IVF injections, sore butts and bruised bellies

I've always been very impressed by how motivated, determined, perseverant IVF patients can be. Lots of them are petrified of taking an injection, and have never taken an injection before in their life.

However, because they want a baby so desperately , they're willing to take lots of injections during their IVF cycle and they learn to get used to it.

Some of these IVF injections can be extremely painful, and these include the progesterone injections, which American doctors love so much. These are given after the embryo transfer , to provide luteal phase support.

The other extremely painful injection is Clexane or low-dose Heparin, which seems to have become very popular with IVF specialists because it's supposed to increase implantation rates.

Not only do doctors seem to love giving injections to patients, patients also feel that the doctor is doing as much as possible for them by prescribing these “powerful” injections for them !

However, after going through an IVF cycle , their butt gets so sore and their belly gets so bruised thanks to all these shots, that very few patients are willing to go through another IVF cycle, which is why the drop out rate is so high. And even if they have the courage to subject themselves to the shots, their husbands will often put their foot down and refuse to allow them to do so, because they cannot bear to see their wife in so much pain.

 What breaks my heart is that none of these painful injections is really required at all for these poor patients. Progesterone is far more effective when it is administered as a vaginal pessary, but old habits die hard, and many doctors continue giving the painful IM shots for no rhyme or reason.

Similarly, there is no evidence that low-dose heparin improves embryo implantation rates, but the pharma companies have been selling them so aggressively, that doctors prescribe them mindlessly , because they love doing something “new and different” !

You can download the IVF comic book free at https://www.drmalpani.com/pdf/IVF_COMIC_BOOK.pdf

and this will help you make better decisions !

Or you can send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you !