This week, I’m especially grateful for stretchy pants and remote work options. The bloating is real, folks. It’s definitely worse this time given that my doctor doubled my meds.
I was expecting this, but I didn’t realize how much worse it’d be than the first round. On top of the uncomfortable bloating, one of the side effects of the growth hormone is headaches. And boy have I been having some headaches.
Read more: Stretchy Pants & Remote WorkIt’s nothing some Tylenol and ibuprofen can’t handle, but it still isn’t pleasant.
At least for this week I can work from home each day and wear stretchy pants while I do it. I have a feeling that’s the only way I’m going to make it to next Monday (March 27) for my egg retrieval.
Aside from the bloating and headaches, the past few days of injections have been relatively uneventful. After the drama on my first night of shots, this is a relief.
After my IVF day 2 appointment (different from day 2 of shots), I was given a calendar for starting my injections – that’s the image above. That piece of paper is my Bible for the week. It helps me keep track of everything.
Once I’ve done my bloodwork and ultrasound, an IVF nurse calls me in the afternoon to give me my dosage information for the next day, or the next two days.
The image also explains which IVF day we’re on. I said day one of injections, but that’s really IVF day 3. (I promise I didn’t do this to confuse anyone – the daily injections stick out to me more–see what I did there?–as the start of IVF.)
The first few days of the calendar are filled in with dosing amounts. On day 4 of injections (IVF day 6), I went in for my first blood draw/ultrasound appointment to see how my egg development is progressing. That’s what I consider to be the start of my “human pincushion week.”
I was up early to do my morning shots, and then it was off to the clinic’s main location, about a 45-minute drive. (I typically go to one of the clinic’s satellite locations that’s closer to home, but weekend appointments and bigger procedures all take place at the clinic’s main location.)
Side note: If I say anything not nice to anyone this week, please grant me a little grace. I’m not a morning person, and not only do I have to wake up extra early, I have to wake up early and do something unpleasant that then makes me feel like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka…
The nurse on duty told me everything was looking great, and I was progressing nicely. I mentioned to her how I was a do-do bird that first night (Thursday) and had to call the emergency line. As it turns out, she was the one I’d spoken with.
She was much more reassuring this time and said, “You aren’t the first to do it, and you won’t be the last. I get it; that medicine is expensive. It’s basically one dollar per unit. Your results from today look great, though, so it definitely still worked!”
Silly as it may sound, this really did make me feel better. I still had concerns in the back of my mind that I’d done something horribly wrong (not to mention, irreversible).
Later that afternoon, I got a call from another IVF nurse to let me know that Dr. C. had reviewed my results, and I could skip my Monday appointment (hooray for one less needle poke!). She gave me the dosing amounts for Monday A.M./P.M. and Tuesday A.M.
I had the same result at my Tuesday morning appointment. Everything is on track, and I was given dosing information for Tuesday P.M. and Wednesday A.M./P.M.
This is welcome news seeing as how I start a new injection tomorrow…
In addition to the phone calls, I’m also able to review the results from my labwork and ultrasounds in my patient portal.
I currently have 14 follicles developing, and that number should continue to grow through the rest of the week. Out of curiosity, I looked back to see how many follicles I had at the same appointment in my first cycle. Though they were a little bigger in size, I only had 8 at that time.
Given that we have to play a numbers game, I’m grateful that doubling the meds seems to be working. It might be uncomfortable, but the more eggs I produce in each cycle, the better shot Nick and I have of becoming parents.
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If you’d like to help us on this journey–whether through monetary donations; sharing our fundraising efforts; or sending prayers, thoughts, or good vibes–please visit our GoFundMe page or reach out to ivfthat@gmail.com.
IVF That 