Hello Lupron... goodnight ovaries

So on Friday I get my Lupron depot, a long lasting intramuscular injection. I've read that some people do daily SC (subcutaneous) injections, meaning just under the skin, but instead of doing those I'll be having just one IM injection that goes directly into the muscle. I'm not sure which I think is worse. This injection will "put my ovaries to sleep" and temporarily stop the production of estrogen and progesterone. Hmmm.....I wonder if I'm going to be a bit of a hormonal mess. I guess I'll let you know next week.  :)

I'm feeling a bit nervous about it, and thinking of getting an intramuscular injection makes me feel a little queasy. I've only had 2 IM injections before, and all I remember from both is the pain. The first one was at work, maybe 10 years ago when there was a hepatitis scare and the staff needed to get shots. I don't remember if they were vaccinations or boosters or what exactly it was they gave us. The second time was when Rowan was born. I hemorrhaged after delivery and they gave me a shot to stop the bleeding. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting it, maybe it was because I was tired, but I yelped out. It really hurt. Afterwards, and even now, I feel silly having that as a prominent memory of the birth of my daughter as I had just gone through a natural birth without any pain medication, and it's the injection that I complain about. Ridiculous.  

Initially I was supposed to go to the clinic on Friday to have an ultrasound as well as the injection, but I no longer need the ultrasound. Because of this, I've asked the staff if my husband could give me the injection at home rather than have to make a trip just for that, as the injection itself is supposed to be administered by a physician. My husband is a nurse and gives injections everyday, otherwise I don't think it would be a go. It will be so much more convenient though, so for that I'm grateful. I'm not sure if my husband feels the same way yet, as I'm not sure what kind of patient I'll be. I've asked where it will be "administered" and looks like it's going to be in the rump. Oy! I'll try not to curse him as I bend over :)

So Friday is the day. I feel nervous. I feel silly for feeling nervous. I feel a little anxious. This is really happening now. This month will be spent prepping my body with more medications and drugs that I've ever taken before.

I'm posting some pictures of the Lupron. Pretty big needle, eh? (Just thought I'd add that last part to remind any international readers that I'm in Canada) Actually, those were the actual words that I thought, and even though reading it back I realize how stereotypically Canadian it looks, I thought it'd be fun to keep it that way. Maybe I'm still reeling from all of our recent Canada day celebrations and feeling a little patriotic. After all, my almost 4 year old is still sporting her maple leaf tattoos!