Ok. Not that serious of a wound but sticking oneself with a needle ain’t fun. For a transgendered person, however, it’s a necessity for life if you don’t want to do regular visits to the doctor more than you have to (especially in the US where you’re dinged for every little thing). For someone like me, who’s on the road a lot, being able to self-inflict.. errr.. self-administer shots is critical. Here are a few things NOT to do after injection:

1. Leg lunges. I do my shots in my quads, one of the larger muscles out there.  Contracting and relaxing the muscle with additional weights ain’t fun.

2. Sitting for long periods. Particularly true for those that get “rear-ended” for their shots. A World of Warcraft binge may not be a good thing. Neither would a long spanking session with your Dom/Master (then again, it might still be a good thing).

3. Furrkids or kids on laps. While it’s great to play “horsey” it’s gonna hurt. Bobcat ain’t no spring chicken, ya know??

4. Avoid sleeping on the side that the shot was given on. I tend to sleep on my side and, unfortunately, I did my most recent shot on my left side, which I tend to sleep on. Some ice has helped but avoiding pressure on it will ensure I can sleep through the night.

The standard stuff to reduce pain, in general, is:

– before actually doing the shot, find a distraction. Watch TV, listen the radio, etc. This may not be the best when you’re first starting out but as you become used to the procedure it may be one way to not make it so.

– after the shot, a cold compress should address any swelling

– simple movements like a nice, leisurely walk can help keep blood flowing and let your body heal on it’s own

– exercise regularly, especially for FTMs where the shot is intramuscular. While spot exercising shouldn’t be the main way you exercise, it can be used to strengthen the muscle you will be injecting (I find that my right leg has less pain than my left and, not surprisingly, it is the stronger of the two).

Just because this has to be part of our lives doesn’t mean it has to ruin it. We have the ultimate joy of building ourselves the way we want to. It just can be a little painful along the way — and perhaps we need to grin and bear it. And mumble a little “OUCH!” now and again.