And so Continues the Meds

So I went in again this morning and had another scan and blood tests.  My Estrogen has improved but it is still behind where they want it so now I am taking 4 vials of Bravelle and 2 vials of Menopur.  My cysts are still wrecking havoc in my ovaries, my right basically had nothing worth extracting at this point.  It was made painfully clear to me today and I mean that literally.  In order for the nurse to get measurements she had to twist and push at my ovary and uterus, it fricken hurt like hell. I just have to keep reminding myself that this will all be worth it in the end.   

Meds, Meds, and more Meds

I went in yesterday for my first check up since starting the stimulation medications.  My estrogen wasn't where they wanted it to be so more meds for me!  Next check up is Thursday and I am praying that the increase in meds get me to where I need to be.  I'm also praying that my egg retrieval happens on Monday like I expected it would.  I know it's silly but I have calculated everything out and if all goes off on schedule my due date would be April 14.  I've grown attached to that date already so I hope there isn't a delay.  It's been so long that I have been dreaming of this and now that I am finally on the right path I just want everything to be perfect.   

Day 2 and 3 of Stimulation Drugs

I wish I could say the injections are getting easier.  Last night I had a bubble stuck at the top of the syringe but there was some of the meds already up into the needle part.  So that meant that I couldn't just push the air out without losing some of the medication.  So I just decided to inject it as is.... Never again!!!!! It hurt like hell when the bubble passed through.  I was nauseous for hours, probably because my husband lectured me on how I could die if that went into a vein.  In any case I won't do that again.  Tonight I made an effort not to have a repeat performance of last night but of course something new happened.  When I injected the needle blood squirted out and a red line went up my stomach.  It looks like I scratched myself with the needle.  Of course it hurt too.  All just a small price to pay if this works out.  At least I'm not nauseous again tonight.

Start of Stimulation Drugs

So last night was my first injection experience, it was kind of stressful!  It was actually much harder then I thought mixing all those vials.  First I watched the video that came with my meds, which made it look easy.  When it came time to do it myself it was much harder.  I took the 1 ml of solution and put it into the first vial of Bravelle and swirled it around, that wasn't so bad.  What sucked was going from vial to vial, little amounts kept leaking out.  It really stressed me out because I kept thinking this may not work now if I keep losing some of the meds.  In the end I probably only had 3/4 of the original amount. The injection part wasn't bad at all.  Let's just hope that I got enough of the meds and that I don't have a repeat performance tonight. 

So here is my daily medications that I am on.  I take 5 pills a day, 4 vials injected, and 3 doses of nasal spray.  So far my only side effects have been headaches.  Eleven more days of this and hopefully I will have my eggs retrieved. 

Down Regulation Check

Today way my down regulation check, and I am happy to say my results were where they needed them to be so I get to start the stimulation drugs tomorrow!!  My day started at 4:30am, ARGH! I set my alarm for 5am but I couldn't sleep too excited for my day to begin.  My clinic does scans and blood collection starting at 7:30am on a first come first serve basis.  Given that I work at 8:30 I needed to get there early, which I did and that made me first.  I have about 8 follicles in one ovary and it was hard to see how many in the other because another cyst has appeared making it hard to see.  Luckily this one can be drained if necessary.  My next appointment is on Monday to see how I have progressed on the stimulation drugs.

Injection Class

So as part of the IVF process you need to go to a class that teaches you how to administer the injection drugs.  The nurse told me that I should expect to be there for two hours..... WTF?! I figured it would be 10-15 minutes.  There is a lot more that goes into it then just drawing up the meds and injecting them.  I assumed that the Menopur and Bravelle were liquid but actually they are powder.  I need to draw up one ml of saline and mix it with 1 vial of Menopur then draw that up and mix it with the second vial, and then do the same with the two Bravelle vials.  In the end that one ml of saline contains all four vials of powder.  The needle hurt but I can deal.  In total it should be approximately 12 days of injections.  Up to this point I haven`t felt any different and time is starting to drag.  Only a couple more days until my down reg check and then I`m sure things will start to feel like I`m started.

Week One of Medication

I'm at my halfway mark to my down regulation check, so far I'm feeling virtually no side effects from the medications.  It's kind of crazy on how fast time seems to be going now after waiting so long to get started.  To pass the time I have been spending time reading many blogs and IVF forms.  So this is what has led me to start my own blog.  I have come to really appreciate those people that have taken the time to write about their journey's with trying to conceive and having a baby.  I have never known anyone that has gone through IVF before so reading the IVF forms has been such a learning experience for me.  I want to always remember this journey so this seems like a great way to do so.