Hi, chooks,
You can absolutely do the PIO/IM shot yourself. Sunshine's link to her youtube video is very helpful and there are several more you can find on youtube that help to show that there is not ONE right way to do this. We all develop our own set of tricks that work well for us. I say this only because that was one of my own biggest fears, not doing the shot in the most perfect way. There are many, many perfect ways.
Please forgive the cut and paste below, but this is the set of tricks that has worked for me:
Self-administered PIO is still not my favorite thing to do, but it has become more manageable since my first cycle in 2005. Some of the things I do differently now that seem to help:
- heat a wet washcloth in the microwave 30-60 seconds (depending on how strong your microwave is) and wrap the warmed washcloth around the prepared syringe with the cap still covering the injection needle. This helps to make the oil runnier and easier to inject.
- no icing of the area - it just draws out the event and makes it harder for the oil to disperse.
- use a wall mounted mirror such as in the bathroom to see what you are doing.
- stretch the skin with the fingers of one hand rather than "pinching" the skin
- place the tip of the needle beveled side UP against the skin and poke around LIGHTLY looking for a less intense spot
- with the beveled side still UP press the needle in SLOWLY rather than jabbing - the first 1/8 inch stings a bit but the rest is really easy (this part makes some of my friends cringe but it really does work better for me)
- then inject oil slowly, leave the needle in for a count of 3 or so and withdraw again slowly. Waiting a bit seems to help keep the oil from running back out again so much.
- use a tissue or sterile pad to dab any blood or oil that may come out. (If you pass through a blood vessel near the surface, it can be quite a show.)
- have the piece of chocolate you promised yourself before starting this process.
Good luck in developing your own perfect technique.
