Cycle Day Twenty

Meandering thoughts:

My collection of used drug paraphernalia is starting to become impressive. This does not include all the needles that have been used.

Tomorrow we get to have a phone consultation with our reproductive endocrinologist to discuss some questions with her. She really is an awesome doctor. I wish that she could be my obstetrician throughout pregnancy. We are slightly unsure where to go once everything works and I become pregnant. The original midwife group I went to impressed us at the beginning, through the first couple of miscarriages, but once we started infertility testing with them, they fell flat. The particular midwife we worked with called us over a week after receiving my test results and did not give the best information about the drugs she prescribed.

I had my exit interview for my Master's degree this morning. I think it went well. I wanted to continue to discuss the questions presented, but my interviewer seemed to have a time limit and the questions ended sooner than I thought they would.

Husband has been great with the distractions lately. I feel as though I have not been too crazy/emotional since starting the drugs, but occasionally something sets me off. A few days ago, we were driving home from visiting my father, and I decided I wanted to take a long way home. So we drove to the local lake. We live less than a mile away from the lake, but this is the closest husband has ever been. I used to go boating with friends when I was younger. We left after approximately four minutes because we became immediate bait for the local mosquitoes.

Today's big distraction was milkshakes! (His idea and want, not mine.) We were introduced to a cute little diner, thirty minutes north, by my little sister. She helped develop a brownie mix for their restaurant so last summer the three of us went by for shakes and fries. We were impressed enough to drop by again today.

Cycle Day Nineteen: Blood Work

We successfully did day three of injections this morning. We had a rough time with the syringes today. It was the first morning that blood came from the injection area. We felt slightly rushed to get it done on our way to have my blood drawn. They called immediately before my class to tell me the results.
My levels are higher than they want right now. I get to reduce my Gonal-f level from 225 to 175. It was a little funky at first. The nurse thought I was taking a different level of drugs than I am so they had to adjust the amount they now want me to take.
I go in again on Friday for blood work and an ultrasound so that I can look at the growing follicles and get excited!

Cycle Day Sixteen: First Injections

Today was the big day. Today I started something I have been dreading ever since I realized we would have to go the IVF route. I received two injections of hormones. They are slightly different in how I get to prepare them and then inject them. Shall we take a look?

First off, I had Gonal-f. Gonal-f is a drug that contains FSH. It basically helps my eggs grow and mature. I receive a dosage of 225 IU (International Units). Upon random observance on the web, it sounds like this is a slightly high dose for a beginner (most start at around 150), but I have full confidence in my endocrinologist.

Here's what my drug package looked like once I tore it open:

Yeah, since each box only contains a dose of 550, I only need two of those syringes, but I am hoping I can just use the rest for the heparin I get to start administering soon. Gonal-f was by far the most expensive drug, costing a third of the entire drug bill.

I needed three main objects today: the fluid, the powder, and a syringe. The fluid is already in a syringe that I easily stuck through the rubber stopper at the top of the powder container. Upon injecting the fluid, the powder dissolved almost immediately. (Dissolved is a science word I get to teach my kids in my matter unit. I probably should not use my specific example with needles when I teach them next year.)

After the fluid was ready to go, I stuck in one of the smaller syringes and withdrew 225 IU. Because it contains 550 IU, I use the same bottle for two days in a row. I have to be careful with the Gonal-f because the same needle that goes through the rubber also goes through my skin. Because it goes through the rubber, the needle is slightly dulled and husband remarked later that the Gonal-f took a little more pressure to insert into my belly. (I also heard from a nurse that sometimes the needle gets bent so you have to work with that as you inject yourself.)
Because I had heard from one of my nurses that the Gonal-f stings a little, she instructed me to pinch my stomach as hard as I could to get my mind off the pain of the needle. When  injection time arrived, I could not get a good grip on my belly. Instead of grabbing a good chunk of fat, I pinched the surrounding area with my fingernails instead. It worked. I hardly felt the needle go in.

The other injection I will do in conjunction with the Gonal-f is Menopur. Menopur stimulates the ovaries to produce eggs. For Menopur injections, I need my syringe (no needle attached), needle, plastic screw cap, powder bottle, and liquid bottle. The Menopur is nice because I do not have to stick the injection needle into anything other than my flesh.

The order of events for Menopur is extremely similar to Gonal-f. I first screwed the screw top onto the syringe and then stabbed it into the fluid bottle. After I pulled up 1 ml of liquid, I withdrew and inserted it into the powder bottle. Once everything was dissolved, I pull everything up with the syringe again. Then I twist off the screw top lid and replace it with the needle. I get to flick the syringe with the needle pointed up until all the air bubbles have risen to the top just like they do in medical shows, so you know I am legit.
Upon doing both injections, husband said that the first one was harder to get in, but the second concoction almost felt thicker because it took longer to inject.
We did the injections immediately before going to church and half an hour into the first meeting, I realized with a jolt that I had forgotten to refrigerate the Gonal-f. Yikes. We rushed home to save the rest of the medicine.

One day of injections down, nine to go. I go in on Tuesday for blood work to make sure everything is working.

Cycle Day Fifteen

This morning, I finally skimmed through the plethora of pages the pharmacy sent me along with the medications. It still has not dawned on me that the injections begin tomorrow. I know that eventually I will have to stab myself with one of the needles. It is nearly impossible to get husband to do it when I need my twice daily Heparin shots every day of my pregnancy. The problem is a psychological one. I cannot inflict self-pain upon myself. As each new phase of IVF commences, I think to myself, "It's really starting now!" I had that thought as I began birth control and during the water ultrasound. I also thought that yesterday as we did the baseline ultrasound and paid the clinic enough money to buy a decent car or an extremely luxurious vacation.
Tomorrow, I think I will start to believe myself when I think, "It's really starting now!" as I pinch the injection sight hard enough to diminish the stinging of the needle my husband stabs me with.

And now, for your viewing delight, here is what IVF looks like. Husband sent me this link a few days ago. It is a pretty cool depiction of what most "normal" couples go through and then what we get to go through.

Cycle Day Fourteen: Baseline Ultrasound

This morning I had my baseline ultrasound and initial blood work. My favorite technician did the ultrasound. She checked the lining and the number of follicles on each side. This shows how many eggs we can probably get to grow. There were 14 on one side and 11 on the other. It's pretty awesome. They want a minimum of 10 total so I have 2.5 times more than that. Sweet.
They drew blood and just called with the results. They said that everything looks great so I get to start the drugs in two days. I go in for more blood work on Monday to make sure the injections are doing what they should be doing. Also today, they had weird fuzzy covers on the stirrups. We were very entertained when we saw them pulled out.

Today I also had a very serendipitous call from my dentist's office. I had not been in to see the dentist in ten months. It is slightly embarrassing. They thankfully had an opening for a cleaning today and I crossed my fingers the entire time that they would not find a cavity. It's not that having a cavity would be the end of the world, but they would get the option of having me come in either while on heavy IVF drugs or on heparin. No cavities.

Three medical visits in one week. Woot.