You Need Me To Do What?

After our "couples therapy" I flew up for my medical evaluation. The doctor wasn't very happy with me skipping out on my first appointment and made it very clear how disappointed she was. I had to apologize and assure her a few times that I wouldn't flake again.
That day I got to experience my very first procedure, a mock transfer. For those of you that have no idea what that is... it is when the doctor inserts a catheter into your uterus to measure the length and depth. The whole thing was pretty uneventful and didn't take very long. I could have done without the cramps that lingered afterwards.
The rest of the appointment was spent with the nurse coordinator explaining our calenders and what would happen next. I had no idea what to expect with any of this so I was pretty shocked to learn about all the medication involved. 


A few weeks later a medium sized box arrived at my front door. I can't begin to explain how I felt when I started laying all the drugs, syringes, alcohol swabs, and instructions on the counter. I was pretty sure that I was going to pass out.

The first thing I started was birth control followed by Lupron injections. I'm not a fan of birth control pills in general but the ones I took weren't so bad. I didn't notice any side effects from them. The Lupron was a different story. I started out injecting 10 units in my stomach every night. At first the shots were uncomfortable, just a sting with a little burning but after a while the injection sites would itch. I also noticed some pretty ugly side effects. I couldn't sleep at night and would get uncomfortable ovulation type cramps. UGH. I couldn't find very much information online about the drug itself and the side effects (which was a tad scary) but I did find some forums with women talking about having the same problems. On a good note, it increased my sex drive! I'm only taking 5 units right now and only have a week left on the Lupron. I'm looking forward to stopping. 

I also started taking Estrogen in the form of patches. I have no complaints. I love what it's doing to my skin, hair, and boobs! :) I'm currently on three patches but move to four tomorrow.

The rest of this month is pretty busy. I've already had an ultrasound, blood work (twice), and urine testing done. I also got to have an HSG done. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's an x-ray test that looks at the inside of the uterus and fallopian tubes and the area around them. During a HSG, a dye is put through a thin tube that is put through the vagina and into the uterus. Because the uterus and the fallopian tubes are hooked together the dye will flow into the tubes. Pictures are taken using a steady beam of x-ray as the dye passes through the uterus and fallopian tubes. Fun, right? NO! The whole thing lasted about 5 minutes but it hurt. I'm not a wimpy person and can normally handle pain but the cramps during and afterwards were horrible. 




This week I have another ultrasound and more blood work and next week I begin progesterone and an antibiotic. If all goes as planned I'll be back the last week of the month for the Embryo transfer!!