I guess I’m a walking ad now. Oh well…

I used to struggle with injections, like a lot.
Every week, I had a panic attack, tried to stab myself multiple times, blunted my needle in the process and then gave up and let my bf do it for me. And this was only once a week…

After a blood test, my doctor told me to up my dose. In my country, we use a drug called Neofollin. It’s estradiol valerate in sunflower seed oil at a 5mg/ml concentration. It comes in a small, glass, single-use ampule of 1ml, so 5mg of EV in a dose.

Neofollin

So, I started at 1 ampule a week. That didn’t work (later I found out my E level after 7 days was about 30pg/ml. Jesus).
I was instructed to switch to 2 ampules weekly. Knowing a bit about how EV works, I decided to alternate 3 and 4 days between a shot.

Now at this point, there was a lot of stabbing. I was struggling quite a bit. My fear of needles was now omnipresent in my day-to-day life, fearing my next shot. I knew I couldn’t go on like this.

So, I bought a new toy! A tool really. The Union Medico 90 auto-injector, made for intramuscular injections. I’ll admit, it was expensive. 120$ for the product plus shipping is a LOT of money. However, I couldn’t be happier…

Yes, I had to buy special BD 3ml syringes. Yes, I had to wait for the injector to arrive (took about a week). Yes, I struggled to push the button the first couple of times. I admit it.
But now? The longest part of my whole injection ritual is the drawing part. I don’t fear the button press anymore. It’s completely painless and every time, I’m surprised how quickly I get it over with.

4 days after a shot of EV, my E levels were at 110pg/ml, which was alright I guess, but I wanted just a bit more. So i switched to every 3 days.
I’m not lying when I say this: without this device, this schedule would have been impossible for me. A 1 1/2 inch needle into my thigh every 3 days? Nu-uh!
But now…I almost look forward to it…
The snap of the ampule, drawing up the oil (pink drawing needle to draw from a pink ampule, lol), switching the needle, readying the device, looking away briefly and just…pressing a button. I actually kinda enjoy it now.

Anyway, this post is already way too long. I just wanted to say, I get all of the benefits of injections (high and kinda stable levels) with almost the same comfort as taking pills. I’m glad I did it this way. If there’s anyone out there debating whether to get a device like this for themselves: do it. It will pay off.