Ouch!

Today was my first P17 shot. At our last appointment, I talked to my regular doctor about the other doctor's recommendation for the shots. He said he was not sure they would help any, but he felt they could not hurt. He suggested we give them a try, at least for a few weeks. I was pretty disappointed, but agreed to do it. I was hoping he would say there was no way they would help, but no such luck! My insurance approved the shots last week, and today the home health nurse came for our first appointment.

The nurse was quite kind and patient, and we started off by filling out a bunch of forms. I talked to her about my phobia, and she seemed quite supportive and understanding. I used numbing cream before she arrived, and she said it would be no problem to inject me in the numb area. After setting everything up, I lay down on the sofa and DH held my hands (partially to be supportive, and partially for the safety of the nurse!). She talked me through the steps, wiped off the injection site, and then started sticking me. The numbing cream did its job - I really could not feel the needle going in at all. She gave me regular updates about how much longer the needle needed to be in (1/4 finished, 1/2 way there...). She stayed calm and steady, and that definitely helped. Poor DH - I might have broken a few of his fingers with all of my squeezing! I did okay - I did not yell or cry out, but I did start doing this panicky shallow breathing that got faster and louder as the shot continued. I think it made the nurse nervous and she sped up the rate of the injection. Towards the end, the shot started to sting a bit.

I'm now sitting here on a heating pad, with my rear stinging and sore. I cannot believe I have to do this for weeks on end :(. Thankfully, the nurse did not seem afraid to return next week. I hope this at least makes a difference.