Same Same

Day 7. Morning ritual was pretty much the same. I felt bloated as usual for the whole day with a bit of nausea off and on. No headaches though thanks goodness.

I am still experiencing hot flushes but it's tolerable. I am trying to exercise a little by walking, which helps with my mood. Still feeling a bit mellow and am wondering if it is because of the stimulants.

An important lesson I learned was definitely must take the Progynova right after my meal. Last night I took the tablet a bit late and it did a number on my ulcer so obviously I had trouble sleeping. Made sure I took it properly today, which I did, and my stomach is fine.

Progynova tablets to be taken twice day to 

strengthen the uterine lining. 

Looking forward to my next follow up visit on Day 9. Hopefully, my body will respond well to the treatment, and we will have good eggs to retrieve on Day 14.

Another week to go!

Morning Meltdown

Day 6. Finally after starting the IVF regimen six days ago, I just lost it. Following my daily morning shots this morning, I just couldn't stop crying. I kept telling DH, "It's hard." I think I said it about six or seven times over and over again. Don't know if it's the hormones taking over or I just have had enough of all of it. Can't believe I have another week to go of shots and stimulants. It's all so overwhelming.

The Puregon shot hurt like crazy today. The needle going in stung. The serum going in stung. I don't know if it's because my stomach area is getting oversensitive now. I had to wait a while in between shots and lay down. The Menopur shot was not so bad. The small needle went in alright just felt a bit of stinging as the serum was seeping in my body. 

I had some trouble injecting the Ogalutran this morning and getting the needle to penetrate my skin. Maybe it's because it's the first time I am doing it. Thank goodness the needle is so small, so I didn't feel it. When I pushed the serum in, I didn't feel any pain (yet). We'll see how it I fare tomorrow morning. 

My daily injection of Ogalutran. 

It comes in a pre-filled glass syringe. 

Injecting the Ogalutran inside me. I will continue to 

do this in addition to the daily Puregon and Menopur 

injections until egg extraction on Day 12 or 15.

I am still taking the Progynova tablets twice a day to thicken my uterine wall. Need to make sure to take it right after a meal. If I wait too long like I did yesterday, my ulcer starts to hurt. There was a warning on the box saying that it may cause a gastritis reaction. Now I know I have to remember to take it right away after I have some food in me and not forget. 

Taking it day by day. Just another week to go. We can do this. 

Triple Whammy

Day 5 and had my follow up consultation to see how my body is responding to the treatment.

Seems that even with what is considered a high dose of stimulants, this morning's ultrasound detected about 6 eggs in my ovaries. I think the doctor said my left ovary is not responding as well to the stimulants as my right. Our first fresh cycle IVF generated 12 eggs by the way.

My first question to the doctor was, "What's wrong with me?" but was assured that each body reacts differently to stimulants and there is no wrong or right. He also highlighted the fact it is important to go for quality than quantity in terms of harvesting eggs. Finally the doctor told me, "No sense in worrying. It makes no difference." How true!

In addition to the two daily injections that I have to do, I need to take an additional third injection called Orgalutran. I was told that the stimulant was to help prevent ovulation before egg extraction, which would take place approximately Day 13 or 15. More on the Orgalutran stimulant and side effects can be found on this link http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/pregnancy/medicines/orgalutran.html.

In terms of side effects from Puregon and Menopur, I haven't felt any headaches yesterday or today but have been experiencing just a touch of nausea and a bit of bloating off and on. The hot flushes however are just constant, and it feels warm wherever I go whereas I am usually sensitive to cold even to the slightest wind draught.

My stomach is starting to feel tender I guess from all the daily injections that I am doing. No mood swings yet like I experienced during the fresh and frozen cycles. Just been feeling a bit mellow, and I read on the internet that one of the side effects of the stimulants is tiredness and/or fatigue.

Not happy about the third additional injection that I have to do daily, but what can we do? I have read on the internet that the Orgalutran injections will hurt like crazy but will cross that bridge when I get there. Worrying about it now won't make a difference.

One good thing about Orgalutran is that it comes in a pre-filled syringe and there is no reconstituting (mixing) needed like Menopur. I will upload a photo on my next post of what the Orgalutran looks like. Just not in the mood to look at it right now, so it will sit nicely in my fridge until I have to face it again which is... tomorrow morning!

Take It Easy

Day 4. Done with my morning injections. I am getting the hang of it, and the process is starting to proceed like clockwork. Alarm goes off telling me it's time inject, I stall for about 15 minutes, then I do my thing. What I notice is that I am no longer afraid of the stupid itty bitty needle! What a relief.

The second stimulant is Menopur. The liquid on the

right has to be mixed with the powder pill on the left

and then drawn out into the syringe.

DH and I think of it as a fun science

project which helps take the edge off

and lighten our mood. 

Once the meds go in my body though I find myself having to lay down for about 10-15 minutes because both the sides of my belly start to sting like hell. But once it's over, it's okay.

Make sure the syringe is at a 90 degree 

angle from your skin. 

Notice the puncture wound from the 

injection the day before. 

I have been reading a lot on the side effects of both stimulants. Well, Day 1 and 2 were pretty bad in terms of nausea and headaches. It was a bit better yesterday as there wasn't any nausea or headache but I did feel a bit lethargic. I spent lunchtime with my BFF (God Bless her for being there for me), and we did a bit of walking which I believe probably helped. I just had to know when to stop and rest because if I walked too much then I started feeling some pain in my lower abdomen and pelvic area. Once I rested, I was fine.

No mood swings (yet). I have been feeling a bit mellow actually. Maybe that's a good thing for those who know me :).

Guess, I will just continue my routine of eating right, sleeping well and exercising a bit and most important of all -- taking it easy.

Where There's A Will, There's A Way

Just finished day 3 of injections this morning and am rewarded with a lovely breakfast prepared by my darling husband (DH) consisting of a hot cup of freshly made earl grey tea, a yummy toasted bagel with cream cheese and an anjou pear. For some reason this morning's round of injections stung more than the ones from yesterday. Perhaps it's because the belly is starting to be a bit more tender from all the puncture wounds.

I usually use the Puregon Pen on the left side of my stomach and inject the Menopur with the regular syringe on my right side. Here is a link to an excellent illustration about the Puregon Pen http://www.ivf-worldwide.com/education/ivf-drug-in-use/ivf-guideline-for-drug-administration/instructions-to-inject-of-puregon.html. As instructed by the nurse I made sure to keep to the area two fingers below and away from my belly button. Apparently the area right below your belly button is very sensitive and will hurt a lot if you puncture it with a needle.

The Puregon Pen has a dial on the right side to 

gauge the amount of medicine going in through

the replaceable cartridge.

I found it interesting and different from our previous ART (assisted reproductive treatment) regimen is that even though day one of injections which we did at the clinic started around 3pm in the afternoon on Day 1, I was told to continue the daily injections the next morning at around 8-9am. Previously, I was asked to have the daily injections at the same time every day the first time I had it which was around 5.30pm. I can't remember why the current doctor advises me to do the shots in the mornings as I was nervous (about the needles, remember?) when I saw him on day 1. Must ask DH about the explanation as he is a better listener than I am and most likely will remember the doctor's reasoning. More on that later.

So, back to the self-jab process. DH is so proud of how resolved I am to do them myself knowing about my ongoing phobia of needles since childhood. I am sharing this for any newbies to IVF who may benefit from this information or if you were just curious about it. FYI there are lots of helpful instructional videos on the Puregon Pen, such as this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLE5ra84u4Y. I obviously prefer the Puregon Pen compared to the regular syringe for the Menopur because it's just more convenient to use, but the doctor prescribed to use both so I just had to suck it up and do them.

Make sure to pinch the injection area

before inserting the needle. Then release

once it is all the way in and you are ready

to administer the medicine. 

I would look at my tummy and establish the area to inject, swab it with an alcohol pad and pinch it. This is the time when I thank the heavens above for the extra fat in my tummy! I make sure the syringe is at a 90 degrees angle from my pinched skin and then I insert the needle all the way. The needle is so small and thin it doesn't hurt much going in. When I am sure it is all the way inside and stable then I push in the medicine with my thumb. As instructed by the nurse, once the medicine is in I would wait for 5-10 seconds before taking out the needle to make sure that none of it will seep out from my skin since it is very expensive and we wouldn't want to waste any. I make sure to clean the area again with an alcohol swab and lay down on the couch for a while since both injection sites on my left and right belly will start to sting for a while as the medicine starts going into my body.

I am currently prescribed 375ml of Puregon and 75ml of Menopur and will be seeing the doctor on day 5 to see how my ovaries are responding to the stimulants, which will be adjusted accordingly if needed. Another interesting difference I noted this time around by the way -- the doctor starts with a higher dose then will decrease if needed as opposed to our previous IVF where the doctor started low and then increased the dosage after a week of stimulants.

Two more days to go till my follow up visit on day 5 to see how my body responds to the treatment.  In the meantime, I hope that the side effects won't be as bad today as they were yesterday.

3 days worth of empty medicine containers, used

needles and syringes. We're collecting all of our 

medical waste and prefer to bring it to the clinic 

and dispose of it there rather than combine it with

household garbage.

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

It's day 2 and the side effects from the IVF regimen have started to hit me.

I feel bloated in the mornings right after the injections but then the feeling subsides after a few hours. Then there are bouts of nausea off and on and I feel a bit gassy. Headaches come and go but the hot flushes are more or less there all day (unless the AC is cranked up to superblast).

Just when I thought this time would be different. Shouldn't have counted my chickens before they hatch. Let's hope that the side effects don't include crazy mood swings. Despite everything that I am experiencing, I still would do it again if only for the hope of growing our family.

Again, thankful for my loved ones especially my DH, who is always so patient with me every step of the way.

My Puregon pen injector (top left) for Puregon

and a regular syringe for the Menopur injections.

No Pain, No Gain

Finally starting IVF today after having to postpone a month because my menses (Aunt Flow or AF) came a week early. DH and I first saw the doctor back in August of last year, so we have come a long way to be here. I must say I was pretty disappointed when I had to postpone but in hindsight things did work out for the best. Sometimes you just have to let nature take its course.

Since today is my Day 2 of AF, I went to see the doctor for my follow-up consultation, ultra scan and to start the IVF hormone regimen. The doctor advised me to do a short protocol IVF. (More about IVF protocols can be read here.)When I got to the doctor's office I was more concerned (read: freaking out) about having to self-inject the hormones than anything else. Thing is, I was used to having nurses do the injections everyday in our previous ART efforts. This time around I had to learn to do it on my own.

To think that for weeks I was concerned with trying to accept whatever the outcome will be from the journey ahead. But when I got to the doctor's office, my mind went blank and I started to cringe when I saw the needles and syringes. All I knew is that this phobia of needles had to be managed so I just said to myself, "Suck it up, girl!"

Luckily, the nurse at hand was so patient with me and my DH in going through the motions. After much drama (on my part) and half an hour later, I finally learned to self-inject with the Puregon Pen and a regular syringe for the Menopur. Mind you these two shots usually just take a few minutes to do for the average person.

We'll see how I will fare tomorrow morning since I have to do both injections everyday at the same time for the next two weeks. In addition to the injections, I am also taking Progynova tablets to strengthen my uterine wall. It has only been a day of hormones so have not been feeling too off yet but we'll see. Hopefully the side effects won't be too much for me.

I am just so thankful that my loved ones are always there to support me emotionally through what I definitely know will be a roller coaster ride.