Last day of medications!
Sunday was my last day of medications!
November 30th, the first day of medications, seems like so long ago. I am happy that we started with the small needles. I was surprised at the lack of pain, even though every now and then I would psych myself out thinking it would hurt and hesitate so I would poke myself then have to do it again with more force to get it to break the skin. That process always made me laugh a little after knowing what a large needle would be following the first tiny one.
I am surprised I was able to come so far, from passing out at the sight of my grandmother getting her blood taken to giving myself shots...large shots! For over 10 weeks straight!
After watching hours of videos on how to give yourself a "painless" shot, I failed to believe them and asked for a numbing cream. It was a life saver and I felt pressure but no pain. However I had to leave the cream on for 30-45 minutes for it to actually work and it became so time consuming that I went back to the drawing board. Another suggestion was to number the area with an ice pack for 2-3 minutes, which worked great! The freezing weather was not exactly motivation to put ice directly on my body so for the last month I went back and forth between the cream and an ice pack.
The first few weeks I was actually looking forward to being able to do the shots myself, when Dave was not home at night. But after the first month, before the halfway point, it definitely became a little overwhelming having to do the shots everyday. Luckily that feeling was short lived and I just had to look at the shots like another way to make this journey as successful as possible.
But we made it! I look forward to being able to run again with out back or leg pain from the injection sites. And am proud I was able to make it through a fear that once made me very nervous to go to a doctors office.
In the beginning NRM said, "it will all be worth it" when my face registered shock after hearing how long I would have to give myself shots (10-12 weeks! I thought maybe 2-4) and they were absolutely right. It is all part of the journey and I am looking forward to the next steps.
November 30th, the first day of medications, seems like so long ago. I am happy that we started with the small needles. I was surprised at the lack of pain, even though every now and then I would psych myself out thinking it would hurt and hesitate so I would poke myself then have to do it again with more force to get it to break the skin. That process always made me laugh a little after knowing what a large needle would be following the first tiny one.
I am surprised I was able to come so far, from passing out at the sight of my grandmother getting her blood taken to giving myself shots...large shots! For over 10 weeks straight!
After watching hours of videos on how to give yourself a "painless" shot, I failed to believe them and asked for a numbing cream. It was a life saver and I felt pressure but no pain. However I had to leave the cream on for 30-45 minutes for it to actually work and it became so time consuming that I went back to the drawing board. Another suggestion was to number the area with an ice pack for 2-3 minutes, which worked great! The freezing weather was not exactly motivation to put ice directly on my body so for the last month I went back and forth between the cream and an ice pack.
The first few weeks I was actually looking forward to being able to do the shots myself, when Dave was not home at night. But after the first month, before the halfway point, it definitely became a little overwhelming having to do the shots everyday. Luckily that feeling was short lived and I just had to look at the shots like another way to make this journey as successful as possible.
But we made it! I look forward to being able to run again with out back or leg pain from the injection sites. And am proud I was able to make it through a fear that once made me very nervous to go to a doctors office.
In the beginning NRM said, "it will all be worth it" when my face registered shock after hearing how long I would have to give myself shots (10-12 weeks! I thought maybe 2-4) and they were absolutely right. It is all part of the journey and I am looking forward to the next steps.
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