Well we just got back from our first of many doctor's appointments in Columbia. The nurse did a Day 3 ultrasound to make sure my uterine lining was thin - which it was! She also checked to make sure there were several small follicles in both ovaries - which there were! I asked for a count to give me some sort of idea of what we were working with, but she said she would do that on my next appointment. Jared gave a semen sample to be frozen and combined with the fresh sample at the time of egg retrieval. Unfortunately, his count was super low -- a little over one million. So she asked him to come back next Monday to provide a second sample to be frozen and then combined with this one to make sure we have enough.
Then came the dreaded injection. She is starting me off with 300 IU of Bravelle (FSH) per injection. She showed Jared how to mix the liquid and powder from the vials to the syringe. The injection can go in my belly, thigh, hip, or the back of my arm. We decided to try my belly. The actual prick didn't hurt, but when the medicine starting going in...WOW, that stung! And it continued to hurt for about five minutes afterwards. Postings from other blogs and forums said that these first injections didn't hurt. Maybe I just have to get used to it. Or maybe I simply have no tolerance for pain. There is no way that I would be able to administer these shots myself -- I would have immediately withdrawn the needle!
Jared is supposed to give me the injection at the same time tomorrow and Thursday. We are going to try other injection sites to see if those don't hurt as much. Friday, I have an appointment to do another ultrasound, as well as blood work. Based on these results, the nurse may adjust my medicine, dosage, or number of injections. Below is a picture of all the wonderful meds that I'll be taking over the course of the IVF cycle.
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