Experience of Gestone?

[SesameSparkle]

Hi, has anyone got experience of using gestone or another brand of progesterone injection? I had problems with the cyclogest pessaries on my last round of IVF and I’ve been told that next time I could switch to gestone if I want. But as they are intramuscular injections, I’ve heard they are meant to be much harder to self-administer and could cause pain and bruising. Have you tried it? If so, how did you get on? And did you have any problems with the drug? I would love to hear from you.

Hi. I'm using gestone for my FET right now and I have used it on previous cycles.
I've not found it to be too bad to be honest and I was dreading it as they are big needles!
It does bruise your bum so you do have to be careful how you sit but I find after the first few days I don't notice it so much.
I prefer it to cyclogest I think, much less mess for a start.
I don't know how easy it would be to inject yourself though, do you have a partner who will be able to do it for you? The plunger can be hard to depress as its an oil based solution and you have to get the needle all the way in first!
I've had no problems with the drug itself, apart from the usual side effects.
Hope this helps.

Tinki, that's really helpful thanks. The cyclogest was uncomfortable last time and I would like to try something else if I can manage it. I do my own injections. The ones into the belly are fine but I've never had to stick a needle into my own backside....

people do, have a look on you tube there are videos of women showing how it's done, it's just not something I have had to do so I can't comment on how easy it actually is!
Some people use crinoline instead of cyclogest, it's a gel I don't know if that would be any easier?

Can't offer much more than the others I'm afraid. I've had gestone for 5 IVF cycles and will probably have it for this one too, that's in addition to the cyclogest, not instead of. My husband does it for me, so I m not sure how you would self administer.

tinki thanks I've gone ahead and ordered the gestone. I do love a ttc YouTube video, so I will definately check out some of the IM injection vids.

ninja thanks for your comments too. If you've been through 5 cycles of it, I prob shouldn't really complain about 2 weeks of injections up until my next bfn.

I was terrified but I have been doing my own Gestone for a while now and it's a breeze, honestly. Both right and left side. (Left is harder to reach round if you're right handed). I'd FAR rather do it myself than have someone else do it. It's a little bit fiddly (you need to pull back the plunger slightly before you inject, just to make sure you've not hit a blood vessel, it's only happened to me once and it causes a lot of bruising if you keep injecting into a vessel. But all you do is pull out and jab again. I do it standing up. To start with I leant again something but I don't bother now. I have even done it in the car (not driving at the time and I don't think anyone saw my arse cheek!) You need to do it around the same time every day, so that's something to consider. I do mine at noon-ish, which is a bit of a faff as I have to take the vials / sharps bin with me, and making it up in a public loo isn't always particularly easy. But it's perfectly doable. I have a great list of jab locations! Massge the area after for a minute or so, and I walk around a bit too to help disperse the oil. So far I've had no problems with lumps or anything and after the first week when it did ache a bit the next day, I am being completely honest when I say it really doesn't hurt. In terms of stinging, Clexane is far worse.

I've been on it for 6 weeks now, currently 8 wks pregnant after icsi. I was fine til the last 2 days, have done a combo of self administered and husband doing it. I use a hot water bottle on the area before and after. Just the last 2 days I have huge hard lumps in my bum, not pleasant and I've got at least another 4 wks of it! But hey, I'm pregnant, so I'm blooming lucky to be injecting gestone!

Cheap, thanks for the tips with the plunger and massage. I'm impressed with the jags on the move! I once had to take my ovitrelle trigger shot in the car, I was on my way to an evening class and had to pull over to the side of the road at the exact time to take it.

Thanks for your comments scooby, congrats!

Sesame you're welcome. Worst bit is the leaning round looking at the hovering needle thinking 'I've got to stick this in my own arse', but just go for it - once you've done it once I promise you'll feel so much more confident. Try to change needles after drawing up from the vials (you'll inevitably hit the glass at the bottom with the point as you suck it up, and you want the needle as sharp as possible). Also, as standard you'll be given green needles, but I have mostly used blue ones to stab, they are slightly narrower and thinner - better if you're on the small side. You'll find you can't draw up with them easily though, you'll need to use green to prep the jab. I also stick the vials in my bra for 5-10 mins beforehand, just to warm the liquid a bit. Makes it a bit less viscous and easier to plunge. Good luck!!

Thanks cheap, it looks like the pharmacist has given me long green needles for filling and short blue for stabbing. Love the tip about warming the vial first, it reminds me of my friend who used to do that with black jack and fruit salad sweeties... sometimes she'd forget they were there and get a wee bonus a few hours later...! I'm starting stims next week, so I guess it's fingers crossed I actually get to the stage where I get to jag my own arse!

Hope stims goes well Sesame, haha on the sweeties! Just shout if you need anything more on Gestone.

Hi, I’m back again as I could use a bit more advice, thanks. My previous ivf was unfortunately cancelled, so I never got to use the meds I ordered at the time. I’ve just finished a new cycle, and had a 2 day transfer on Sunday. I also just started my gestone injections.

I managed the stabbing for the last 2 nights on my own ok ignoring the aborted attempt when a vial got flung out of my bra and smashed onto the wooden floor . I found it worked ok to do it standing in front of a mirror. I’ve done one injection in each side so far, and even managed it left-handed. I warmed the vial and warmed my bottom beforehand. And I massaged the site after.

But I now unfortunately have 2 very sore bruises on my bum, one on each side. Is there any way to avoid or minimize the bruising? Is it just the massage bit after? Or is it the time of day that was wrong – do I need to try and move the time forward so that I’m a bit more active afterwards? Or do I just have to get used to it? Also, someone mentioned about pulling back the needle slightly in case of hitting a vessel. There was a little bleeding when I pulled out the needle last night – what did I do wrong?

Just found this tutorial. It seems I was injecting a bit too low and need to keep the needle above the 'butt crack'. I did try to stick the needle in there originally but that area of my back was really sensitive so I moved it to a spot with a bit more flab. The good news is I get to try again tonight....

Sesame I don't think I ever bruised. Maybe once but it was absolutely tiny. Yes, the area you're aiming for is high. Yes you need to pull out the plunger very slightly before you inject to check you've not hit a vessel - if there is blood in the syringe just pull it out and relocate slightly. You can use same needle (though I would change it because you want it to be sharp) and same Injection (complete with blood!). I did mine around lunch time. Towards the end (was on them for 14 weeks or so) there was a lot of scar tissue and it got more painful but I still didn't bruise. Are you tensing the muscle? You need to put ALL the weight on the other leg (if you're doing it standing). I never bothered warming my bum, just put the vials in bra for a few minutes then quick massage after and tried to walk around a bit. But bruising suggests to me it's the actual way you're injecting. Could you describe exactly what you're doing steo by step? PM if you'd rather. Bleeding when you pull the needle out is very usual, I'd say 75% of the time, but it should only be a little drop or two. Upper outer quadrant of bum, I'm pretty slight (size 8) and have had awful lower back problems but you definiteky shouldn't be needing to inject in a 'sensitive' bit. It needs to be the top outer bit of the cheek. Can you ask your clinic to draw a square on you to aim for in a permanent pen? Sounds mad but heard it really helps. I just tended to use previous jab marks as guidance (had to look quite carefully though!) What needles are you using? I'd also suggest changing the needle from drawing up to injecting as it'll get slightly blunt on the inside of the glass vials. Happy to help if I possibly can!

Thanks cheap for coming back to leave your post. All your detail and suggestions are really helpful. Tonight I drew my own dotted area on my back to mark out the right zone. It's been months since a nurse told me how to do the injection so I think it's probably down to finding the right spot. I also lifted up a foot on that side on a box to take the weight off - injections need to be standing so I can use a mirror to see what I'm doing. I might be moving the needle around quite a bit after I stick it in, so probably need to handle it a bit more carefully. Also had been guilty of changing the injection site a few times to pick a less sensitive spot so that could have blunted the needle before - stupid pharmacist only gave me same number of needles as vials. Anyway fingers crossed I got the right spot this time and will feel ok tomorrow.

No worries sesame glad to try to help. The needle needs to be very sharp. Are you using green 1 and a half inch?

Thanks cheap . The injection site does feel a lot better, now I’ve found the right spot – the lower back, behind the hip bone. It does still feel quite tender to the touch the next day, but not enough to get in the way. I’m also starting to get the hang of the injections now. My needles sound similar, although are blue 1¼ inch (0.6 X 30mm); I also have green 2 inch for filling. I’m definitely feeling the physical effects of all that extra progesterone too now, so I’m also pretty sure I’m getting the right dose.

Really glad to hear sesame fingers crossed it all goes smoothly from now on!