I had a wonderful nurse who cared for me at home after I was critically injured in an accident. I was having really bad nausea and throwing up, and my husband called her to come over. I remember lying in bed when she arrived. She told me that she brought medication that would keep me from throwing up. “This goes in your bottom,“ she said, as I watched her peel off foil from a suppository. I remember that it was pure white.
She asked if it was OK for my husband to come and help. Rob would need to be giving me the meds when the nurse wasn’t there. We’d been married only two months, still in the “exploring each other stage,“ which had not yet included sticking anything up my butt. Lol!
I felt a little embarrassed at first, but I had already been through 20 days in the hospital and multiple surgeries, and they had given me suppositories to help me sleep. So I knew what the suppositories felt like, but this was my new husband being asked to do the honors. Angie the nurse had a devilish sense of humor, and I remember her smiling and saying how this would help us as newlyweds “to get further acquainted.”
There were three basic steps to inserting suppository, she taugut us: position, push, hold. Positioning against the anus with a lubricant helps relax the opening. A gentle push into the rectum and holding against a side wall for a slow count of 1, 2, 3. Wearing a surgical glove or a finger cot is recommended.
Angie had me on my side and talked both of us through the insertion of the suppository, which happened to be Phenergan, which I used during my first pregnancy. It burns for a few minutes after being inserted, which I got used to. It’s a good drug, but it also made me feel sleepy.
PS: I think a partner should know how to give a suppository, and also an enema if needed. From personal experience, it brings a deeper intimacy and caring into a relationship. You won’t find that subject in marriage manuals, but it’s one of those little secrets in life that works.