Halloween was a day of excitement among my successful baby-making friends. One friend gave birth to a spooky Halloween baby boy and another found out that her unborn baby is a boy baby!
In the meantime, for the less successful, the excitement comes in the form of drugs. DRUGS. WOOHOO!
In the meantime, for the less successful, the excitement comes in the form of drugs. DRUGS. WOOHOO!
Brand New Box of Drugs!
You may recognize this Lupron from past posts filled with drug pix.
This is new. This is my Progesterone (in sesame oil). I will inject this in my bum daily (and by *I*, I mean Ian) starting around the time of the transfer and continuing through a first trimester, if a first trimester occurs from this transfer.
And this lovely photo shows the difference between the size of the needles I used in my last cycle in my stomach (the bottom needle), which I will use again for Lupron, and the size of the needle that will be used in my ass daily for the Progesterone (the top needle). Yes, it does need to go all the way in. Jealous yet?
Valium again for the transfer, and Medrol, a steroid, again to stop my body from rejecting embryos as foreign matter.
Vivelle is the Estrogen patch I'll be using. I start with one patch at a time, but end up using four patches at a time. That'll continue for 10 weeks into a pregnancy, if the FET works.
And that's pretty much that. I haven't posted much cause there hasn't really been anything to report. People occasionally ask me "how is the fertility stuff going?" and when they do, I am so grateful that so many people read this blog and don't have to ask. It's just a hard question to answer.
- "Well, not pregnant yet!"
- "The hormones and injections are awesome, thanks for asking!"
- "I haven't had a good night's sleep in 6 months. YAY!"
- "I am managing to stay out of deep dark despairs of depression, barely."
- "So far, failure!"
- etc.
But ya know...I'm mostly joking. I am glad people care enough to ask and I am happy to talk about it. It just makes me feel like a bit of a downer, and I'm just gladder that many people who care enough don't have to ask.
Hall and Oates hope you had a happy happy Halloween!
So does this scary scary witch.
Wowzers, not going to lie that big huge needle is freaking me out right now. Best of luck to you though! Hope this is it for you!
ReplyDeleteyour halloween costumes are super fabulous - very jealous! Halloween in the UK is nowhere near as fun as it was when I was growing up in Berkeley.
ReplyDeletewoah. needles freak me out and those are some biggies! Just don't hand them out to the kiddies. oy. sticking a needle on the bum...shiver me timbers!!
ReplyDeleteIn sesame oil? That totally surprised me! I imagined it'd be in saline or something....
ReplyDeleteYeah, Injectible Progesterone is always in some sort of oil. In fact, it is abbreviated as PIO (progesterone in oil). Not sure why, but I imagine that it's just the only thing it can be in that doesn't hurt it somehow or another. Clearly I'm not a chemist or a doctor.
DeleteIn fact, just looked it up (librarian that I am).
DeleteProgesterone does not dissolve in water and is poorly absorbed when taken orally unless micronized in oil. Products are often sold as capsules containing micronised progesterone in oil. Progesterone can also be administered through vaginal or rectal suppositories or pessaries, transdermally through a gel or cream,[47] or via injection (though the latter has a short half-life requiring daily administration).
Ah... The nuvo ring and stuff like that (I think it's called?) is progesterone that is administered vaginally, I suppose?
DeleteWeird that it's in an edible oil, though, and not is some fancy schmancy chemical thing that's as close to our lipids as possible. Though maybe that's what sesame oil is!
Actually, the progesterone I used in my last cycle (Crinone) was administered vaginally. It just has lower success rates, for unknown reasons, in frozen cycles, so I can't use it this time. The Nuvaring, I am pretty sure, is estrogen, not progesterone. I don't think progesterone is found in most birth control. (believe me, I wish I was less an expert on all of this)
DeleteGotta say that PIO needle is scaring the shit outta me!! and am pretty relieved right now that I will never have to do that end of the IVF cycle...poor you!
ReplyDelete