The tips on this subreddit on minimizing pain from PIO have been super helpful. I switched to a one inch needle and have been injecting above the spot they circled for me. However I still ended up with a painful lump in my lower back that was still there two days after the shot, and, because of switching, I had to do another shot in pretty much the same location. (We went a little bit underneath it but I was scared to go to low because of the sciatic pain I felt the first night). The pain last night was HORRIBLE. Right away it was painful to massage but we did so anyway and it continued to swell and swell until it hurt just to barely touch it. Sleep last night was extremely rough/minimal.
So the question is, where am I supposed to do my PIO shots to avoid this huge lumpy spot until it heals? Where are all the different options that work? I'll do my right side tonight, but tomorrow am supposed to switch back to my left... where are the other spots that are safe?
(I'm asking my clinic to switch to gels at least temporarily but I will still have to do at least two more shots before I can fully switch over, and would like a long-term solution that allows me to continue with oil if possible).