IVF Cycle:Stims Days 1-3

Day 1: Friday, September 9^th. Total Poke Count: 6 (including previous bloodwork for IVF)

I started my medication today with 150IU of Gonal-F and 2 vials of Menopur. I got all my supplies ready on the bathroom counter and immediately had a little mental freak out. I have heard from so many other women that when they gave their first shot, they hesitated for a long time. My plan was to have the medication all ready in the syringes so when it was actually time for the shot I could just quickly get it over with. That didn’t work out so well. I had everything ready, but I still hesitated a little bit. I took the cap off the syringe and just stood there looking at the needle and said to Brian, “I don’t want to stab myself!” Brian was just standing there asking me what I wanted him to do.

“Do you want a hug or anything?”

 “No, don’t touch me!”

I finally started the first injection and didn’t push hard enough on the syringe.

“Brian, it won’t go in”

“Yes it will, just push harder!”

The whole conversation was quite comical. I eventually did get the needle to go in, but I was surprised at how hard you have to push to actually puncture the skin. The needle slid in and I kid you not I didn’t feel it at all, not even a little pinch!

“Brian, it doesn’t hurt at all! I didn’t even feel it!”

Brian looked over and saw the needle still in my belly, cringed and walked out of the room. I finished the first injection and went right onto the second one. The Menopur needle didn’t hurt at all, but the medication did burn a little bit going in.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by how simple the injections were once I had everything situated. They didn’t hurt and I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the whole process. We went out to dinner for my mom’s birthday and I felt fine the whole night. I did have a little bit of a headache, but my head was hurting earlier in the day so I thought it was probably just stress.

Day 2: Saturday, September 10^th. Poke count: 8

I woke up with a slight headache, but nothing horrible. I took some Tylenol and it went away pretty quickly. I took Renly to the vet this morning after him waking us up several times the past few nights to go to the bathroom. He hasn’t been interested in his food, drinking a ton of water and has had loose stools. The vet agreed that she suspects a UTI, but we couldn’t get a urine sample. She gave us some antibiotics for him and suggested Imodium for the tummy issues.

Mid-afternoon I started feeling a slight pinching feeling in my lower right abdomen around where I assume my ovary is. I don’t know if this was from the medication or just in my head. It lasted the rest of the day though. 

We spent the afternoon at my mom’s, playing with my 2 year old niece and eating cupcakes I made for my mom’s birthday. I have felt mostly fine all day.

Look at all that red hair!! 

We packed up the dog and my medication and went to Fruitport for the night to celebrate Brian’s mom’s birthday. Yes, my mom’s birthday is on the 9^th and Brian's mom's is on the 10^th….and his uncle's is on the 11^th! It makes it super easy for us to remember birthdays.  We went out to dinner that evening, and around 6:15 Brian and I headed back to his parent's house for my medication. I was going to give myself the shots and then head back to the bar to celebrate some more. What should have taken 15 minutes turned into a 2 hour ordeal. I pulled out the bag with my medication and I HAD PACKED THE WRONG VIAL!!! Stupid! I thought I was super organized. I even have all of my non-refrigerated meds and supplies all situated in a shoe organizer. Apparently I’m not organized enough.

I like to pretend I'm super organized

I drove back to Grand Rapids, gave myself the medication while I was super flustered and drove back to Fruitport. Both of the shots hurt more this time, but I was kind of hurried so I wasn’t as careful as last time.

I had a slight headache by the time we got back to the bar around 8:30PM but I again decided it was just a stress headache. Tylenol took care of it quickly. We got back from the bar around 10PM and Renly’s Tummy problems had gotten MUCH worse. We keep him in the spare room when we stay at Brian’s Parent’s house and he is usually fine. There was poop by the door, the window, the wall and by the bed….he had exploded! It all cleaned up pretty easily and Brian’s parents didn’t seem too mad. We didn’t really tell them how bad it was at the time, although I guess they will know after reading this. :)

Renly got an Imodium, started throwing up and spent the night in the garage. Don’t worry, he had his bed, water, his bone and it was nice and warm.

Day 3 Sunday, September 11^th. Poke count: 10

I woke up with a splitting headache. The kind where you just have to close your eyes really hard and wait for the wave of pain to go away. Once I actually got up and got dressed it was a little bit better, but definitely still there. I am now convinced that it is the medication causing the headaches. I took more Tylenol with breakfast and it has been fine the rest of the day. The pinching feeling has continued today and gotten a little stronger. It is on both sides now. I don’t think it’s in my head anymore. I pushed on my stomach and it was a bit tender. Hopefully this all means the medication is doing what it is supposed to!

The Menopur burned a lot more tonight. It still wasn’t horrible, but noticeably worse. Overall I am pleased with how little the injections have hurt and how little side effects I am experiencing. The headaches and pinching feeling are obviously not pleasant, but they are definitely not intolerable. I have an ultrasound and bloodwork tomorrow at 8AM, so I’ll get to see how the follicles are growing at that time.

Renly seems to be feeling better too. I think the antibiotics upset his stomach more so we are putting him on a bland diet and giving him some pumpkin. He should be a happy puppy again in just a few days. 

Emily