Ready, Set, Go!

I’ve been doing a mental countdown for a while, but now I’m going to share it.  J
Retrieval – 9 days!
Transfer – 14 days!!

The shots began!  So far, I feel no side effects.  I didn’t expect to this early, but I’m just reporting all of the details.  J  However, the shots have been a little eventful thus far.

First of all, I had to work 8 hours on Saturday to make-up for some of the days I will miss later this month for retrieval and transfer.  The second shipment of meds came while I was at work, and Todd so sweetly set-up what he fondly refers to as “Preggo Central”.  These are just all of our supplies.  The actual medications are all in the fridge.  I love him for setting this up for me, though.  It makes this process so much simpler!

Preggo Central

Yesterday morning, we did the first Follistim shot.  This one made me nervous because I really didn’t want to mess-up on setting-up the pen.  You have to remove the lid, remove the vial cover, insert the vial, replace the vial cover, insert the needle, dial-in the dose.  I don’t know why I was so nervous, but I was.  I even was a little this morning, and all I had to do was insert the needle and dial-in the dose.  Anyway, the needle was tiny, so it didn’t hurt at all.  (By the way, I’m giving myself the Follistim and Menopur shots, at this point, instead of Todd.  Doing 6-8 allergy shots per week for the last 18 months has made me not afraid of needles or giving myself shots at all.)  Now, I had been told this one burns going in, but it didn’t for me.  (Could be the dosage or amount I’ve been given.  Who knows.)  However, when I removed the needle, applied the cotton ball, and began rubbing to make sure all of the medicine stayed in, I got a few twinges of what felt like a little needle was still inside the leg.  I even checked to make sure the needle was still on my pen.  J  I had that same sensation today, but it’s definitely nothing to cry about.  This one isn’t leaving any marks on my body, which is a surprise since I bruise so easily.

The Follistim set-up - needles in pink vials on bottom, pen, cotton balls, band-aids, alcohol wipes

The evening shot was Menopur, and this is where the stories begin.  I think I mentioned in the earlier blog that this shot requires a lot of mixing.  Todd did a better job of mixing in the doctor’s office, so he has been tasked with this assignment, now.  Well, he accidentally drew all of the sodium chloride from the vial without checking the amount and ran it into the first (of three) powdered hormone vial.  Then, as he drew it back out, he realized it was almost 2 mils instead of 1 mil.  He had just planned to push half of the liquid out of the needle, but I thought that was not a good idea since it contained some of the hormone I needed in my system.  I immediately texted Mary Kathryn (first time, which I’m very proud that I was able to hold off this long).  Not knowing how quickly she would return my text, I called my friend, Kerrie, who also uses Dr. Bundren and has been through this process multiple times.  She and I agreed that we should probably just use the 2 mils this time, but if I hadn’t heard from MK in a few more minutes to call her.  Luckily, Mary Kathryn replied to my text a few minutes later with the same answer.  This injection does burn a little as it goes in, but I'm hoping it will be a little better when I'm only taking half of the dose tonight.  The main lesson of the night for us was not to panic.  The stress is as bad for me as messing up a shot.  This one caused me to welp up pretty badly (about the size of a quarter), but it had mostly subsided by this morning.

Well, this morning was another eventful shot.  I brought my Follistim to work because I have decided on doing my shots at 9:45 a.m. and p.m.  I went to the conference room in our Purchasing department and asked the female manager if I could use it for a few minutes.  Since it doesn’t have a lock on the door, she gave me a “do not disturb” sign to put on it.  I quickly entered, gave myself my shot, and was rubbing the cotton ball on my leg when I heard the door open.  I quickly said, “Someone’s in here,” and turned to see the department male director entering the room.  Luckily, I’m pretty sure my jacket was long enough to cover anything he didn’t want to see, so I quickly finished-up and left the room.  As I passed him in the hall, he didn’t speak to me.  Maybe this will teach him what “do not disturb” means.  J

Anyway, that is all for now.  I’m feeling great today.  I’ve started drinking V8 and Gatorade each day…doctor’s orders.  Other than that, nothing else is new.  I’ll be thrilled if I can keep this calm feeling until next Wednesday.