Follicles!

Went in for ultrasound and blood work yet, I don't know my E2 number but will update when I hear back on that. Follicle count was much better this time than it was last cycle at this time.   I had a total of 12, the sizes are shown below.  The doctor was pleased and said she thinks we'll be able to do retrieval on Friday or Saturday. My left ovary was again hard to see and I asked her if this would be a problem for retrieval, she said not really as they are able to do more when I'm asleep than they can when I'm awake!

	2/17/2014
	Right	Left
>23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15		1
14	1	1
13	2	2
12	1	1
11	3
10
<9

Update: My E2 is 1401! Nurse said that is right on track. My lining was at 12.5.

And here is a current side effect listing, in no particular order

• Headache
• Nausea
• Exhaustion
• Leg Cramps
• Sleep Disturbances
• Bloating
• Discharge
• Sore Breasts
• Forgetfulness
• Irritability 
• Emotional

Shooting up in the bathroom

Sometimes you have to do your meds in the bathroom of a church reception hall while shooting a sweet 16 party.  The follistim case is the perfect size for a small ice pack.

Bruising

The left side of my lower abdomen looks like I've been beaten. I'd post a picture but no one wants to see my fat belly. I'm bruising MUCH more this time that I did last time but ONLY one my left side. I barely have one mark on my right side even though I rotate sides daily for all shots. The left side bleeds more too.  Last night after I did my Menopur injection I had a large knot under the skin, I rubbed it for awhile and it went away but it is so sore today!

Update

I went to see my RE this morning for an ultrasound and he is very please with how I am coming along for being 4 days into my stims (today is day 5).  He said he saw at least 5 or 6 follicles mostly on my right side as my left ovary  likes to be sleepy and hide. He said he was very encouraged.

Last night I went out with friends and did my shots away from home the first time. I just put in ice pack in my Follistim case and put my Follistim vial and my Menopur that was ready in a syringe in it, then when it was time I just went in the bathroom at the restaurant and did the shots. Didn't try to do it in a stall since there is no where to set things down, I just did it at the counter. I figured if anyone walked in I would explain, but they didn't so it was no issue.

Tomorrow night I have a photography job so my nurse said it was okay to do my EV2 shot earlier in the evening than I usually do.

The nurse at the clinic had to call Walgreens to get me some more needles. Since I got some meds from other ladies who had been through IVF I didn't get enough meds in my shipment from Walgreens to begin with. I got those and should be good for the rest of the cycle unless I need more meds

Today is Valentine's day, we are going out to dinner tonight, yay!

Stims started and lessons learned

I started Follistim tonight so its now officially stim time again!

Last night I started the second part of the estrogen. This one is a vaginal suppository, what fun!  You get an applicator to insert it but since they have to be kept refrigerated it still feels odd. And as I found out the hard way they make you leaky! Which leads me to some lessons learned so far.

1. Panty liners- just go ahead and wear them as soon as you start to cycle. All the meds affect bodily fluids.

2.Reminders- some/all of these meds destroy short term memory. I have turned into a goldfish.  alarm clock+on my phone is my new favorite app. I have separate alarms for each med that won't stop going off until I dismiss it. I have notes EVERYWHERE! 

3. Falling pills- you are probably going to do your meds in the bathroom and chances are something is going to fall in the sink. Place a paper towel or clean hand towel in the sink before doing meds.
4.Organization-  see previous post for more on how I do this but with the memory issues keeping track of up to 7 meds a day can be a challenge. 

5.  Aim- clean a bigger area with alcohol than you think you need.  I have big boobs and can't see my belly. Its hard to aim in the mirror so give yourself a bigger area to work with.

6. Cold- cold meds burn more. Cold oil based meds burn a lot more. Even a couple minutes out of the fridge makes a difference.

That's all I remember for now. I'll try to add to this.

Freak out!

I totally freaked out tonight! I forgot to do my Ganirelex shot this morning. I didn't remember until 6pm!!!  I quickly called the on call nurse and she said to go ahead and take the shot now and again in the morning. She said this was the best possible timing for forgetting one. The Ganirelex keeps me from ovulating and since I'm still on my period and didn't miss the shot all together it will be fine.  I have now setup multiple alarms on my phone and my husband is putting up a big sign in the kitchen that says "DID YOU DO YOUR SHOT?" Ugh, my heart is still beating fast!

So he did a really good job with the E2V shot on Sunday night.  He said it felt too easy so he was afraid he didn't get it in the muscle, the sore spot I had the next day proved that he had!  Speaking of sore spots I seem to be bruising a bit more this time around, I already have several small spots on my belly and still have about 3 weeks of shots left.

Estrogen

I went Saturday morning to have my Esterogen level re-checked, it went from 162 on Thursday to 26 on Saturday!  But since I hadn't gotten my period yet they wanted me to wait on starting the E2V shots.  Well now I got my period so tonight will be my first intramuscular injection. My husband has watched the video on how to do it several times and says he is ready but still nervous.

As a side note, the clinic has been great, I was on phone and email with them off and on all day yesterday (Saturday) and they were super responsive and very nice.