The End of a Long Week & Half

It has been a really long 12 days! Woof! This morning I had my IUI procedure. Here is a run down of our last week and a half........

Day 2 shots:

Getting the hang of mixing and injecting. 

Day 3 shots: 

Today I had to pick up an emergency dose of the Bravelle from my doctor's office to compensate for the medication mess up. And I might have screwed the pooch on my shot and hit a blood vessel. The medication will still absorb, I just gave myself a nice little, instant bruise. Thankfully it doesn't hurt and life goes on. 

Day 4 shots: 

Today was the first day of the Gonal-F shots! They are super convenient. Pre-mixed and in an epi-pen looking syringe. You just dial up your dose! Love, love this new med. I also love the pharmacy because they sent me a sharps container. No more worrying about used needles. 

Day 5 shots: 

Now I'm becoming a pro at the Gonal-F shots. Here's what the little pen looks like. Because I'm on a low dose of 75, I have 4 doses in each pen. I just dial it up, stick it in at a 90 degree angle, hold it down and go on with my day. 

Day 6 shots: 

So over shots today.....like for reals!!!!!

Day 7 shot: 

So over shots, I didn't even document it. 

Day 8 shot: 

Today was my second scan to see how my follicles are a-growing. And was supposed to be my last day of shots.

Driving to the doctor's is always a little nerve wracking for me. Being on a new medication brings a huge level of uncertainty....my least favorite thing. 

The scan showed two good sized follicles, possibly three and a lot of little ones. My nurse, Ashley and Dr. Conway decided to have me continue my shots till Sunday. On Sunday I will come in for a follow up scan to see how my little ladies are doing. 

Because I have to do two more days of shots, I rewarded myself! 

Day 9 shot:

Today I was told to take a OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kit). If it showed an LH surge (luteinizing hormone: Produced by the pituitary gland, causing the egg to release) than I needed to come back in for a trigger shot and an IUI the next day-ish. 

Thankfully my OPK was negative for an LH surge. 

Today I also didn't let my Gonal-F pen warm up (I'm supposed to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before injecting). That was a big mistake. I wanted to punch a wall after I injected it. It hurt so bad!!!!

Day 10 shot: 

Today was my final shot and third scan. 

I'm so incredibly bloated right now!!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Fertility meds are a necessary "evil" right now but they are driving me a little nuts. It's also making me look about 3 months preggers! Grrrrrr I'm grumpy/moody and pudgy with no babes in my belly. Rough stuff.

After the third scan, we are still at two mature follicles. I was supposed to do my trigger shot tonight but they forgot to call in my prescription to Freedom Fertility. When the clinic I go to realized they screwed up my prescription, they gave me a sheet of pharmacies to call to get my prescription filled. After calling all compound pharmacies I found out none of them are open on Sunday. So they nurse moved me from a 36 hour protocol to a 24 hour protocol and will be triggering tomorrow morning at 10:30am. My IUI will remain at 10:30 on Tuesday.

Day 11 shot: 

Today was my HCG trigger shot. After calling to a few compound pharmacies (one wasn't picking up, one was out of stock), a pharmacy in Lehi said they could provide the prescription. I drove up to grab it and got home in the nick of time....10:25am :) 

By the time I did my trigger shot, I was feeling so overwhelmed, so beaten down. 

Day 12: 

This morning was our IUI. Jon dropped of his deposit, well he waited in the waiting room for 30+ minutes to drop it off. That's one thing that frustrates me a little about the fertility clinic. They have you wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour every visit, in any capacity. They never let you know they are running late, no time frame. I understand they are busy but everyone else has a day too. Just saying! :) 

Driving to the fertility clinic. I felt like I was running on empty and so incredibly numb. I felt that way all night last night. I think it's much easier to feel numb than to feel everything else that's inside of me right now. I'm really to find every ounce of optimism and hope in my being. It's so hard! 

Laying around after the procedure. Nothing to do but hope and fear. 

Well I go in for a pregnancy blood test on the 24th. But for the past 3 IUIs I have known 7 days after the procedure. It might be a little different because I will be on progesterone suppositories for 7 weeks if the pregnancy takes. I have heard a big side effect of the suppositories is feeling preggers. I definitely will not be trusting my body signals this time around. For now, I will try and stay distracted and not thinking about it or I will slowly go crazy.