I Could Be an Intravenous Drug User

Seriously. With the amount of meds and syringes I now have - and the level of comfort I now have around needles, I'm a little worried about the slippery slope to the hey-ron. Okay, not really. (I still don't have to find a vein).

We had our IVF class this morning. On the way there, we were going over all the consent forms for the procedures and for cryopreservation (freezing any extra embryos). We had to not only decide what we want to do with any embryos they don't put back in me this time, but we also had to decide what would happen to the frozen ones if we get divorced, if one of us dies, or if both of us die. Happy conversation. If both of us die, we can give ownership of the embryos to someone else. So - Ashley got a really weird call this morning! She's now officially the godmother of our future frozen embryos. How's that for weird?

The class took way longer than I thought. Luckily, Michael took advantage of the downtime at his office and had taken the whole day off. The nurse spent the first 1/2 hour going over the IVF process & what to expect, the 2nd 1/2 hour explaining all the meds, and the 3rd 1/2 hour having us practice with the injections in this nasty piece of rubber-flesh.

Let me just say that I am SO glad we had done shots before with the IUI stuff. There was another couple in there who had never done injections and I swear the woman looked like she was going to pass out. We had to go over how to give ourselves 4 different shots and how our husbands had to give us 1 shot in the "upper hip". (Umm, yeah - that's the butt.) Luckily, I've already given myself 2 of those shots so it wasn't quite so overwhelming. The needle for the big shot in the butt is HUGE. I am scared about that one, but I'm trying not to think about it. The nurse actually had to tell us not to try to do that one on our own. Who does that?

After the class, we went to pick up the prescriptions - and left with not one, but TWO shopping bags full of meds and needles. If I can figure out how to post a photo of them all, I will. Anyway, here are the estimated dates for stuff - hope it makes sense. Now, don't break out your calendar right now to put all those dates in - because they'll most likely change. ;-) Don't worry, I'll keep you posted here on our progress.

8/14 - Mock Embryo Transfer (trial run for the real thing)
8/23 - Start Lupron Injections (to quiet the ovaries before stimulation) & Baby Aspirin (to thicken uterine lining so the embryo will have something to latch onto once they put it in)
8/25 - Stop Birth Control Pills
8/28 - Expect start of period
8/30 (or day 2 or 3 of period) - Bloodwork and Ultrasound (to ensure ovaries and hormones are ready for stimulation). Wait for instructions to start daily Follistim & Menopur injections (to make those eggs grow, grow, grow!) After I start these injections, I'll be going in for bloodwork & ultrasound every other day - then every day as we get close to retrieval.
9/10 - Estimated Egg Retrieval Date
9/13 - Estimated Embryo Transfer Date & start of Progesterone Injections (the dreaded butt shots)

After the embryo transfer, I'll have 24 hours of bedrest. Glad we've got lots on TiVo! I better make sure it's stuff I actually want to watch.

Okay, so I'll end with the funny part in all this - right before Michael has to give me the butt shots, they will draw targets on both cheeks with a Sharpie! Maybe we'll take pictures of THAT! Ha!