If you ever have to do this, here’s what I learned. Stand with your back to the mirror. Put all of your weight on the opposite leg, and then just lightly rest your other toes on the ground so you have a little balance. Instead of darting the needle in, just push it in. Breaking the skin was the hardest part, and then it went straight in without any effort. If you’re like me, you’ll find it even easier if you circle the area where the injection should be. This makes it easier to see the correct location after you’re twisted and pulling the skin.
To all of my IVF sisters, I hope you always have another set of hands to do your IM injections. If not, I pray for you to have steady hands and courage.