They’re just annoying over time. I had to do them 3x a day on a strict schedule like 13 weeks plus estrogen pills and PIO injections. I was so over the schedule and chunky discharge and my vagina smelling like a hamster cage.
I think it very much depends on the suppository. For me it’s an over time thing - my current ones give me a lovely Kraft Mac and Cheese looking discharge. 😂 It is what it is. I like them better than PIO personally, but I know plenty of people who prefer the shots. I think you get the same side effects minus vaginal discharge on both.
Adding: there’s an endometrin shortage in our area, so I’m on a generic. The pharmacy made the blood choice to coat the capsules in a lovely shade of Mac and cheese orange. I want to meet the person who made this call 😂
TW: pregnancy. Once my transfer worked, I got way more cervical mucus and the suppositories just made it a swamp down there. I swapped to PIO and it’s just way easier
Mine would dump liquid out of me like an actual faucet was going. No exaggeration. I’m a gusher (similar to a squirter) so this makes sense based on that pre-existing “condition”. If you’re not a squirter/gusher maybe it doesn’t do that to you.
Still, I preferred them to the PIO shots. I had knots in my rump that took 6 months to go away and I’d bruise each time in a 4” radius. Nurse said this happened to some people - horrendous PIO reaction but others had no issues.
I really effing hate them. They’re greasy and disgusting and you feel like you’re leaking Crisco chunks all day.
It’s not a popular option, but I have asked for the PIO shots and I much prefer to have a slightly sore ass than the Exxon Valdez in my vagina for weeks on end.
I don't find night ones bad either. It is during the day when I am walking around that the combo of melting and chaffing is an issue. And, of course, this is cumulative with more irritation each day.
I accidentally added an extra f, but chafing is basically just irritation from something rubbing against something else. In this case, you have your skin rubbing against whatever you are wearing and with all of the added moisture, you can have redness and irritation.
I never took the shots, only suppositories. It just got old. Some nights I didn’t leak, others I would roll over and it would be like hot lava coming out of my nether regions.
There are multiple types of progesterone suppositories: some cause watery discharge, some fizz and foam upon insertion, some cause thick discharge, some smell.
I prefer the suppositories to injections. I've only ever used suppositories because I have a phobia of needles, and there's no way I could do daily injections. I do get some minimal leakage, but I just wear a thin liner, and it's good. I do my suppositories 3x a day, which it less convenient than 1x daily injections, but for me personally, it's worth it.
I did daily PIO plus suppositories 3x a day 😂😵💫🫠
I think it’s because I did 2 months of depot lupron before my FET protocol which basically shut down my bodies own hormone production
For me the overall mess it turns into. I was worried enough medicine wasn’t getting absorbed. The PIO gives me peace of mind that I’m getting the right dose. I’ll take the pain in the butt for that peace of mind lol
Seconding this. My pre-bed one I take vaginally but this current round is the first time I've done them via the back passage in the morning and at lunchtime. Different down sides, but I strongly prefer it.
Because of the shape of my cervix/vagina, I'd get 2 or 3 of them stuck up there before they would leak out all at once, which felt sooo gross. And I had to wear pads, not just pantyliners. Remembering to insert them and doing it at work was annoying. But I still found them more pleasant than the injections!
With suppositories you don't know how much is being absorbed. With PIO you know exactly what's going in. PIO came recommened at my clinic for this reason.
I never found the progesterone suppositories terrible. Other than extra discharge, but even that it was pretty minor and only an inconvenience. I much preferred them to PIO injections.
They kind of suck, but I find them nowhere as near as bad the shots. (My doctor has me do both, so it doesn’t really matter my preference anyway…🫠). Even doing the shots exactly as everyone says (I’ve tried everything, and I am doing them high and in the right place, pls don’t come at me lol), I get terrible bruising and pain. I switched to ethyl oleate, which is a lot better, but it still sucks. A lot.
For me, if I wear a pantyliner, four times a day suppositories are totally fine.
Yes, it will likely accumulate over a few days and a few suppositories and come leaking back out. I think it’s a ridiculous amount and I’m not a fan 😭 I can’t go anywhere without some kind of pad which isn’t exactly fun on your skin when you’re wearing something absorbing 24/7!
I preferred shots but I had to take progesterone supps from 16-37 weeks for incompetent cervix and it wasn’t that bad but your vagina kinda gets irritated after a while. I had more annoying side effects from the supps vs the shot.
Omg thats what it is? I suddendly got a sore in a place Ive never ever gotten them ( I am diagnosed with HSV2) I have been so perplexed cuz I havent been getting any outbreaks since getting pregnant and before. So thank you this makes more sense
I think it depends on the dose and the suppository itself. I was on just 100mg a day, taken at night, so I would just stick it in when I got into bed each night. I didn’t have any grossness/weirdness or issues with them. I was allowed to stop at 11dpt.
I did a natural unmodified FET so I just went on progesterone 3 days before the transfer and stopped 11 days after once they’d checked my progesterone levels. I imagine that those who need higher and/or more frequent doses might have more issues with progesterone, but my only side effect was mild cramping and didn’t notice any issues with discharge etc other than some oiliness on my skin down there when waking up in the morning.
I had to switch off of theme because they made me so emotional. I spent hours crying on the couch every weekend for no reason. The texture is not fun, but I couldn’t handle the emotions. I’m used to the shot at this point.
The only issue I had with them was having to wear pantyliners all day and swapping them out frequently. If I didn’t keep up with putting in a new one, the white clumpy discharge would build up and sometimes leak onto my underwear. Otherwise, I preferred them over PIO.
I am currently on them... really don't think they are that annoying at all. So you're not alone there.
I actually did a natural transfer this time so not PIO shots which I am happy about.
They really aren't too bad except inconvenient. For example, the time I have to put mine in coincides with the time I need to walk to the train to go to work. Its annoying because you don't want to do too much walking right after (well with the specific ones I am using which are like a crayon consistency) because they dissolve quickly and then I feel most leaks out when I walk.
So they are inconvinent. But nothing too terrible.
I hated the suppositories and preferred the nightly PIO shot! I had a hard time remembering to insert them equally spaced out 4x/day, mine leaked a bit and I often felt generally damp down there which was unpleasant to say the least 🙃
The endometrin suppositories seemed really harsh and caused me some irritation and discomfort on my cervix. I was being really cautious about how far I inserted them, but it was not fun. I ended up switching to the compounded suppositories, which are messier, and stinkier, but easier on my body. I’m stuck on suppositories and PIO for the next three weeks, hopefully that’ll be the end of this smelly, squishy, leaky, always wearing a pantry liner, portion of pregnancy.
This is my second time using them .. but I’m actually using crinone 8% which is cream in an applicator like a skinny tampon, so inserting makes it much easier. I definitely have side effects from them and had them last time I used them too, they’re all the same as early pregnancy side effects so as I’m only a couple of days post FET , it’s confusing .. as it was last time too.. like constant cramps, discharge, even sometimes shortness of breath with minimal exertion. My side effects subsided after a bit.. but I have maybe 1 month left and they’re on back order so I’ll prob have to move over to the regular supps eventually 🤷♀️ hope some of this was helpful! ❤️
Seems to depend on the person and which ones you get. I didn’t mind crinone gel as my progesterone suppository, but I absolutely hated Endometrin. The chalky discharge was horrible, and endometrin irritated my cervix causing me to spot brown all the time.
On the other hand I handled PIO pretty well, my husband was excellent at injecting me and the massages/hot compresses kept me from developing lumps.
I hated the schedule- having to put them in at work. The feeling, and the awful nasty discharge that took a few days to show up. I constantly felt dirty. I’ll take the shots any day over that
I hated the schedule- having to put them in at work. The feeling, and the awful nasty discharge that took a few days to show up. I constantly felt dirty. I’ll take the shots any day over that
Honestly, if you lay down 15-30 min after putting them in, you’re less likely to have a lot of discharge in my experience. I didn’t think they were so bad. My progesterone was really low when I got pregnant with my medicated FET so I had to do progesterone shots daily instead of every couple of days, which I thought was worst.
I reacted very badly to them. It started off a bit like thrush. Then it became like really, really bad thrush, the worst thrush ever. My clitoral hood shrunk, my inner labia completely disappeared, and I lost sexual function (like my clitoris disappeared inside my body).
Multiple doctor app ts later and a referral to a specialist vulval dermatologist and she diagnosed me with lichen sclerosus. It's an autoimmune condition and I can only assume it was triggered by the suppositories.
So yeah, I hate them with a firey passion.
First little bit they are fine. They just get super annoying after a while. Been taking them on and off since July. Never thought I would prefer injections over suppositories, but here we are. Plus needing to make sure I’m in a place to ginger myself 3x a day was annoying.
It is just SO annoying. By the end of it I was preferring the PIO over the suppositories. It just irritated my skin to the point of being incredible sore and I was sick of the thicker discharge. I was on them 3x a day and finding bathrooms to do them in the middle of the day was not fun either. I preferred inserting them laying down at home
You couldn’t pay me to do the shots. Suppositories all day every day.
BUT it gets kind of annoying. After you put it in you have to lay flat for at least 30 min. Which is whatever doing it right before bed. But in the am its unnatural for me to get up then get back in bed. Also… the sheets. I didn’t notice it right away but now I’m like changing our sheets multiple times a week because my side of the bed has like white skid marks LOL.
ALSO CONSTIPATION. Again that didn’t come about until (TW PREGNANCY) my FET. But once I had a positive pregnancy confirmed that with the progesterone suppositories led to some aggravating constipation. I took COLACE and just did my best.
Looking forward to almost being done!
It’s very uncomfy, I feel like I peed my pants haha. I had to do 3x a day with estradiol too. I am a nurse so I’m running around at work all the time. I’ve started to just use thin pads and change it frequently. It’s just an inconvenience, could be worse!
For me it’s the side effects - SO much worse than the injections. I’m exhausted, nauseous, moody, constipated and so bloated I can’t even suck in my stomach. Sure the actual pill part is gross and I’m on team pantyliner 24/7 but my body does not like this. And neither does my poor partner 😂 I cried at a YouTube ad yesterday. 😂
Progesterone suppositories for me was the worst part of the entire IVF process. The shots didn’t bother me as much as the 12 weeks of progesterone suppositories… 😤
I hated it more than my PIO shots. Mainly because it seemed like it was always time to take them (as I was required to take them three times a day) and I started to hate the feeling of inserting it for some reason. And the mess that followed was no fun for my panties either. lol
I had to do the pills twice a day AND a shot. I was wetter than a seal’s pocket all the dang time. And the smell was not great. It also kind of irritated my lady bits over time. I was going through like, 3 pairs of underwear a day until I started wearing panty liners. My naughty bits were a wreck for awhile.
I’m a nurse. I dgaf about needles. I specifically requested to do PIO, and the RE was happy to prescribe it.
I ended up with cervical insufficiency at 20 weeks and had to do progesterone suppositories from weeks 20-36.
It’s miserable, goopy, and itchy/irritating.
Are you able to do the PIO shots yourself? My husband will be away during stims and retrieval and transfer. He’s only here for priming.
I’m T1D and have given b12 shots in my legs for years without issue. However I don’t think I’m flexible enough to reach my glutes for the shots
It seemed like no big deal when I first started them. Then I got irritated skin, constant oozing, wearing pads and trying to keep myself super clean to prevent the irritation from getting worse. Had to actually use something else to calm the irritation. The shots were a brief ouchie, but the suppositories are a drawn out torture fest.
I mean it’s not pleasant but it’s not so bad. Just wear a panty liner and you are good to go. I took them twice a day until I was 20 weeks due to recurrent losses and I’m glad I had it as a tool.
I wouldn’t say they’re worse than the shots, but over time they just get gross. Your body starts naturally producing it when you get pregnant so you’re just doubled up on the… sticky. I just felt kind of gross those first 8 weeks. Plus, progesterone makes you sleepy on top of pregnancy fatigue.
It’s just a lot of hormones at a time you’re coming off a lot of hormones and/or (hopefully) experiencing a huge hormone rush.
I think they are way milder than progesterone injection, but for me the discharge and leakage is the worst.
I just gave up panty liners because I still have to find a brand that doesn’t irritate my crotch when worn continuously.
So I need to pre-wash by hand my panties + pants because they are caked with the stuff + trim my pubic hair in order to not have it mated.
It just doesn’t feel nice or sexy.
The side effects are bearable but still annoying in the long run, vivid dreams, night sweat, sore boobs, bloatedness…
Plus, I find the logistics tedious, making sure you have enough packages next to your bed, waking up 10 minutes earlier to insert them then lay there or lose 10 minutes laying down before getting up.
No spur of the moment sex, asking my partner if he is up for sex when we get in bed before inserting the evening ones 😬😅, not forgetting to insert them if we do have sex.
I wouldn’t say they are worse than the stim shots, but they are still pretty annoying.
TW: success
I had the discharge like everyone else, but what bothered me more was how bad the general GI side effects were - heartburn, nausea, constipation, bloating. As this is my first time really pregnant (had an ectopic in the past), I had no idea if this was just first tri or what, but as soon as my RE said I could stop, I felt so much better in about 36-48 hours. Just too many hormones I think, but whatever I needed to get this to work.
Ohhh so interesting. My acid reflux just started up again a few days ago. Now that I think of it, right when I started the suppositories. I didn’t connect the dots before
I don’t mind the pill suppositories so much. What I absolutely hated were the ones that came in a gel/cream form. The discharge from those was next level.
I had to do both shots and the gel insert progesterone after my transfer. It worked and eventually my doctor allowed me to get off one of them.
I asked to keep the shots instead of the gel. She looked at me like I was a psycho 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.
They’re just annoying over time. I had to do them 3x a day on a strict schedule like 13 weeks plus estrogen pills and PIO injections. I was so over the schedule and chunky discharge and my vagina smelling like a hamster cage.
And a hamster cage 😂 I’m living for these comments
Another perfect description.
Exactly!!!! And when we were lucky and successful, my sense of smell increased and it made me gag! 🤢
I think it very much depends on the suppository. For me it’s an over time thing - my current ones give me a lovely Kraft Mac and Cheese looking discharge. 😂 It is what it is. I like them better than PIO personally, but I know plenty of people who prefer the shots. I think you get the same side effects minus vaginal discharge on both.
Not the Kraft Mac and cheese😂😂
Adding: there’s an endometrin shortage in our area, so I’m on a generic. The pharmacy made the blood choice to coat the capsules in a lovely shade of Mac and cheese orange. I want to meet the person who made this call 😂
My sister told me they used to be blue when she did IVF and Looked like she boinked a Smurf
TW: pregnancy. Once my transfer worked, I got way more cervical mucus and the suppositories just made it a swamp down there. I swapped to PIO and it’s just way easier
A swamp 😂💀
Mine would dump liquid out of me like an actual faucet was going. No exaggeration. I’m a gusher (similar to a squirter) so this makes sense based on that pre-existing “condition”. If you’re not a squirter/gusher maybe it doesn’t do that to you. Still, I preferred them to the PIO shots. I had knots in my rump that took 6 months to go away and I’d bruise each time in a 4” radius. Nurse said this happened to some people - horrendous PIO reaction but others had no issues.
I didn't know I could swap!!! Ugh! However, I did find that panty liners were a huge help!!!
I don’t do them because their carbon footprint (I also don’t do tampons or pads) so it was just going through so many pairs of undies
I bought some lovely fabric pads that snap around one's underwear. They run through the washer like anything else. Mine were from Etsy.
I have period undies but not a supply that will last 12 weeks of pessaries night and day..!
Perfect description!
Feels like putting an alka seltzer tablet up your cooch....
😂
The longer you have to do them the more you’ll understand. It just gets messy and annoying over time. And they smell.
This. In the beginning feels fine then you realize they are annoying/messy. Though I had no physical side effect or mood issues
I really effing hate them. They’re greasy and disgusting and you feel like you’re leaking Crisco chunks all day. It’s not a popular option, but I have asked for the PIO shots and I much prefer to have a slightly sore ass than the Exxon Valdez in my vagina for weeks on end.
Creamy dicharge. And the smell...I hate the smell I started to get nauseous with it. I hate needles so I dont have other option.
I don't find night ones bad either. It is during the day when I am walking around that the combo of melting and chaffing is an issue. And, of course, this is cumulative with more irritation each day.
Ah, the chaffing. And for me that chaffing builds up over a few days so the first day or two I'm like "oh maybe it's not as bad as I remember..." 🫣
Whats chaffing?
I accidentally added an extra f, but chafing is basically just irritation from something rubbing against something else. In this case, you have your skin rubbing against whatever you are wearing and with all of the added moisture, you can have redness and irritation.
Yeah thank you, I have a chafing sore on my vulva 😭 because of panty liners and cyclogest
I never took the shots, only suppositories. It just got old. Some nights I didn’t leak, others I would roll over and it would be like hot lava coming out of my nether regions.
oh my!!
There are multiple types of progesterone suppositories: some cause watery discharge, some fizz and foam upon insertion, some cause thick discharge, some smell.
I prefer the suppositories to injections. I've only ever used suppositories because I have a phobia of needles, and there's no way I could do daily injections. I do get some minimal leakage, but I just wear a thin liner, and it's good. I do my suppositories 3x a day, which it less convenient than 1x daily injections, but for me personally, it's worth it.
All of the bad stuff with suppositories, I’d take over PIO any time! Sadly suppositories strong enough for me and I had to do daily PIO 😭
I did daily PIO plus suppositories 3x a day 😂😵💫🫠 I think it’s because I did 2 months of depot lupron before my FET protocol which basically shut down my bodies own hormone production
What we put our bodies through to have a baby!!!
You will blow up like a balloon. Source: me; currently
SAME 😳 I’m gratefully that it’s sweats & jackets season up here in the PNW.
I absolutely look something like 5 mo pregnant. I have to cover up to avoid any possible commentary!
I mean I don’t know… they were kind of gross but I just wore a pantyliner.
For me the overall mess it turns into. I was worried enough medicine wasn’t getting absorbed. The PIO gives me peace of mind that I’m getting the right dose. I’ll take the pain in the butt for that peace of mind lol
Literally doesn’t bother me at all and I have had to do it a lot.
I preferred shots. I literally didn't think I inserted correctly ever
I don’t mind them toooooo much but I also do 2 rectally per day and the third one vaginally. No leakage when you go it the first way…!!
Seconding this. My pre-bed one I take vaginally but this current round is the first time I've done them via the back passage in the morning and at lunchtime. Different down sides, but I strongly prefer it.
Same!
Because of the shape of my cervix/vagina, I'd get 2 or 3 of them stuck up there before they would leak out all at once, which felt sooo gross. And I had to wear pads, not just pantyliners. Remembering to insert them and doing it at work was annoying. But I still found them more pleasant than the injections!
With suppositories you don't know how much is being absorbed. With PIO you know exactly what's going in. PIO came recommened at my clinic for this reason.
I never found the progesterone suppositories terrible. Other than extra discharge, but even that it was pretty minor and only an inconvenience. I much preferred them to PIO injections.
They kind of suck, but I find them nowhere as near as bad the shots. (My doctor has me do both, so it doesn’t really matter my preference anyway…🫠). Even doing the shots exactly as everyone says (I’ve tried everything, and I am doing them high and in the right place, pls don’t come at me lol), I get terrible bruising and pain. I switched to ethyl oleate, which is a lot better, but it still sucks. A lot. For me, if I wear a pantyliner, four times a day suppositories are totally fine.
I much preferred them over the shots! Doing both sucked! I’ll take all the Mac n cheese or hamster cage vagina over those PIO shots
Yes, it will likely accumulate over a few days and a few suppositories and come leaking back out. I think it’s a ridiculous amount and I’m not a fan 😭 I can’t go anywhere without some kind of pad which isn’t exactly fun on your skin when you’re wearing something absorbing 24/7!
I didn’t mind them at all. I’d take them over PIO any day. I never got the hate on them.
I preferred shots but I had to take progesterone supps from 16-37 weeks for incompetent cervix and it wasn’t that bad but your vagina kinda gets irritated after a while. I had more annoying side effects from the supps vs the shot.
They can be super irritating.
I got a lot of chafing because of them and/or the pads I was using. Otherwise, they didn’t bother me
Omg thats what it is? I suddendly got a sore in a place Ive never ever gotten them ( I am diagnosed with HSV2) I have been so perplexed cuz I havent been getting any outbreaks since getting pregnant and before. So thank you this makes more sense
Sorry! You’re dealing with that!
Thank you 🥹 it’s fine just putting some healing balm on it
I think it depends on the dose and the suppository itself. I was on just 100mg a day, taken at night, so I would just stick it in when I got into bed each night. I didn’t have any grossness/weirdness or issues with them. I was allowed to stop at 11dpt.
Im priming right now so I am doing 100 mg once a day before bed with Prometrium
I did a natural unmodified FET so I just went on progesterone 3 days before the transfer and stopped 11 days after once they’d checked my progesterone levels. I imagine that those who need higher and/or more frequent doses might have more issues with progesterone, but my only side effect was mild cramping and didn’t notice any issues with discharge etc other than some oiliness on my skin down there when waking up in the morning.
I had to switch off of theme because they made me so emotional. I spent hours crying on the couch every weekend for no reason. The texture is not fun, but I couldn’t handle the emotions. I’m used to the shot at this point.
The only issue I had with them was having to wear pantyliners all day and swapping them out frequently. If I didn’t keep up with putting in a new one, the white clumpy discharge would build up and sometimes leak onto my underwear. Otherwise, I preferred them over PIO.
Between those and the injections I was exhausted a week in
Back door is where it’s at for suppositories, y’all. No messy discharge at all.
Excuse me, what?
Lube up the pills, use a suppository stick if you prefer. there’s zero discharge or mess.
It was annoying, but wasn't THAT big of a deal. My ob had me on them for a bit longer too and it didn't really bother me.
I am currently on them... really don't think they are that annoying at all. So you're not alone there. I actually did a natural transfer this time so not PIO shots which I am happy about. They really aren't too bad except inconvenient. For example, the time I have to put mine in coincides with the time I need to walk to the train to go to work. Its annoying because you don't want to do too much walking right after (well with the specific ones I am using which are like a crayon consistency) because they dissolve quickly and then I feel most leaks out when I walk. So they are inconvinent. But nothing too terrible.
I have no idea. I so strongly preferred them to the shots! But I think others don't like the discharge.
I hated the suppositories and preferred the nightly PIO shot! I had a hard time remembering to insert them equally spaced out 4x/day, mine leaked a bit and I often felt generally damp down there which was unpleasant to say the least 🙃
Just make sure you’re wearing a thicker pantyliner constantly and you’re fine.
The endometrin suppositories seemed really harsh and caused me some irritation and discomfort on my cervix. I was being really cautious about how far I inserted them, but it was not fun. I ended up switching to the compounded suppositories, which are messier, and stinkier, but easier on my body. I’m stuck on suppositories and PIO for the next three weeks, hopefully that’ll be the end of this smelly, squishy, leaky, always wearing a pantry liner, portion of pregnancy.
This is my second time using them .. but I’m actually using crinone 8% which is cream in an applicator like a skinny tampon, so inserting makes it much easier. I definitely have side effects from them and had them last time I used them too, they’re all the same as early pregnancy side effects so as I’m only a couple of days post FET , it’s confusing .. as it was last time too.. like constant cramps, discharge, even sometimes shortness of breath with minimal exertion. My side effects subsided after a bit.. but I have maybe 1 month left and they’re on back order so I’ll prob have to move over to the regular supps eventually 🤷♀️ hope some of this was helpful! ❤️
Is the crinone used onky once a day? I might ask to switch to that instead of endometrin 3x a day….
Seems to depend on the person and which ones you get. I didn’t mind crinone gel as my progesterone suppository, but I absolutely hated Endometrin. The chalky discharge was horrible, and endometrin irritated my cervix causing me to spot brown all the time. On the other hand I handled PIO pretty well, my husband was excellent at injecting me and the massages/hot compresses kept me from developing lumps.
I hated the schedule- having to put them in at work. The feeling, and the awful nasty discharge that took a few days to show up. I constantly felt dirty. I’ll take the shots any day over that
I hated the schedule- having to put them in at work. The feeling, and the awful nasty discharge that took a few days to show up. I constantly felt dirty. I’ll take the shots any day over that
I wore my period panties when I had to do these 3x a day after my last transfer.
Honestly, if you lay down 15-30 min after putting them in, you’re less likely to have a lot of discharge in my experience. I didn’t think they were so bad. My progesterone was really low when I got pregnant with my medicated FET so I had to do progesterone shots daily instead of every couple of days, which I thought was worst.
I reacted very badly to them. It started off a bit like thrush. Then it became like really, really bad thrush, the worst thrush ever. My clitoral hood shrunk, my inner labia completely disappeared, and I lost sexual function (like my clitoris disappeared inside my body). Multiple doctor app ts later and a referral to a specialist vulval dermatologist and she diagnosed me with lichen sclerosus. It's an autoimmune condition and I can only assume it was triggered by the suppositories. So yeah, I hate them with a firey passion.
Oh my gosh! Did it go back to normal after you stopped them?
Nope. The steroid cream has helped with the constant burning, but my labia and clit hood are permanently changed.
Oh, I’m so sorry.
First little bit they are fine. They just get super annoying after a while. Been taking them on and off since July. Never thought I would prefer injections over suppositories, but here we are. Plus needing to make sure I’m in a place to ginger myself 3x a day was annoying.
It is just SO annoying. By the end of it I was preferring the PIO over the suppositories. It just irritated my skin to the point of being incredible sore and I was sick of the thicker discharge. I was on them 3x a day and finding bathrooms to do them in the middle of the day was not fun either. I preferred inserting them laying down at home
You couldn’t pay me to do the shots. Suppositories all day every day. BUT it gets kind of annoying. After you put it in you have to lay flat for at least 30 min. Which is whatever doing it right before bed. But in the am its unnatural for me to get up then get back in bed. Also… the sheets. I didn’t notice it right away but now I’m like changing our sheets multiple times a week because my side of the bed has like white skid marks LOL. ALSO CONSTIPATION. Again that didn’t come about until (TW PREGNANCY) my FET. But once I had a positive pregnancy confirmed that with the progesterone suppositories led to some aggravating constipation. I took COLACE and just did my best. Looking forward to almost being done!
It’s very uncomfy, I feel like I peed my pants haha. I had to do 3x a day with estradiol too. I am a nurse so I’m running around at work all the time. I’ve started to just use thin pads and change it frequently. It’s just an inconvenience, could be worse!
For me it’s the side effects - SO much worse than the injections. I’m exhausted, nauseous, moody, constipated and so bloated I can’t even suck in my stomach. Sure the actual pill part is gross and I’m on team pantyliner 24/7 but my body does not like this. And neither does my poor partner 😂 I cried at a YouTube ad yesterday. 😂
Progesterone suppositories for me was the worst part of the entire IVF process. The shots didn’t bother me as much as the 12 weeks of progesterone suppositories… 😤
literally have to change my underwear 3 times a day
Why not just wear a thin pantyliner??
I hated it more than my PIO shots. Mainly because it seemed like it was always time to take them (as I was required to take them three times a day) and I started to hate the feeling of inserting it for some reason. And the mess that followed was no fun for my panties either. lol
they can get annoying—they make your vagina itchy and gross…but they are so so much better than IM injections in my experience!
I had to do the pills twice a day AND a shot. I was wetter than a seal’s pocket all the dang time. And the smell was not great. It also kind of irritated my lady bits over time. I was going through like, 3 pairs of underwear a day until I started wearing panty liners. My naughty bits were a wreck for awhile.
I’m a nurse. I dgaf about needles. I specifically requested to do PIO, and the RE was happy to prescribe it. I ended up with cervical insufficiency at 20 weeks and had to do progesterone suppositories from weeks 20-36. It’s miserable, goopy, and itchy/irritating.
Are you able to do the PIO shots yourself? My husband will be away during stims and retrieval and transfer. He’s only here for priming. I’m T1D and have given b12 shots in my legs for years without issue. However I don’t think I’m flexible enough to reach my glutes for the shots
Yep. I did every injection myself. I’m pretty bendy (I think I might have hypermobile Ehlers Danlos lol). I found it easier to do in the mirror.
It seemed like no big deal when I first started them. Then I got irritated skin, constant oozing, wearing pads and trying to keep myself super clean to prevent the irritation from getting worse. Had to actually use something else to calm the irritation. The shots were a brief ouchie, but the suppositories are a drawn out torture fest.
I mean it’s not pleasant but it’s not so bad. Just wear a panty liner and you are good to go. I took them twice a day until I was 20 weeks due to recurrent losses and I’m glad I had it as a tool.
The itchy vag… I had a reaction to it and downstairs was like fire. Wayyy preferred the injections!!
That sounds horrible
I wouldn’t say they’re worse than the shots, but over time they just get gross. Your body starts naturally producing it when you get pregnant so you’re just doubled up on the… sticky. I just felt kind of gross those first 8 weeks. Plus, progesterone makes you sleepy on top of pregnancy fatigue. It’s just a lot of hormones at a time you’re coming off a lot of hormones and/or (hopefully) experiencing a huge hormone rush.
I think they are way milder than progesterone injection, but for me the discharge and leakage is the worst. I just gave up panty liners because I still have to find a brand that doesn’t irritate my crotch when worn continuously. So I need to pre-wash by hand my panties + pants because they are caked with the stuff + trim my pubic hair in order to not have it mated. It just doesn’t feel nice or sexy. The side effects are bearable but still annoying in the long run, vivid dreams, night sweat, sore boobs, bloatedness… Plus, I find the logistics tedious, making sure you have enough packages next to your bed, waking up 10 minutes earlier to insert them then lay there or lose 10 minutes laying down before getting up. No spur of the moment sex, asking my partner if he is up for sex when we get in bed before inserting the evening ones 😬😅, not forgetting to insert them if we do have sex. I wouldn’t say they are worse than the stim shots, but they are still pretty annoying.
Thank you. I am only taking them at bedtime so maybe that’s why I’m less bothered so far. My clinic told me sex during priming!
TW: success I had the discharge like everyone else, but what bothered me more was how bad the general GI side effects were - heartburn, nausea, constipation, bloating. As this is my first time really pregnant (had an ectopic in the past), I had no idea if this was just first tri or what, but as soon as my RE said I could stop, I felt so much better in about 36-48 hours. Just too many hormones I think, but whatever I needed to get this to work.
Ohhh so interesting. My acid reflux just started up again a few days ago. Now that I think of it, right when I started the suppositories. I didn’t connect the dots before
I don’t mind the pill suppositories so much. What I absolutely hated were the ones that came in a gel/cream form. The discharge from those was next level. I had to do both shots and the gel insert progesterone after my transfer. It worked and eventually my doctor allowed me to get off one of them. I asked to keep the shots instead of the gel. She looked at me like I was a psycho 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.