Mixing injections (for dummies)

I remember the first time I had to mix my injections. I'd done about 8 cycles with premixed pen injections, so they were simple. Then I was given the powder & water vials to mix myself & I freaked out! I had no idea what to do! The nurses thought I had done it all as I was a bit of an IVF "veteran".

So here's my little IVF community service:

This is my Luveris. 

I get two vials - one is water for mixing and the other is powder (which is the actual drug):

Flip the lids off the vials & discard:

Place the largest needle onto the end of the syringe & remove

the plastic covering:

Poke the needle through the middle of the rubber covering on the vial of water:

Turn the bottle upside down, pull the needle out a bit so the tip is underwater, & pull out the syringe plunger to remove all the water (you may need to pull the needle out a bit more as the water level goes down):

Inject this water into the vial of powder & swish side to side until it's mostly dissolved (do not shake it up, you want to avoid bubbles). Then use the same process above to draw the new solution back into the syringe. Place the cover carefully back over the large needle & remove. 

Attach the small needle, remove the plastic cover, push the plunger VERY CAREFULLY & SLOWLY to remove most of the air from the syringe. Be careful not to squirt all of the solution into the air! I try to keep a thumb in the way so I can't accidentally push it all the way. Pinch your skin & inject into your tummy. This one can be a bit ouchy so I sometimes ice the spot first to numb it a bit.

Now this is my Cetrotide. It's a very similar process, however the water is already loaded into the syringe.. you pull the White plastic cap off and instead of pushing the large needle onto the syringe you actually screw it on, then pull the plastic lid off. After injecting the water into the vial of powder, mixing and drawing it back up, you place the plastic cover back on the needle & unscrew it again. Then screw the small needle onto the syringe, remove the air & inject into your belly. 

Hopefully this all makes sense!

You might also want to use the alcohol wipes on your belly before injecting. 

I understand these tips might not apply to other medications.

Anyway, feel free to ask if you have any questions & I'll endeavour to answer them.

Happy injecting!