Stim Start

This past week started with an early morning trip to my doc’s office before work. On the way there our wedding song came on the radio. This is the first time I’ve ever heard our song on the radio, so I’m thinking it’s a sign. Anyway, I had some blood drawn and an ultrasound to make sure the Cetrotide did it’s job and kept everything quiet. Later that afternoon I received a call that said things looked good and I was all set to start my stim meds (basically all the meds that increase the follicle count/size).

Since you have to try and take the meds at the same time each day, Mike and I both set an alarm for 9pm as a reminder. When our alarms went off that night, I pulled what I needed out of the refrigerator and got everything prepared: 150IU of Gonal-F, 20IU of Low-Dose HCG, and .35cc of Omnitrope, in addition to the dexamethasone tablets. The Omnitrope needed to be mixed and the Gonal-F is a multi-use injectable pen, so I put the needle on and dialed up my dosage. Then came the “fun” part… I cleaned an area on the left side of my stomach with an alcohol pad and injected the three medications. Though it’s not the most pleasant thing to poke yourself in the stomach with a needle (or 3), it wasn’t terrible. And a fun Minion bandaid makes poking yourself a little better.

I didn’t have to get an ultrasound or blood work Tuesday morning, but I felt tired all day and had a nagging headache. That night was pretty much the same injection routine, just to the right side of my stomach. Overall, nothing too exciting.

Then came Wednesday, which was pretty eventful. I visited a friend and her awesome daughter at the hospital. We got to have a little fun and paint some piggy banks, and her daughter painted me a beautiful rainbow that I can’t wait to hang up in my office. By the time I left the hospital, I had quite a headache so I stopped at the pharmacy on my way home. Then Mike and I met our pastor and his wife for dinner, which is always a great time.

It had stormed on and off all day, but we were surprised to come home to a dark house that night because we hardly ever lose power. My medications have to stay refrigerated, so this posed a slight problem. I opened the fridge just long enough to get my medications out while Mike grabbed a little lantern and lit some candles. Injections by candlelight isn’t as romantic as dinner, but I did them at the dining room table so… After I finished my pokes and took my dexamethasone we put my meds in a cooler and drove them over to my mom’s. She still had power so they could stay refrigerated. By the time we got home I was exhausted, and Thursday would be another early morning for more blood work and another ultrasound, so we went to bed.

I woke up Thursday morning with another pretty bad headache. I got ready in the dark, other than the kick-ass flashlight I used to provide light while I showered. At my appointment, the ultrasound was a little more interesting because I could actually see the follicles starting to grow. I was told I’d receive a call later that afternoon and they’d recommend something for my headaches. My head was pounding all day at work and I struggled to look at my computer screen. Luckily, I received a voicemail saying that my doctor called something in to my pharmacy. Based on my ultrasound and blood work I was also told to continue my current dosing schedule of the medications. I couldn’t wait for the work day to be over.

The high school soccer team Mike coaches was playing their rival, so I had planned on going to the game. Instead I just went home after picking up my script at the pharmacy. By the time I got home, our power was thankfully back on. Mike picked up my medications from my mom’s on his way home from his game, which they won. When he got home, I did my injections on the right side of my stomach and took my dexamethasone. I felt kind of crummy that night, so I went to bed fairly early.

Work on Friday went pretty much as expected for a Full Moon on Friday the 13th. Thankfully though, there was no longer a drum line playing in my head. After work, we went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Even though we had to wait for over an hour to be seated, it was worth it. It had been a long week, and it wasn’t quite over yet, so we went home and relaxed after dinner. Oh, and tonight I poked the left side of my stomach.

I worked Saturday, but had more blood work and another ultrasound beforehand. This time, the ultrasonographer measured each of the fourteen follicles she could see. She also explained what the doctor was looking for as we got closer to the oocyte (egg) retrieval. Based on my results, I was told to continue the same dosing schedule but also restart the Cetrotide. That evening we celebrated a beautiful wedding. Since we weren’t home by 9pm, we excused ourselves to do the inections. Right after eating our delicious meal, Mike and I went out to the car. It may have looked pretty suspicious as I mixed my medications and flicked a syringe sitting in our car in the parking lot of a wedding. Hopefully nobody saw us, especially as I lifted my dress to inject the right side of my stomach, which by this point has started to bruise.

I was woken up extremely early Sunday morning because it felt like my ovaries were pushing on my bladder. At church my belly felt extremely full, but not exactly in the stuffed after eating kind of way. After church, we rushed to get to Greenfield Village for my company’s annual picnic. It was really nice, but I couldn’t wait to get home to take off my jeans and put on comfy pants. We watched the Detroit Lions win then met my mom for dinner that evening. After dinner we went to Target for some dog food. I also got a shirt that I’m looking forward to putting a design on and wear to my oocyte retrieval (I’ll show you once I make it). That night I injected the left side of my stomach.

Hopefully everything looks good this upcoming week, and we can keep moving forward…