It Has Begun

So yesterday (or Wednesday if you are reading this later) I had what I thought was just some blood work to check on something to do with the cyst they found on Friday during my ultrasound.

After the blood was drawn (by the way I LOVE the nurses at this fertility doctor’s office, I give them an A++) I was asked to wait a few minutes in case the doctor (let’s call him Dr. L) wanted to see me.  Dr. L decided to do another quick ultrasound and found the cyst had already shrunk and was almost gone so he decided to go ahead and start the process.

Within a few minutes I had a nurse giving me a tutorial on how to prepare my needle and medications, how to clean and dispose of things, and how to administer the giant needle into my rear end.  To be completely honest I was having a mini panic attack.  I don’t mind needles/and shots, but they are not a pleasant experience either.

I went from thinking that because of the cyst it was still going to be a couple of weeks before I can begin the process to being shown how to do an injection that would start tonight!  I don’t know if I was mentally ready to handle that change, but I barely made it through the demo (seriously hot flashes, clammy skin, not in my stomach, I thought I was going to pass out!)

After the nurse left the room and I waited for my calendar I talked myself down and although still a little nervous I got my excitement back.  The nurse came in with a giant box of drugs (click that link if you want to see WHAT drugs) and gave my calendar to start that night.

 

After some changes to ensure the transfer was happening on a Friday so I can avoid missing work as much as possible the Transfer date came back as 11/29.  That’s 15 days away!! In 15 days I may have a baby (or 2) clinging to my insides and growing.  HOLY COW!

My rockstar of a husband did my first injection last night and although I was freaking out for an hour (or like 8 hours) before the first shot it was actually pretty painless.

Here were some helpful tips I got from the Nurse:

1.       Do not ICE the area.  This is usually done to numb the area making the shot less painful, but since it is oil based the cold skin actually causes the medication to harden (even if using a heating pad after) and makes the aftercare more pain.  If you just suck it up for the injection pain the after-pain is much more tolerable when you do not ice it.  This worked for me! It barely hurt during the shot anyway.

2.       Use a heating pad after the shot.  This will help the pain and keep the medication warm to keep it from getting ‘stuck’.  I did this for about an hour after and although a little tender at first I felt great after.

Of course… this is my first and only injection so maybe this stuff won’t be true after today, but for now it worked great.

My calendar is below if you want to see the mass amount of drugs/injections I will be taking on a daily basis.  They will continue after the last day on the calendar, but I haven’t gotten that part yet.