Skip to main content

...and then the shots started

We had been marking days off on our IVF calendar and it looked like we have time before the shots would start. I am totally taking it one step at a time. At the end of December, we tested for any possibilities of infectious diseases, and got training on how to administer injections. On Jan 7, I got my suppression check ultrasound done and removed the Nuvaring that evening. For the only time in my life I had smooth periods (withdrawal bleeding) and the Nuvaring along with Metformin leveled my hormones, so I did not have any breakouts! An amazing feat for me!

My doctor was happy with the suppression check ultrasound. Out of what seemed to me like static on the TV screen, he saw my ovaries and uterus, pointed them to me and Arnab. As long as he is happy with what he saw I am fine. Four days after that, means from Jan 11 I started my Follistim and Menopur shots.

The dosage is 150 for the Follistim twice a day and 1 vial (75) of Menopur in the evening. And now I will tell you about them. Remember, I mentioned initially that people gave me an impression that the shots are huge and painful? That is BS. The Follistim cartridge is around 2 inches long, and that consists of 4 injections. That means half inch of a narrow cartridge worth of medicine is actually getting in every time. Plus, the needle is super fine. To be honest, I could barely see the injection marks on my abdomen, what is visible on my upper thigh is a red mark, you know from what? Cat scratch. Cat scratches are far more painful and irritating.

Menopur is a teeny bit more painful than Follistim, not because of the needle, but because of the saline solution in which the medicine is dissolved. That burning sensation stays for like 10 seconds though. A paper cut is way more painful than these shots.

I figured out that this "infertility" (yes I put quotes around them because I don't approve of the term) problem is 90% socially induced and 10% medical. The medical part is pretty much under control, the social issue is what causes most trouble. Arnab and I figured out that this entire thing is making us bond even more. After living together for eight and half years, we thought that we know each other thoroughly. But new sides are evolving. He used to be scared of needles, but now he is comfortably administering the shots to me!

The other thing I realized is the more normal life you lead, the better for your sanity. Unless it is physically tiring, I am trying to keep my regular routine. This afternoon was terribly tiring, not for the medicines but because I gave up caffeine two days back :) Other than that I am working, staying mentally involved with work and a funny departmental re-org. I am pushing for a role change at work, discussing things with my manager as if the IVF thing just doesn't exist. I am doing my regular public speaking practice, just had a lunch time talk yesterday (along with a splitting sinusitis headache) at our company. I was also planning to go play cricket tomorrow, but then decided against it for that might be a little too much!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preparing for the embryo transfer

Now we are approaching the most physically painful part of the process - the progesterone shots. On March 3, I went through a baseline check ultrasound to see how thick the uterine lining was. At this time, as I was on Nuvaring, my lining measured 4 mm which is pretty thin. From March 7, my Delestrogen shots started. They are basically the hormone estrogen that thickens our uterine lining in preparation for a cozy spot for the embryo to snuggle up to. For an embryo transfer, they expect the lining to be around 8-13 mm thick. The way to do that is by the estrogen shots. These intramuscular shots go in the butt and if you were one of those people who was taking the subcutaneous ones by yourself, now you would need someone to give you these ones. These are water soluble injections, so they are not that heavy. Also, I had to give them twice a week.  On March 23, I had another ultrasound to check how my uterine lining has thickened up. In the mean time, I ate normal healthy food...
Post a Comment
Read more

February - a month of rest

After the egg retrieval surgery happened and my embryos got frozen, February was my month of resting. I went back to my normal life with no restrictions, I started yoga and went back to swimming. My work life also came to a stable ground with me not taking too much sick time off. There was nothing to do related to the IVF process, and my body got time to heal. Here's where I will discuss the frozen embryo transfer process and compare that with the fresh embryo transfer. There are different medical reasons to choose the frozen process, but from a layman's perspective, and also as one undergoing it, I also prefer the frozen process.  1. The body gets time to heal. If I had to do a fresh transfer, that would be 3 days after my egg retrieval. That means my ovaries were sore, still healing from the process, and I was still EXTREMELY bloated. I could barely walk to the bathroom. Going through another process at that time, that is so much taxing on the uterus and my general ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How does IVF work?

From when I started the IVF process, I have found quite a lot of well meaning people saying some pretty strange things. At first I was getting annoyed, especially to things like "just relax, and it will happen" but then I figured out it is mainly because of ignorance that people are saying such stuff. As infertility and general reproduction issues are never discussed in a manner they should, no one really knows what is going on at this front. I decided to shine some light. Why does someone need IVF? A person can decide to go through IVF for many reasons. Generally, if a couple tries to get pregnant but even after trying for a year, they do not, then they are advised to see a doctor. For a woman over 35, it is six months. The Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) doctor would advise a lot of tests to figure out if they have any issues which is causing them to not have babies or delaying the process. For certain cases in women like Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), damag...
Post a Comment
Read more