Needles and Bruises

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate shots? At least for stims, I use an empty syringe to draw up the mixed medication and the needle is super sharp and slides in like butter. Ganirelix (to prevent me from ovulating) was a pre-filled syringe and that is probably the worst needle. You get to your skin and the needle just stops and you have to literally jab it through. Lovenox (daily blood thinner) isn't quite as bad as Ganirelix but it also has a pretty dull needle that has to really be jabbed into the skin, which of course causes more pain than a sharp needle. Why do pre-filled syringes have such dull needles? I seriously have no idea.

Then we get to the bruising. Last time I was pg and did the blood thinner injections the full 39 wks and my belly was all black, blue, purple and green. This time a nurse told me that I can prevent bruising by not applying any pressure after the injection. I was so excited! I've been doing that every time. I have gauze to wipe up the blood but I don't apply any pressure. Yeah, doesn't work. The left side is lovely shades of blue, green and yellow showing healing and fresh bruises. The right side has some yellow healing bruises along with some bright purple ones. Considering it's a relatively small area of real estate that the injections can go into (about 2 inches on either side of the belly button), the space available becomes even more limited due to the bruising.

But alas, I'm just venting. I know the injections are necessary and I just hope that it's a positive outcome. I'll continue to grin and bear it...with a little side venting every now and then :)