I'm six shots in already. Granted, this is only the smallest dose... 20% of a full dose, but this upcoming Monday I move to a 50% dose, and then after two weeks of that I think I go to full. (They only deliver a months worth of meds at a time, so I'm not positive yet.)
Out of the six doses I have given myself four of them. It's tempting to just make Mike do all of them, but I feel like I need to keep trying too. I have to do it in a different place each time. The first time I did my left arm, the second time my left thigh, and then I had Mike give me one in the left hip, because it is hard to see back there! This past week we did the same three spots on the right side. They said one of the most important things is rotating the spots you inject in to. I have 8 spots to pick from between left and right. I'm not sure how I feel about the stomach yet, so I may only be rotating 6... we will see how brave I get.
I do the shots Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so that means I get the weekends off, which is actually kind of nice. There are a couple of things I have noticed. I do get a little bit "achy" about an hour after the shot, mostly in my legs, and it lasts for a few hours. Motrin and Tylenol definitely help, but I prefer taking the shot just before bed and getting to sleep before I feel it because I have found that can sleep through it alright. As of now I have not had any reactions at the injections sites, which they say is one of the most common side effects, so lets hope that stays the way it is when they increase the dose. :)
Another thing I have noticed is that I have felt in a bit of a crappy mood, especially the day after the shots. I'm not sure if that is a side affect or just because I'm still adjusting to this life of needles, but it's something I'm aware of and monitoring so that I don't snap at people. I've also found that the anticipation is MUCH worse than the actual shot. The hour proceeding the shot is a time of anxiety for me. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to doing this... pushing that green button is still so scary, but if I just do it quickly and try not to think about it, it's done and I can breathe.
My mum keeps telling me "you just have to learn to love the shots", ha! I don't think that will ever happen, but she sure does make me laugh and sometimes I definitely need that.
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