Injections

I have never been a big fan of needles, and I have a fairly weak stomach for blood and guts.  So for the first three days of injections, Eric drew up the medications and gave me the shots.  However, when I started thinking ahead to the next week's med calendar and the prospect of egg retrieval, I realized that Eric might be in class at the time I needed to do the trigger shot (Ovidrel)!  I wanted to practice giving the injections to myself so that I could be prepared to do a couple without him if necessary.  Eric had purchsed ice packs and heat packs for me to use, and the ice packs help a lot.  When I numb the area ahead of time, I can give myself the injection without any problem.  

There are approximately 10 days of injections during the stimulation phase.  One injection is given every morning and one injection is given every night (to stimluate the development of multiple eggs).  Once there are follicles measuring 14 cm in diameter, there is an additional injection to be given 1-2 nights to prevent ovulation.  This ensures that the follicles remain in the ovaries and are accessible at the time of egg retrieval.  The final injection is added 35 hours before the scheduled time of egg retrieval, and this jumpstarts ovulation (again, to make sure the egg follicles are in an accessible place at the time of egg retrieval).  

Throughout the 10 days of injections, there are multiple appointments to check for an appropriate response to the hormones and to allow for adjustment of the dosage of each injection.  I was checked on Day 4, Day 6, and Day 8.  At each of these appointments, the nurses were pleased with my estrogen levels as assessed through blood work and with the appearance and size of the follicles they could see through ultrasound.  After the appointment on Day 8, we will learn whether egg retrieval will be scheduled for Wednesday, April 10 or Thursday, April 11.