Yesterday was our BIG MEDICAL APPOINTMENT, something that we had been anticipating with equal parts dread and joy. We were eager to hear our baby’s heartbeat (whoosh whoosh) and have a few questions answered, of course. But this was also the appointment at which I was scheduled to have a glucose test and a big-ass shot of Rhogam. And neither of us were particularly thrilled about that stuff.
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The glucose test was not so bad, but OH LORDY did it give me some bad gas. I was one of those lucky souls who did not experience a migraine at the hands of the mighty glucose, but it is entirely probable that every living creature within fifteen miles died at the hands of my toxic glucola gas.
Oops.
But the Rhogam, well. The Rhogam was a different story.
Rhogam is a drug designed for women, like me, who are Rh- and whose children are fathered by men who are Rh+. In this particular case, I am O-, the sort of person the Red Cross has wet dreams about, and Donald is A+. The Rhogam is a precautionary drug that is injected into me in the hopes that it will prevent me from developing rhesus disease and thus experiencing gynecological and obstetric complications for the rest of my life.
It is also injected straight into the buttocks.
© 2009 Helios Media, Inc. Please click here to see this image on Flickr.
Now, I know you’re thinking NO BIG DEAL, and you remember taking a burning hunk of penicillin in the bottom, but I am allergic to penicillin and so I do not share this NO BIG DEAL attitude with you. The first time a nurse said ROLL OVER with a needle in her hand, I think I went into cardiac arrest. I like my derriere unblemished, thank you very much. And what I have gathered from this Rhogam EXPERIENCE is that you have not truly lived until you’ve lain on your side WITH YOUR HUSBAND WATCHING and asked a nurse to please shove a massive needle into your ass. Has my husband ever seen anything sexier than his wife’s butt cheek halfway hanging out while she rubs her bottom in despair? No. No, I don’t think he has.
Outside of zapping Donald’s sex drive, this butt-shot of Rhogam has also made it impossible for me to comfortably sit down on a toilet. And, well, my response to that is something that I honestly thought I’d never say: THANK GOODNESS FOR CONSTIPATION.
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I love the humor you bring into a not-so-pleasant experience.
Oh, and I like the new blog header!
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Ah, the price of being a mother. That (the shot) sounds majorly painful, by the way.
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Bwahaha. I’m sure Donald thought you were sexy—pregnant ladies are sexy ALL THE TIME. Right?
The glucose test was nasty—-the worst part for me was having to drink that stuff. Whatever “flavor” it was did not mask the nasty taste.
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Rae, don’t let me scare you! It’s not that bad! They use your butt because of the quantity of medicine involved, but you can receive a half-dose of the drug in each arm instead. Since I’m not great with needles, and even stupid blood tests make me pass out and vomit, the idea of having one needle in the butt was more appealing than one needle in each arm.
The butt shot isn’t very bad. It’s a quick poke, a little burn when they inject it, you bleed a drop or two, and then it’s over. Don’t worry; I’m sure that when it comes around, you’ll be fine =)
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My glucose test was horrible!! I fainted in the waiting room!! Glad yours went great. Sorry to hear about your butt. :)
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Have I ever told you that I just LOVE your photos… I cannot wait to see them translated through to your child! Beautiful!
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Your pictures are so sweet.
The glucose liquid didn’t bother me either. I had the orange stuff and I didn’t find it hard to drink. Maybe that proves that I drank too much soda before I got pregnant or something.
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I had to get a shot once a week of progesterone to keep me out of preterm labor. I couldn’t do it myself so my husband had to inject me. Nothing hot about that… But my baby was only 3 weeks early. Pregnancy is full of stuff that you would never imagine but SO worth it.
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I hate needles- doesn’t matter where they’re going. Though oddly enough, I have several tattoos…...
ps- what filter do you use or is that a computer application? I love your photos! -
You will have to do a post on your photography. I am so curious.
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ohmylady… though this stuff sounds like a pain in the ass (no pun intended), i’m so glad to hear that you are taking good care of yourself and your wee-one.
(side note: saw your comment on my blog. the video should be working, and has for other peeps… but my web designer is backing up my stuff and toodling with it, so that could be it as well… try again?)
xoxo!
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Thank heavens I am A+. Brian is O- like you, but I don’t think he’s going to be getting himself knocked up anytime soon.
I didn’t mind the glucola drink though it was not somethig I’d choose to drink every day. I DID mind the nurse standing over me to be sure I drank it all like a little glucola Nazi. I also minded having to sit still for an entire hour. It was torture. I don’t think I have ever sat still for that long in my life.
I detest needles also - the thought of them makes me panicky. I don’t know how many bajillion times I’ve been stuck already for this kid but you can bet I’m going to whip out that card when she turns 13 and starts whining about how unfair her life is. SUCK IT UP, KIDDO.
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Erin, I can’t believe she watched you like a hawk! I drank it on the drive there and just told them what time I started and finished the drink. Ugh.
Also, I am so with you on the needles. I am totally going to tell this kid to suck it up when we go in for pediatric vaccinations because how many blood tests are we at now? SEVEN?! EIGHT?!
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I’m not gloating or anything (I totally am), but my Rhogam shot was in the arm. One arm. I’m 99% confident it was, because surely I would have remembered the butt shot…no?
Oh, and I am B- and the Alias Father is B+. I think that means we cancel each other out.
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My cousin just had the Rhogam shot last week - only they gave her the choice of arm or ass. She chose arm and wondered (on facebook) who chooses the ass. Now I can tell her :)
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I still have nightmares about the Glucola and lucky me got to do it twice since I failed (barely) the first time and then failed again (barely) the second time. A nice case of gestational diabetes was my reward. As for shots, I had to do heparin my entire pregnancy, but let me tell you the shots didn’t get any easier from day one to day 200. I hate shots!
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I still have a little bump under my skin from my first Rhogam shot and that was 4 years ago now. No fun that is for sure!
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Dude! I’m in the O- club as well. It’s very elite. But I took the Rhogam in the arm. Holy mother, my shoulder twitched all by itself like you know when your eyelid does that thing? Like that, only much more violent.
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Okay, so what I’ve learned from this is that Rhogam CAN be administered through one shot in the arm and that my doctor is just a glutton for punishment?! That he ENJOYS watching women like me squirm when a needle gets stuck in their butt?
Seriously, it’s been over 24 hours and I still don’t want to bend over and stretch my skin too tight!
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I used to detest needles, and freak out whenever I saw one, but when I was hospital last year every ten minutes I was getting a shot of something, or having an iv something put in my arm, or my other arm because the vein was odd, in in my hand with a bigger needle because they needed a bigger tunnel to my veins or something.
I came out of it without the fear of needles (though I still dread the associated pain!) and am okay enough to get a dp shot every 3 months (in my behind, even!) The only downside seems to be stiffness for a couple days after. Rhogam though? Sounds horrible!
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OMG, you are really too funny.
Beautiful pictures too. -
Unless my memory is totally off, I remember getting the rhogam shot after my first daughter was born. Back in the cave times (1985) they use to just draw blood and monitor the situation. Then when you gave birth, they said that they had to give you the rhogam shot within 72 hours of delivery. I really don’t remember getting one before???hummm maybe I did and don’t remember, but I do remember it being in the arm. You poor girl :( I once got a tetanus shot that was the dose for a child, and boy was that a nightmare!! I couldn’t sleep or move my arm for days with the extreme pain. I can’t imagine the tush.
You look amazing by the way. -
Gorgeous photos of you and your belly!
I too am Rh- with O- blood, thus I can’t donate blood (Rh- is bad for donating, at least here in Canada). I have had more shots of Rhogham than I dare share, but I have never had one in the butt. The closest I have had them is in the hip, but I had a Dr. who was good with giving it in my arm. It’s all about the nurse, I think. After your baby is born (at least here) they test you and your baby to make sure that neither of you need a shot due to antibodies.
I hope your butt heals up quickly and you don’t need another shot after birth, you just don’t need another pain in the butt to deal with after the fact.
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With that tiny little ass, I’m not surprised the shot hurt so much! Mine was so big during pregnancy that they probably would have had to up the dosage.
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Doesn’t sound fun at all! Wait until you’re near your due date and your doctor strips your membranes—now that’s awkward. however I’ve been having regular contractions since. With my luck it’ll be a false alarm, but here’s hoping!
You look adorable by the way. I’m considering posting some pictures but I look like I swallowed a basketball.
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I thoroughly enjoyed the glucose drink. I was hyper as hell for 30 minutes, and then slept for the other 30.
I don’t exactly understand this Rh- and Rh+ thing, but I hope your booty heals! Booty booty. I never liked the word booty until one day I realized we were having a BABY and BABY BOOTIES are so cute. Not the shoes.
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There are times when I am reminded (sometimes more forcefully than others) why I am SO glad I am not a girl. THIS has been one of them.
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Oh, yes, Sarah, your baby WANTS and NEEDS onion rings. Do not EVER deny the baby. At least this is how I am exonerating myself from my expanding, too full of hydrogenated oils buttocks. Hey, I wonder if you had started the onion rings sooner, would the shot have been less painful when it hit a wall of blubber vice muscle? Hmmm…. :)
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I actually never knew anyone who was RH- before. I hope that it all went well. Preg mums should not be any more uncomfortable than they already are.
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If it is any comfort to you Sarah, I don’t even remember where I got the Rhogam shots when I was pregnant so about 19 years from now you’ll feel better about the whole thing. I am AB-, my DH is an O positive. Rhogam, as I understand it is actually antibodies harvested from the blood of women who are Rh negative and were exposed to Rh positive blood. In the old days, many babies died from this incompatibility and the mothers could only give birth to Rh negative babies after they were exposed. The antibodies in the mothers would attack the Rh positive babies. In 1986 when my oldest was born, I was given only one shot of Rhogam, after the delivery. With son number two in 1990, I was given Rhogam at 28 weeks and again after delivery. You also need Rhogam after a miscarriage or an abortion. Once the antibodies form in you, any Rh positive babies you conceive will be in trouble. So many woman have been spared this reaction between their blood and that of the baby that it is getting harder to find woman who can donate antibodies. There is a program for Rh- women, who are past childbearing, to volunteer to be injected with Rh+ blood so they can form antibodies so that Rhogam can continue to be made.
By the way, Rh factor is named for the Rhesus monkeys where the factor (positive) or lack of the factor (negative) was first seen. It is a recessive trait and has no bearing on if blood is fit to donate. -
There’s nothing okay with a needle in your ass. Nothing. I’m sorry for your bum. And for your husband. And especially for your sex life…
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Just stumbled onto your blog and reading several posts… loving your photographs and your writing. Will stop by again soon! :)
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Eek! I think that’s all I have to say about the matter. Eek!
By Rae on April 29, 2009
I’ve got to say, that sounds worse than giving birth. I am also RH- with a + husband, so this strikes terror in my poor little heart. But cheers to you for maintaining a sense of humor!