May 2016 - IVF #3, Day 8 of Shots

Today is Friday.  I started shots last Friday, and have been hitting the 7:30am/pm mark almost exactly every day since.  We started with just the Lupron morning and night for 2 days, then last Sunday, we added in the stimulating hormones (Gonal-F in the am, and Menopur in the pm) to get the follicle party started.  As of this evening, I have taken 28 injections in IVF #3.

I've been in for two checks (blood test and ultrasound) since starting, one on Wednesday and one today.  Wednesday's scan showed 2 very tiny follicles, and today's scan showed 3 follicles each with ~5mm diameter.  This is very similar to what we had at this point in IVF #1, which feels pretty good!

For readers who are more visually inclined, here's what that looks like:

Shots so far, including instructions through Monday next week.

The next check is on Monday (Day 11 in the figure above), so my instructions are to continue as we have been until then, at which point we await further instructions.  It's kinda funny actually, if you can bring yourself to call it that, the vast majority of what's happening is simply, blandly following instructions, getting stuck with needles, then checking in, getting stuck with more needles, and waiting again for the next set of instructions as to how many more needles are coming your way.  Most likely, we will keep going with the shots through most of next week, but it will depend on the growth of the follicles and estrogen levels as we go, just as before.

28 injections and 2 blood draws down in round 3, and I feel far more comfortable with needles than I ever have in my life.  As predicted, I have had to give myself a few of my morning shots.  I tried not to overthink it, especially since I needed to take them during conference calls.  Loading up the syringes before the call and donning my headset, I was able to lift my shirt and shoot up in my stomach while continuing the conversation.  Thankfully, I took both of these calls from home, so no one else had to witness this spectacle, and I'm fairly certain no one on the line knew it was happening either...  Stealth self-injection.  Not amongst the skills I ever expected to develop in life.

On top of the soreness across my lower abdomen from the injections, the fluctuating hormones can be rough.  On IVF stims, my recurring symptoms have included:

• Nausea with cramping - usually during the early days of shots
• Severe, light-sensitive, ear-ringing headaches - usually starts around day 4, it's a constant throbbing that gets worse in the afternoons and does not respond to Tylenol (the only pain meds I'm allowed to take)
• Pinchy, bloaty ovarian pain - especially as the follicles get bigger
• Drowsiness - the kind where your whole body feels worn down and your arms and legs feel a little like Jello
• Extreme mental flakiness - we're talking walk in a room and forget why you're there, misplacing things left and right, and forgetting parts of conversations only minutes later
• Jr. High complexion - just as fun as it sounds

 Home remedy of the moment:  Dark Chocolate

These two are my favorite gluten-free and (mostly) dairy-free varieties.

Dark chocolate helps address a couple of those symptoms fairly well, and I have been self-prescribing chocolate for a good portion of this IVF journey.  I've actually had better success easing one of these hormone headaches with chocolate than with Tylenol.  The small amounts of sugar, fat, and caffeine are so valuable when coffee combined with aspirin and ibuprofen are off the table.  With "low-caffeine" being part of the NFD, I do need to keep it somewhat reasonable.  Even when the headaches are really bad, my daily dosage stays around a 1/4 to 1/2 bar.  Given the small portions, quality is key.

The Lindt sea salt dark chocolate was one of my favorites back during pregnancy #1.  I found myself buying it whenever I was out shopping.  Eating 2-3 squares, I would inevitably leave it somewhere later that day, like in my purse, desk, or refrigerator (best served cold)...in just a few weeks, I amassed quite the stash.  I have indulged in this one a little during this round, but it does contain milk fat, and while it's likely in very small amounts, it technically doesn't qualify as dairy-free.

The Endangered Species dark chocolate with cacao nibs is one I came across when I was attempting a low-glycemic diet several years back.  No, it isn't carb-free, but it is fairly low in sugar compared to many dark chocolates out there, and it's packed with all those good-for-you antioxidants.  At the time, a square or two would tide me over when I really needed something sweet.  Plus, it is GF / DF and contains actual raw cacao nibs, making it more of a vegetable than a dessert, in my humble opinion.  Not to mention it's a fair trade product that proceeds go to helping preserve wildlife.  This chocolate may be the most responsible chocolate a person can eat.  I'm sure my acupuncturist would agree...